The showcase of short films

The new edition of Kinoforum – São Paulo International Short Film Festival, which began on Thursday 21st and runs until the 31st, is the first to be held without the presence of its creator, Zita Carvalhosa.

Zita, who died last month at the age of 65, created the event in 1990 and has led it ever since. Among the posthumous tributes she received were several from filmmakers who made their festival debuts at Kinoforum.

When Zita created this showcase, as Márcio Miranda Perez and Vânia Silva, the event's new coordinators, recall, the short film was a front of resistance for a production weakened by the end of Embrafilme and the impact of home entertainment on cinema.

Unable to make feature-length films, many directors turned to short films to stay afloat. At the time, the big screen was practically the only available window for the format—hence the importance of a festival dedicated to it.

"Today, this scenario has changed significantly," say Perez and Vânia. "Short films have gained new outlets, such as streaming platforms, social media, and online video channels, becoming a more accessible format for both producers and viewers. They've gone from being merely a springboard to being recognized as an artistic form with its own language."

In this context, the festival lost its role as the only possible window, but began to take on the role of fostering meetings and exchanges around the format and of being, itself, a place focused on training.

In this 36th edition, Kinoforum will show 253 films from 60 countries free of charge – in venues such as CineSesc, Cinemateca Brasileira, MIS and Espaço Petrobras de Cinema.

The selection includes award-winning titles from renowned festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Sundance, as well as thematic showcases and, of course, a significant selection of Brazilian productions.

In honor of Zita, there will be a showcase of short films in which she appeared as a producer. Among them are notable titles from the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as the animation A Garota das Telas (1988), by Cao Hamburger, who a few years later would make Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum , for TV Cultura, and Amor ! (1994), by José Roberto Torero. •

Published in issue no. 1376 of CartaCapital , on August 27, 2025.

This text appears in the printed edition of CartaCapital under the title 'The showcase of short films'