Robert Nevitt - Festival Co-Director & Founder, Celluloid Screams: Sheffield Horror Film Festival

every house is haunted (bryce mcguire)

“It was really tough to pick but here’s a bit about my favourite short of 2023.”

“It’s really hard to pick a favourite from our 2023 short film programme at Celluloid Screams. From the simultaneously hilarious and uncanny horror of Alexander Deeds’ BUTTERSCOTCH to the harrowing allegory of Derek Ugochukwu’s “You’re Not Home”, the short films we had the privilege of programming this year were all favourites in their own way.

If I had to pick a personal favourite though, it has to be Bryce McGuire’s “Every House is Haunted”. It’s a beautifully made and emotionally stirring piece of work that explores loneliness and companionship within a supernatural context that works effortlessly as a contained narrative whilst also hinting at a wider story world beyond what we’ve seen. Next year sees the release of NIGHT SWIM, the feature length adaptation of McGuire’s short film of the same name, and I’m keeping everything crossed that the feature version of EVERY HOUSE IS HAUNTED isn’t too far behind.”

Nuala O’Sullivan - Women Over 50 Film Festival Founder

“consuelo” (jl ruiz)

“My favourite film of 2023 was the Mexican short “Consuelo” by JL Ruiz, starring Patricia Alcay which we screened at WOFFF23.”

“Consuelo is a toilet attendant who lives a lonely life, unnoticed by her husband and son. Everything changes the day her idol, Manuel Bravo, walks into her bathroom.

This short is part-telenovela, part-magic realism. Lead actor Patricia Alcay shines as Consuelo who finds love and passion in an encounter with a matinee heartthrob that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality.

Consuelo’s a WOFFF star through and through - an older woman on the margins, almost invisible to those around her who discovers who she really is, who rediscovers her sexuality and sensuality, and who makes a radical change with her new-found power.

The ending is my favourite kind where it's up to you to interpret what's just unfolded - was Consuelo hallucinating? Was it a dream or did a film star really walk off the screen and into her life? I'm a sucker for a love story so I know which ending I saw.”

Greg Sorvig - Artistic Director, Heartland Film Festival

“promise” (sebastian delascasas)

“In watching thousands of films every year, I am driven by discovery and finding diamonds in the rough from cold submissions. When a short comes across my queue that is seemingly simple or expected and transforms into something much more profound and compelling, I get excited and imagine our audiences taking this same journey with me months later.”

“Promise” is a one-location, dialogue-driven story but subverts all expectations after its initial setup, offering a tense “what would you do?” scenario with believable acting and writing (something that is frankly much harder for filmmakers to execute, especially first-timers).

Director/writer/actor Sebastian Delascasas does so much with so little, and we anchored our “Let’s Be Honest” program at Indy Shorts with the film when initially piecing together the lineup. The film ended up being a world premiere at Indy Shorts, and we are thrilled to have launched Sebastian’s festival career with a story we believed in from the first viewing. Expect to hear much more about Sebastian in the years to come and check out “Promise” if you can!”

Fanny Popieul - Programmatrice, This Is England Film Festival

“yellow” (elham elhas)

My favourite film of 2023 is a film called “Yellow”, written & directed by Kabul-born Elham Elhsas.

It tells the story of a twenty-something, educated young woman who walks into a shop to buy her first full-body veil in the wake of the Talibans' recent return to power in Afghanistan. The structure of “Yellow” is so simple - two characters, one room, very little dialogue - yet so cleverly structured and beautifully shot that it manages to encompass the universal tragedy that Afghan women and girls are going through, through a snapshot in the life of one single individual.

Hidden under her newly acquired chadari, the lead character comes to grips with the brutal loss of her freedom, the abrupt ending of her education, and the annihilation of her identity. The message of the film is crucial, and I like that it comes from a male director. Let's not forget Afghan women.

I programmed Yellow at This Is England Short Film Festival in Rouen, France (11th-19th Nov 2023). The jury awarded it a Special Mention in the Best Fiction category.

Soultana Tatiana Koumoutsi - CEO & Fοunder, Psarokokalo International Short Film Festival

“the silent ones” (basile vuillemin)

"The Silent ones" is an exhilarating and haunting adventure ride that doesn't back away from the difficult choices, no matter how right or wrong the outcome may be.

