Filmmaker Ido Weisman honed his craft in the world of reality TV, which he credits with helping him discover his role as a documentarian. His documentary short REQUIEM FOR A WHALE is a perfect example of when a filmmaker should...
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Cinema /
2023 Claims Conference Contest winner Dara Bratt on fast filming and commemorative tattoos
Date: 19-06-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Dara Bratt is a Canadian filmmaker based in New York City, who was recently announced as the winner of the 2023 Claims Conference Filmmaker Contest. We caught up with her to find out about her upcoming project on Holocaust...
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Pride Month: Katie Bignell’s top LGBTQIA Film Festivals
Date: 12-06-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
The film festival circuit hasn’t always been a welcoming place for diverse voices. And, while we mustn’t forget that the fight for rights and recognition of LGBTQIA+ people is an ongoing battle, nowadays there is a thriving festival circuit which...
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2022 Claims Conference Grant Winner Robert Moniot on the magic of last-minute inspiration
Date: 11-06-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Robert Moniot was in the process of relocating with his family to a new country when he grasped the opportunity to pitch his film, THE ICE CREAM MAN, to the Claims Conference. We caught up with the filmmaker to find...
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2021 Claims Conference Grant winner Sabina Vajrača on trusting the universe and stirring deep conversations
Date: 04-06-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Sabina Vajrača’s winning pitch for the 2021 Claims Conference Grant became her highly acclaimed short film SEVAP/MITZVAH. We caught up with the filmmaker to find out more about what the process of making such a personal film was like. We...
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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Found footage from a distant place in Eugenia Bakurin’s ‘Long Time No Techno’
Date: 31-05-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Eugenia Bakurin is a filmmaker and media artist, who was born in the Soviet Union and has lived in Germany for over 20-years. T-Port’s Jess Sweetman caught up with the filmmaker to talk about her Lighthouse Selected found footage film...
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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The (VIDEO) Interviews – Yi Xiong and the fortune telling turtles
Date: 01-05-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Yi Xiong’s A TORTOISE’S YEAR OF FATE is a 20-minute portrait of a young man trying to find belonging, set among the machinery of a Chinese factory. It’s universal theme and gorgeous cinematography caught the eye of guest curator Laurence...
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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – The ‘Strange and Exciting’ Life of Alex Lawther
Date: 10-04-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Alex Lawther has been making his name as an actor for quite some time, but his directorial debut, the short film FOR PEOPLE IN TROUBLE, which he also wrote, has already been making a splash on the festival circuit in...
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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Janina Lutter on standing up through (and beyond) film
Date: 26-03-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Filmmaker Janina Lutter is the director of the Lighthouse Selected film THE SCHOOL IS ON FIRE AND WE KNOW WHY, which appears on T-Port courtesy of our partners at Hessische Film und Medienakademie (hFMA). In this interview, the sparky Lutter shares...
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This International Women’s Day – Emerging Female Filmmakers Share Their Views on the Current State of the Film Industry
Date: 07-03-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
By Jess Sweetman – T-Port Marketing March 8th is International Women’s Day (IWD), a global holiday celebrated annually to commemorate women’s cultural, political, and social achievements. It is also a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing attention to...
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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Camille Tricaud – Portrait of a film lover creating for a better future
Date: 21-02-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
French director and producer Camille Tricaud is hard at work as a founder of the independent production company Benedetta Films. In this inspiring interview we caught up with her to delve into how she used sound in her Lighthouse Selected-film...
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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Poetry of the pragmatic with Maximilian Bungarten
Date: 19-01-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Maximilian Bungarten is the director of 2023 Lighthouse Selection THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, a short he shot on film in his home-city of Cologne, Germany. The film, which he independently uploaded to T-Port along with another Lighthouse Selection from his...
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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Follow and the miracles will come – a chat with Anat Eisenberg
Date: 12-01-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Anat Eisenberg, director of the Lighthouse-Selected short NOVY GOD, made her film shortly after becoming a mother, especially poignant as the film’s narrative was inspired by the complicated relationship between Eisenberg’s grandmother and the younger woman who cared for her. ...
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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Dascha Petuchow on immigrant identities, ‘family ties, and their underlying humanity’
Date: 04-01-2024
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Filmmaker Dascha Petuchow was in lockdown when she wrote the script for her 29-minute drama CHEWING GUM. The short, which was inspired by revisiting her own experiences of growing up as the daughter of an immigrant in Germany, was included...
