2023 Edition

AGAINST
ALL ODDS

The current edition proposes a curatorial exploration of the relation between magical thinking and cinema that plays around the concepts of ‘chance’ and ‘change’ and their potential to generate collective and individual emancipation, while looking into the ways in which rituals, myths, spiritual beliefs and dreams are informing and/or shaping the imaginary of our globalized societies.

The films included in present selection conjure into the darkness of the cinema hall spectral beings that float at the border between past, present and future, between the natural and the supernatural world. A mirror of the world we live in, whose silver surface reflects both the luminous and the dark sides of our contemporary realities.

Focusing on the porous boundary between dichotomies such as nature versus human, human versus machine, scientific versus speculative thinking, the current edition of BIEFF aims to engage the audience in a provocative cultural experience that embraces the fluidity and contradictions inherent to both our increasingly digitized social interactions and the subversive hidden inner workings of our individual and collective subconscious.

At a moment in history that is defined by crisis and turmoil, we invite you to celebrate together the healing and uplifting power of the imagination, against all odds.

Oana Ghera, Artistic Director BIEFF

International Competition Jury

Nuria Cubas

International Feature Film Competition Jury

Nuria Cubas co-founded FILMADRID International Film Festival in 2015, a festival she has directed since then. She has been part of the programming team for Punto de Vista Festival in Navarra and Documenta Madrid and she has also advised on audiovisual projects for CRA in Matadero Madrid, for MECAS at IFF Las Palmas and for Bienal de Artes Mediales in Santiago de Chile.

Julian Ross

International Feature Film Competition Jury

Julian Ross is a researcher, curator and writer based in Amsterdam. He is co-programmer of Doc Fortnight 2023 and 2024 at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), co-programmer of the upcoming 69th Flaherty Seminar, and film program advisor at IDFA. Previously, he was programmer at International Film Festival Rotterdam, Locarno Film Festival, and guest programmer at Singapore International Film Festival. His curatorial work has been presented at Tate Modern, Art Institute of Chicago, e-flux Video & Film, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Eye Filmmuseum, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Harvard Film Archive and British Film Institute. He is an Assistant Professor at Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society, where he is co-director of the interdisciplinary research centre ReCNTR, and editorial board member of Collaborative Cataloging Japan, a non-profit organisation dedicated to preserving the legacy of Japanese experimental moving image.

Daniella Shreir

International Feature Film Competition Jury

Daniella Shreir is the founder and co-editor of film journal Another Gaze and a translator of literature, non-fiction, art writing and subtitles, from the French. Her translation of Chantal Akerman’s My Mother Laughs (Silver Press) won a PEN prize in 2019. Since late 2022, she has been on the selection committee of Director’s Fortnight (Quinzaine des Cinéastes) and is the creator and programmer of Another Screen. Together with Missouri Williams, she has just launched Another Gaze Editions, a new imprint dedicated to writing by women about film.

Eddie Bertozzi

International Short Film Competition Jury

Eddie Bertozzi holds a PhD in Chinese Film Studies from SOAS, University of London. From 2009 to 2020 he was the Program Manager of the International Film Critics’ Week, independent section of the Venice Film Festival. Since 2017 he has been working as a programmer for Filmmaker Festival in Milan, and since 2021 he serves as Head of Pardi di domani Selection Committee and Advisor for the Competitive Sections of the Locarno Film Festival. He is also active in film distribution, currently holding the position of head of acquisitions for the Italian company Academy Two. He is a member of the National Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) and of the European Film Academy (EFA).

Elena Duque

International Short Film Competition Jury

Elena Duque is a Spanish-Venezuelan filmmaker, programmer, writer and teacher. To date, she has made several animated and experimental short films, that have been shown in festivals such as Mar del Plata, Punto de Vista, London Animation Film Festival, Les Inattendus, Documenta Madrid, Experiments in Cinema, Festival des cinémas Différents, ExFF in Frankfurt, Animasivo, Cinespaña Toulouse and L'Alternativa, among others, as well as in institutions such as Kino Arsenal and CCCB (Barcelona). Her work is part of the catalog of the Collectif Jeune Cinéma, Hamaca, and the Xcèntric Archive at the CCCB in Barcelona. She currently programmes and directs the editorial department of (S8) Mostra de Cinema Periférico in A Coruña and is an associate programmer at the Seville European Film Festival.