Fabulously created by lush cinematography, excellent performances, and outstanding production and sound design. Though the story is based on a simple premise, the script is fantastic, and with echoes of Leviathan, it soon heads off into dangerous waters.

The subtlety of Basile Vuillemin's film and its direction is due to the force of reality: these spaces of iron, rust, faded paint / these men of sweat, fatigue, skin damaged by wind and salt / these heavinesses, icy, stinking, sickly, which have been able to imprint our unconscious and our imaginations, without us even having to go on a fishing trip ourselves and suffer the dragging swing of the trawl. For this unbearable suspension, and the “noise” of silence which sets in with cinema and an economy of shots, sounds, images, which reminds us that this talent for establishing atmospheres and power relations will always hold us.

Steve Henderson, Director and CEO - Manchester Animation Festival

“shackle” (ainslie henderson)

“I’d have to select Ainslie Henderson’s “Shackle”. In an age of CGI and A.I the director returned to the roots of stop motion animation to demonstrate the technique in all of its glory whilst telling a story demonstrating the power of nature, the need for forgiveness and a timeless battle between the darkness and light of the self.”

There are few films where I gasp an audible “wow!” but seeing the first 15 seconds of this film I did as it displays not only a mastery of the technique, but an ingenious way of hooking in the viewer. Animation is often misunderstood by film festivals, but with a film such as this, it’s difficult to for any audience to not understand its appeal.

Mark Prebble, Festival Manager - Salute Your Shorts Film Festival

“the ballad of maddog quinn” (matt inns)

“I'm a sucker for sci-fi and one of my favourite films this year is “The Ballad of Maddog Quinn”.

If you've ever wondered what the pristine landscapes of New Zealand will look like after the apocalypse, then this ten-years-in-the-making, Mad Max on horseback adventure is for you. Matt Inns' epic steampunk escapade had a successful festival run (Sitges, Tampere, Short Shorts, LA Shorts, Fantaspoa...) and is now on Short of the Week.

Michael Orth, Artistic Director - Landshuter Kurzfilmfest AKFF

“transylvanie” (rodrigue huart)

It's not easy to name the best short film I saw in 2023. Because I've seen hundreds & hundreds & hundreds. Including a lot of good ones.

But one in particular sticks in my mind: “Transylvanie” by Rodrigue Huart from France. A great coming of age love film about vulnerability and immortality. With a fantastic, young leading actress, at the same time rough and fragile, who believes she is a vampire. Or is one?

Chris Clark, Artistic Director – Q-Fest St Louis

“empress clawscream” (stephen t lally)

"the fishing net" (anna palinkas)

"I am an enthusiastic fan of the films represented by the good people at Festival Formula. The variety and quality from film to film is impressive. Cinema St. Louis hosts its annual LGBTQ film festival, QFest St. Louis, each May. This year we screened 3 films from FF and they were all so very unique. Two of them really stood out to me.

"Empress Clawscream" was a stylish, goofy, musical dream from end to end. I loved that it was so full of energy and nerdy girl power.

“The Fishing Net” was a superb, well-crafted drama on the other end of the scale depicting a sad, dark chapter in gay history.

Until next year my FF friends!

Amos Geva, Head of Industry and Co-Founder of T-Port Online Short Film Market

“the boy” (yahav winner)

“The short film that impacted me the most in 2023 is THE BOY by Yahav Winner (may his memory be blessed).”

This film is nothing short of a masterpiece I'd recommend to every filmmaker who wants to learn the power you can implement in a short format.

Yahav was murdered at the early age of 36 on October 7, 2023, in his home in Kfar Aza while protecting his wife Shaylee Atary, and their newborn baby Shaya.

The film takes place in that very same location and offers his commentary on life along that border that is as The New Yorker put it "subtle but unflinching". This biographical detail makes the film almost prophetic, but even without that, the subtleness of the film is one of its most impressive attributes, one that puts it at the same level of filmmaking that can compete with the masters. Yahav had just recently finished shooting his debut feature-length film just shortly before he died, also in the same place his life ended.