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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – A breath of fresh air with Gunnur Martinsdóttir Schlüter
Date: 22-12-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
This week, we’re focussing on Gunnnur Martinsdóttir Schlüter’s 5-minute short FÁR, which tells the story of a woman’s dilemma when a bird hits the window of the cafe she is in. The film’s icy aesthetic was inspired by the German-Icelandic...
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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Filmmaker Stanley Xu on a childhood memory laid to rest
Date: 14-12-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Singaporean filmmaker Stanley Xu was inspired to make his short A DAY, THAT YEAR, while working through the impact of a chilling childhood memory. The film made it into the 2023 T-Port Lighthouse Selections, picked by curator Laurence Boyce. We...
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T-Port Lighthouse Selections 2023: The Interviews – Documentarian Zohar Orian Cohen on her ‘need of justice and aspiration for truth’
Date: 07-12-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Israeli documentarian Zohar Orian Cohen describes herself as someone who seeks truth and justice, and it was in this spirit she turned the camera upon herself for her student film, created through the School of Audio and Visual Arts, Sapir...
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The busiest woman in the short film world – The Industry Interview with Anne Gaschütz from Filmfest Dresden and Locarno Film Festival
Date: 25-10-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Anne Gaschütz is a busy woman! Not only is she a co-director of Filmfest Dresden, but she is part of the Selection Committee at the Locarno Film Festival’s Pardi di domani. We caught up with her to find out why...
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The Industry Interview: Berlinale Generation and Filmfest Dresden’s Vincent Förster gives the inside scoop on programming for children and teens
Date: 17-10-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Vincent Förster is the Programme Manager for Shorts at Berlinale Generation as well as a member of the selection committee for International Competition at Filmfest Dresden. We caught up with him to find out more about what he does, why...
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The industry interview with Flavio Armone – Co-Founder and Managing Director of Lights On Film
Date: 11-10-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Lights On Films is a world sales company of quality cinema based in Italy. Their line up includes feature films and shorts from international emerging talents (which can be viewed by professional subscribers on T-Port). Their goal is to be...
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Sari Volanen, Short Film Commissioner with the Finnish broadcaster Yle and partner of the Baltic Pitching Forum shares her wisdom from the industry
Date: 04-10-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Our partners at Lithuanian Shorts will host the annual Baltic Pitching Forum starting from October 10th. We were fortunate to chat to Sari Volanen, the Commissioning Editor of Finnish public broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle), who presents the Pre-buy Award to one...
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Filmmaking without regret: An interview with BORDER CONVERSATIONS documentarian Jonathan Brunner
Date: 31-05-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
26-year-old Jonathan Brunner is no stranger to T-Port, having taken part in our 2023 Clermont Talents Connexion pitching contest. We caught up with the filmmaker, whose work appears on T-Port through our partners at Filmakademie Baden Württenberg, to find out...
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On networking, screenwriting, and becoming: In Conversation with Screen Talent Europe’s President, Marion Bouvier
Date: 05-05-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Marion Bouvier is the President of Screen Talent Europe, a network of film workshops and media centres around Europe whose goal is to help filmmakers exchange knowledge, experiences and methods through talent camps, network meetings and co-productions. We caught up...
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A film made with friends, for friends: Lili Zahavi’s ME MYSELF ANDI
Date: 12-04-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Filmmaker Lili Zahavi made her documentary ME MYSELF ANDI about her best friend Andi, whose struggles in academia, hindered by her own lack of self-confidence, may strike a familiar chord. The film made it into the 2022 Festival Max Ophüls...
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The girl can pack a punch: director Lina Drevs on scrappy sisters and filming during COVID
Date: 07-04-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Filmmaker Lina Drevs based the theme of her Lighthouse Selected film SIS – BEST SISTER on her relationship with her own sisters. In our Spotlight Interview this week she opens up about filming during COVID and how she wants to...
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Puppetry that brings happiness : Jonatan Schwenk on the origins of his “delicious looking” creatures – Lighthouse Selections 2022
Date: 30-03-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Filmmaker Jonatan Schwenk switched from stop-motion animation to puppetry for his short film ZOON, which made the cut of or 2022 Lighthouse Selections, as well as the 2022 Next Generation Short Tiger and the official selection of the Sundance Film...