Florian Fernandez

International Short Film Competition Jury

Florian Fernandez holds a Master’s degree in Film Studies and coordinates the various industry initiatives elaborated as part of the Short Film Corner | Rendez-vous Industry. This four-day forum organised by the Festival de Cannes aims to highlight short film forms, emerging talents and facilitate the interactions between the filmmakers and the industry. Florian is also part of the programming committees, serving as pre-selector, for Encounters Film Festival, Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, as well as SXSW Doc Shorts. He yearly collaborates as part of The Short Film Lab training program and the European Short Pitch reading committee. Since 2023, he partners with Protest Studios to take care of the festival distribution & sales of a handful of short films carried by unique voices.

National Competition Jury

Peter Cerovšek

National Competition Jury

Peter Cerovšek is the director of the FeKK Ljubljana Short Film Festival and director of the Center for Contemporary Arts SCCA-Ljubljana, where he is chief of DIVA Station Archive for artist video, film, and new media, and curator of video programs. He established in co-production with Slovenian Cinematheque the first Slovenian festival of experimental practices V-F-X Ljubljana, which he is leading. He is also a curator for the short film program at Ljubljana International Film Festival. He is a founder and producer of the scriptwriting workshop Short Scene and a Slovenian representative of Euroconnection Short Pitch organized by the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival. He directed several short films that received international recognition. He is a member of The Directors Guild of Slovenian and Berlinale Talents Alumni.

Gabrielė Cegialytė

National Competition Jury

Gabrielė Cegialytė is a short film industry professional with a background in communication and marketing. Since 2016, she's been building a strong career at Lithuanian Shorts, an NGO dedicated to showcasing Lithuanian short films, her role within the agency ranging from curation and strategic promotion to distribution. She has been working for the Vilnius International Short Film Festival since 2015, ascending to Managing Director for the festival in 2022. For the past 7 years, she has been managing the Baltic Pitching Forum, as well as other Lithuanian Shorts initiatives such as the short film script development residency Baltic Shorts Residency and a mentorship programme for Lithuanian women in film and TV Lithuanian Shorts Mentorship. Gabrielė has been actively involved in the preparation of the annual Lithuanian short film catalogue and establishment of the Lithuanian Stand at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market since 2016.

Ilinca Vânău

National Competition Jury

Ilinca Vânău is a curator and researcher living in Edinburgh. She is a film programmer for Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival in the UK. She has also worked as pre-selector for Cork International Film Festival in Ireland and Edinburgh International Film Festival. Ilinca is currently working towards a PhD in Film Studies at the University of St Andrews, researching sound and posthumanism in recent moving image works by women filmmakers and artists.

BIEFF.13 Awards

BIEFF Award for Best Feature Film

Awarded to the best feature film presented as part of BIEFF’s International Feature Film Competition, the award consists of post-production services in a total value of 20.000 euro, to be used for the production of the next project by the winning director.

The award is offered by Avanpost.

BIEFF Award for Best Short Film

Awarded to the best short film presented as part of BIEFF’s International Short Film Competition, this award is valued at 1000 euro.

The award is offered by the Romanian Union of Filmmakers.

Award for Best Filmmaker

Awarded to a short film presented as part of BIEFF’s International Short Film Competition that distinguishes itself through the quality of filmmaking, the this award is valued at 1000 euro.

Award for Best Visual Concept

Awarded to a short film presented as part of BIEFF’s International Short Film Competition that distinguishes itself through it’s innovative visual concept, this award is valued at 1000 euro.

Award for Best Romanian Film

Awarded to the best short film presented as part of BIEFF’s National Short Film Competition, this award is valued at 1000 euro.

Special Mention for Best Visual Concept offered to a Romanian Film

Awarded to a Romanian Film presented as part of BIEFF’s National Short Film Competition, the award consists of post-production services valued at 1.000 euro, to be used for the production of the next project by the winning director.

The award is offered by Luno.

2023 Edition

AGAINST
ALL ODDS