Like the short story in literature, short film has its own rhythms, structures and possibilities. Its concentrated form can create intensity, allow ideas to remain open, and give filmmakers a freedom to experiment with cinematic language.
Yet short films are still too often discussed in relation to what comes next: the feature film. This conversation turns the focus back onto the form itself. How can we create a stronger culture around making, watching and discussing short films as complete works? What possibilities does the shorter duration offer filmmakers? And how can festivals, cinemas, funders and the industry help these films find an audience and a longer life beyond the festival circuit?
Mona J. Hoel is a Norwegian director, screenwriter and producer who has worked across short films, documentaries and feature films since the 1980s. Educated in photography in New York and directing at Dramatiska Institutet in Stockholm, she is known for films including Når nettene blir lange, Salto, salmiakk og kaffe and Natt, while continuing to work actively with the short format as both filmmaker and producer.
Sabina Jacobsson is a Swedish-Norwegian visual artist and filmmaker working across film, photography, drawing, installation and performance. Her films and video works have been shown internationally at festivals, cinemas and galleries, and her practice is characterised by experimentation with form, analogue techniques and the relationship between spontaneous processes and conceptual ideas. She has also served on the programming committee for the Norwegian Short Film Festival.
Robin Jensen is a Norwegian director and screenwriter working across animation, documentary and fiction, with a sustained commitment to the short format. His films have screened at festivals including Sundance, Annecy and Clermont-Ferrand, and include the award-winning documentary The Shelter and animated short Farce. His latest film, Time of Plenty (2026), is an essay documentary narrated by Renate Reinsve, exploring the history of Rapa Nui and its relationship to contemporary fears of ecological collapse.