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Exploring ‘Addiction, mental health, and the creative process’ with award-winning animator Joseph Pierce – Lighthouse Selections 2022
Date: 24-03-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Animator Joseph Pierce’s film SCALE has already made waves on the festival circuit after premiering at La Semaine de la Critique of Festival de Cannes when it was chosen by our guest curator Olha Raiter as part of our Lighthouse...
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Polish filmmaker Jan Bujnowksi on his film THE DEVIL, recreating the 90s and the challenges of shooting on film
Date: 22-03-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
PhD student at the Polish National Film School in Łódź, Jan Bujnowski set himself the challenge of shooting his last film THE DEVIL on film while recreating the past. We caught up with the 29-year-old to find out more. Tell...
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Adding a tiny bit of hope – an interview with Oscar nominated director Anders Walter Hansen
Date: 01-03-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
We caught up with the Danish director whose film appears on T-Port courtesy of Premium Films, about hope, passion, and his Oscar-nominated short IVALU. Tell us about yourself I am 45-years-old, from Denmark. I live in Copenhagen and am currently...
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Oscar-nominated director Eirik Tveiten on the challenges of filming NIGHT RIDE
Date: 01-03-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Eirik Tveiten is no stranger to the short film format, having directed 14 shorts in his career so far. His most recent, NIGHT RIDE, follows protagonist Ebba on an unexpected journey, and garnered him an Oscar nod. We caught up...
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Yotam Knispel, director of LOVE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT on capturing the quiet horror of an impossible situation
Date: 24-02-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Rina can’t look at her son Dean, who’s under house arrest at her home. She has until tomorrow to decide if she can stand by his side. So begins Yotam Knispel’s award-winning short LOVE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT,...
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A Korean eye on German films: Q&A with Youngbin Noh, director of TIME TO EAT
Date: 15-02-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Yougbin Noh is a film student from South Korea who is currently studying film at the Kunsthochschule Kassel, and whose film TIME TO EAT appears on T-Port via our partners at Hessische Film und Medienakademie (hFMA). Tell us about yourself...
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The filmmaker uncovering his true self in I ASKED HIM TO TAKE ME DANCING – Lighthouse Selections 2022
Date: 09-02-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
In order to make his documentary I ASKED HIM TO TAKE ME DANCING, filmmaker Hillel Rate carried his camera with him on first dates for six months. What ensues is a musing on what a person loses when they gain...
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Sam van Zoest on his ‘ode to friendship and happy creativity’ ALL THAT COULD BE – Lighthouse Selections 2022
Date: 26-01-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Filmmaker Sam van Zoest made his 2022 Lighthouse Selected film ALL THAT COULD BE, partially improvised, with a group of close friends, and it shows in the joy that comes through in the watching experience. Lighthouse curator Olha Raiter had...
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Follow the mysterious hum – Filmmaker Nicholas Lachapelle on blending sound and visual documentaries
Date: 20-01-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Filmmaker Nicholas Lachapelle’s documentary film ZUG ISLAND, presented on T-Port via our partners at Les Films du 3 Mars, focusses on a mysterious hum heard around an area of Michigan. What the filmmakers found was an abandoned neighbourhood devastated by...
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Hand-drawn mayhem in Studio Corallo’s DOOM CRUISE – Lighthouse Selections 2022
Date: 19-01-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Hannah Stragholz and Simon Steinhorst are Studio Corallo, an animation studio from Cologne, Germany whose film DOOM CRUISE arrived on T-Port through our partners at AG Kurzfilm, and was picked by Enrico Vannucci for our 2022 Lighthouse Selections. We caught...
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Our Highlights of 2022
Date: 17-01-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Happy new year to all of our followers, colleagues, filmmakers, and friends. Thank you so much for supporting T-Port. We are glad to share with you some of our highlights from the year. T-Port’s Lighthouse Selections In November of this...
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40 years of supporting upcoming filmmakers: we get Utopian with Theresa Winkler, Programme Head of the Max Ophüls Preis
Date: 16-01-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
The Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis takes place from the 23rd to 29th January 2023 in Saarbrücken, Germany. T-Port are partnering with MOP, we will be hosting a selection of their short films from Jan 30, straight after the event. We...
