The International Short Film Festival of Cyprus celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, organising an edition that unites, inspires, and showcases short film as a distinct cinematic art form. For fifteen years, the Festival has remained true to its vision: to elevate short film as a unique form of artistic expression, to connect filmmakers with audiences, and to open up new paths for storytelling and experimentation. The selection of this year’s jury was guided by a deep sense of responsibility and creative purpose, ensuring that the most outstanding entries in both the International and National Competition Programmes will be rightfully recognised. The five distinguished professionals from the field of cinema who make up this edition’s jury are:
Jury President
Miguel Valverde was born in 1971 in Portimão, Portugal. He holds a degree in Law from the University of Lisbon. He also attended courses and workshops in Film, Scriptwriting, Dramaturgy of the Image, and Editing. In 2003, he co-founded IndieLisboa – International Film Festival, where he remains one of the directors and programmers. He is also the director of Portugal Film – Portuguese Film Agency, representing films by directors such as Teresa Villaverde, Catarina Vasconcelos, and João Canijo. He has served as a juror at several film festivals, including CPH:DOX, Sarajevo, Torino, Winterthur, and Valdivia IFF. He also runs the distribution company No Comboio, responsible for the distribution of films by Hong Sang Soo, Jonathan Vinel and Caroline Poggi, and Dea Kulumbegashvili. He has produced two short films that have been screened at various festivals and art institutions. In 2015, he produced the feature Aqui, em Lisboa, co-directed by several filmmakers, including the short segments Freud und Friends by Gabriel Abrantes (Berlinale), L’Oiseau de la Nuit by Marie Losier (Berlinale), and Los Barcos (IFFR). He is currently an invited teacher at two major film schools in Lisbon (ESTC and NOVA/FCSH). In 2024, he released in cinemas his first short film as a director, Engine.
Jury Members
Eva Stefani is a documentary director and visual artist. She has participated in major exhibitions such as Documenta 14 in Kassel and the 58th Venice Biennale. Her films have been screened at numerous international film festivals (IDFA, Cinéma du Réel, Oberhausen, etc.), and her work has been featured in retrospectives held by the Oberhausen Film Festival, Europe autour de l’Europe, Genova Film Festival, among others. She studied political science, anthropology, and film, and received training in observational and ethnographic filmmaking at the National Film and Television School (UK), New York University, and Ateliers Varan in Paris. She teaches Film Studies at the University of Athens.
Max Bergmann is a film scholar and artistic director of the film festival VIENNA SHORTS, where he previously worked as curator and head of cooperations. He recently completed his PhD in Film and Media Studies with a work about nonlinear narration, networks, and digitalisation in 21st-century cinema.
Rimantė Daugėlaitė has been the co-founder and managing director of the Lithuanian Short Film Agency Lithuanian Shorts since 2012, and the head of the Vilnius Short Film Festival since 2009. She has worked in the audiovisual industry for over ten years, coordinating multiple audiovisual and film promotion projects, as well as producing several Lithuanian short films. Daugėlaitė also works as an expert for European and national audiovisual and cultural funds. Additionally, she teaches Film Festival Studies at the National Film School (KIMO) in Lithuania. She is an alumna of Berlinale Talents, MAIA Workshops, and Audiovisual Women Leadership, and a member of the EWA Network and the European Film Academy. Daugėlaitė is also a board member of the Lithuanian Film Culture Association.
Marios Mettis is a Cypriot actor and director trained at the National Theatre of Greece Drama School and the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London. He is a two-time recipient of the Cyprus National Theatre Award for Best Male Actor. In 2023, he directed Lysistrata by Aristophanes for the Cyprus Theatre Organisation (THOC), which became the best-selling production in the organisation’s 55-year history. His latest short film, Tsikitgklon, The Fairy And The Man received five awards at national and international film festivals, earning acclaim for its originality and cinematic achievement.
All films are suitable only for viewers aged 18+.
Films will be screened in their original language with Greek and English subtitles.
Information: Rialto Theatre 77 77 77 45
Facebook: @Int’l Short Film Festival of Cyprus
Instagram: isffc_filmfestival
www.isffc.com.cy / www.rialto.com.cy
Tickets:
€5 day pass
€25 festival pass
Free admission for students upon presentation of their student ID, as well as for holders of a disability card.
ORGANISERS:
Deputy Ministry of Culture – Department of Contemporary Culture and Rialto Theatre
In collaboration with Limassol Municipality
Major Sponsors: APC Audit TAX Auditors, Green Olive, Digital Tree
Technical Support: EventPRO
Awards Sponsors: SteFilm, Full Moon, Dinos Katsouridis Award
Hospitality Sponsor: Αlinea
Media Sponsors: Check In, City.com.cy, CyBC
Supported by: Organisation of European Programmes and Cultural Relations, Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), University of Cyprus Alumni Office, Lemesos Newspaper,
Limassol Cinema Club, Larnaca–Famagusta Cinema Club, Limassol Today, Lemesos Blog, Limassol Public Transport Company, Vestnik Kipra, Limassol Tourism Development and Promotion Company.
