SHORT FILMS, BIG QUESTIONS: International short film conference brings festivals from across Europe to Pernik

by Gergana Stoyanova

From June 25th to 27th, 2026, the Palace of Culture in Pernik will host the 5th ITP Conference, titled SHORT FILMS, BIG QUESTIONS: FESTIVALS, POLITICS, AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.

Part of the professional programme of IN THE PALACE, the conference creates an interdisciplinary space where cinema meets research, culture, and public debate. It brings together filmmakers, scholars, professors, festival professionals, and specialists in fields such as literature, philosophy, anthropology, and film studies.

“Through this meeting between different science and art perspectives, the conference generates new methods of researching cinema and its connections with literature, languages, philosophy, and modern culture,” comments Tsanko Vasilev, director of IN THE PALACE.

This year’s edition focuses on the role of short films and festivals in shaping public conversation. The programme explores how short cinema can address sensitive, vulnerable, or contested issues, how festivals mediate social values, and how artistic curation relates to public engagement, cultural policy, and contemporary politics.

The International Scientific Committee of the 5th edition includes experts with significant experience in film festival research, cultural networks, feminist art activism, film circulation, diversity, sustainability, anthropology, and cultural policy. Among them are María Paz Peirano, Rich Warren, Rita Capucho, Dr. Skadi Loist, and Tsanko Vasilev.

On June 27th, the conference will conclude with a roundtable discussion involving festival directors and programmers from Bulgaria, Germany, Georgia, Kosovo, Greece, North Macedonia, Slovenia, and Switzerland. The discussion will address the social responsibility of short film festivals, the politicization of contemporary short cinema, the influence of funding structures, the balance between artistic expression and socially engaged content, and the visibility of short films in today’s media ecosystems.

The conference materials will be published in a catalogue.

The 23rd edition of IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival is part of Bulgaria’s National Cultural Calendar for 2026. It is organized by the IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival Foundation and the Culture Pernik Municipal Foundation, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Pernik Municipality, the Bulgarian National Film Center, and the National Culture Fund.