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Figuring it out along the way: An interview with Laurenz Otto – Director of AGAINST ALL ODDS – Lighthouse Selections 2022
Date: 12-01-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Director Laurenz Otto’s coming-of-age short made it to T-Port by being selected as part of German Films Next Generation Short Tiger, and was selected by our 2022 Lighthouse Selections curator Olha Raiter who described the film as “daring and imaginative.”...
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Looking for home: An interview with Roni Bahat, director of BEGIN – 2022 Lighthouse Selections
Date: 04-01-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Roni Bahat lives in Tel Aviv, where she was born and raised. Works at the New Fund for Cinema and TV (NFCT) as head of the Narrative Film Department and Producer of the WomanFilms Narrative Hub. She is a filmmaker...
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Searching for the filmmakers that will shape cinema: An interview with Montreal Festival du nouveau cinéma’s Head of Short and Feature Film Programmer Émilie Poirier
Date: 04-01-2023
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
As the head of short and feature film programmer at Montreal’s Festival du nouveau cinema (FNC), Émilie Poirier knows a thing or two about how to pick the films that will help move the culture forward. We caught up with...
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Finding the fresh perspectives: An Interview with Eddie Bertozzi, Head of Pardi di domani Programming Office, Locarno Film Festival
Date: 16-12-2022
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Over the course of its 75-year history, the Locarno Film Festival has become one of the most important film events in the world. We were lucky enough to catch up with Locarno’s short film expert – Eddie Bertozzi, Head of...
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Tallinn Black Nights Script Pool organiser Triin Tramberg on why short films are important
Date: 10-11-2022
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
The sixth annual Script Pool Competition takes place from Nov 22 – 24 during the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. The Script Pool competition is part of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event’s film market activities and the Discovery Campus educational programme....
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Techno inspiration and cinematic dreams: Director Ari Gilad on processing life through art and music
Date: 02-11-2022
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
From 6-10 November, our partners at Sapir College will be holding the Cinema South Festival. The Short Film Competition will feature 12 new short films from Israel and around the world. One contender is recent graduate Ari Gilad – who...
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From lollipops to Oscar nods. Eugen Merher shares his experiences directing in a foreign land for ‘The Boy Who Couldn’t Feel Pain’
Date: 28-10-2022
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Filmmaker Eugen Merher is finally ready to graduate from Filmakademie Baden Wurttemberg and make his mark on the world. And he’s off to a great start – having gained a nomination from the Student Academy Awards for his film “The...
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Rimantė Daugėlaitė – Head of the Baltic Pitching Forum on finding and showcasing exciting new voices from the region
Date: 06-10-2022
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
The 10th edition of the Baltic Pitching Forum is being held from 5-8 October in Vilnius, Lithuania. – To celebrate the event, which advertises itself as a unique platform for networking and bringing the latest short film projects from the...
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‘Daily life and weird first dates’ – in conversation with Marleen Valien, director of ‘Not the 80s’
Date: 30-09-2022
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
“NOT THE 80s” is Berlin-based director Marleen Valien’s second short to appear on T-Port. Her previous film “HOT DOG” was a hit on the festival circuit in 2019, including a showing at Sundance. Her newest offering, which premiered at Tribeca,...
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From perfect inspiration to some serious on-set challenges, director Romi Menachem on everything she learned directing ‘Out of Play’
Date: 01-09-2022
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
30-year-old screenwriter and director Romi Menachem went through a lot with the cast and crew of her short film “Out of Play”. The film follows Bar (12), a longtime member of the boys’ clique and the class’s soccer team, who...
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A straightforward story told unconventionally: Henrik Dyb Zwart shares the creative process behind “Everything at Once” before its premiere at Venice
Date: 25-08-2022
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Henryk Dyb Zwart’s film “Everything at Once” premieres at the Venice Film Festival on September 9 (courtesy of our partners at Festival Formula.) We caught up with the 34-year-old director to find out about his sources of inspiration from poetry...
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Denial, ambiguity, and mourning – a conversation with Audrey Karras, director of ‘One Last Breath’
Date: 21-07-2022
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Audrey Karras shot her short film “One Last Breath” in just 4 and a half days. We spoke to the French director about the challenges she encountered through the creative process, and how it was for her to work with...
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