Kino Kurzdoku

Editorial tone

Concentrated, condensed, to the point. The short film forces you to the essence — no room for detours, every shot must land. Often more radical than the feature: formally bolder, thematically sharper, aesthetically uncompromising. Many short docs are debut works showing the raw, unfiltered signature of young filmmakers. The short form permits experiment and risk. Frequently produced at film schools or as first works with short film funding.

What this format covers

• ●Thematically open — from personal miniature to political intervention
• ●Condensed narrative: one situation, one moment, one encounter
• ●Formal experiments and boundary-crossing between doc and fiction
• ●Often autobiographical or drawn from immediate lived experience
• ●Strong authorial position even in short format
• ●Social urgency in compact form

What this format does NOT want

• ●Shortened features or cut-down long versions
• ●TV segments or magazine formats in short-film length
• ●Image films, promotional films, or corporate content
• ●Films without independent visual or narrative idea
• ●Pure information delivery without cinematic ambition
• ●Formats without festival ambition

Visual expectations

Cinema quality despite often small budget. Precisely because the film is short, every image must carry weight. Independent aesthetic — the short film may be visually more radical than the feature. Sound design is especially important in short format: sound co-narrates. Shoot on cinema-capable format recommended. Reference: Berlinale Shorts, Oberhausen, Clermont-Ferrand. Visual signature is often the deciding criterion for festival submissions.

Expected exposé structure

1. Title (concise, distinctive)
2. Logline (1–2 sentences: core of the film)
3. Treatment (What is told? How is it told? Access, dramaturgy, scene ideas)
4. Director's statement (personal motivation, relationship to subject)
5. Visual signature (camera, sound, editing — what makes the film unique?)
6. Director and filmography (previous work, training, festival successes)

Example productions

• The Distant Barking of Dogs (Simon Lereng Wilmont)
• Night Ride (Eirik Tveiten)
• Do Not Split (Anders Hammer)
• Nanu Tudor (Olga Lucovnicova)
• The Letter Room (Elvira Lind)
• Colette (Anthony Giacchino)
• St. Louis Superman (Smriti Mundhra, Sami Khan)