Inspired by the Winter Solstice, the great festival of the short film takes place throughout the month of December, focusing on the 21st, taking film sessions to 34 locations from north to south of the country, passing through the archipelagos.
Every year, around December 21st, the northern hemisphere enters the colder season due to the Winter Solstice, in what is the shortest day of the year. This astronomical phenomenon inspired the creation of the festival that celebrates cinema in the short format, "The shortest day". The idea, which was born in France, quickly reached an international dimension and is currently celebrated simultaneously in dozens of countries. In Portugal, the event is organized for the fourth consecutive year by the Short Film Agency and will again travel the country from north to south.
Abrantes, Albufeira, Almada, Amadora, Amarante, Barcelos, Braga, Cascais, Castro Verde, Coimbra, Constância, Elvas, Évora, Faro, Funchal, Guimarães, Lajes do Pico, Leça da Palmeira, Leiria, Lisbon, Maia, Matosinhos , Oeiras, Ponta Delgada, Ponta do Sol, Porto, Sardoal, Setúbal, Vila do Conde, Vila Nova de Famalicão, Vila Nova de Gaia, Vila Real and Viseu will receive a selection of national and international short films for adults and Children, in the most varied places of projection. In addition to the movie theaters, some sessions will take place in unexpected spaces such as the Santana Hotel & SPA pool, in Vila do Conde, where you can watch the session in the water, Porto's carriages and stations, Or on the Internet and television.
The various programmers associated themselves with this initiative through their own sessions or the four programs proposed by the Short Film Agency.
Elaborated in collaboration with the European Short Circuit network, the "Europe in Shorts" session features a number of recent European films that have stood out at the major international film festivals. It is a journey through Europe through seven short films with themes as diverse as poetry and dependence, or as important as the concept of frontier. The program "National programm" reveals the best of Portuguese production through the works of young authors such as Gabriel Abrantes, Simão Cayatte, Eduardo Brito and Ana Maria Gomes and the stories they have to tell. Thinking of families, "shorts in december" is a proposal of the House of Animation and includes a set of little stories full of adventure, peripécias and unique characters, but also reflections on solitude and the right way to go. "Christmas Paper and Other Stories" celebrates the Christmas spirit through short stories for the young, without forgetting the pedagogical aspect.
The Cinemateca Portuguesa and the Cineclube do Porto receive special sessions of the event, on December 21 and 22, respectively, presenting programs that highlight the national production. This year, "The shortest day" also happens on the Internet. Between December 14th and 21st, the Short Film Agency offers five internationally awarded Portuguese films for free online viewing: "Abraço do Vento" by José Miguel Ribeiro, "Rapace" by João Nicolau, "Amélia & Duarte" by Alice Guimarães and Mónica Santos and "Vicky & Sam" by Nuno Rocha.
"The shortest day" will also be marked in schools, by students of different degrees of education, and in social solidarity institutions such as SOS Children's Villages and Santa Casa da Misericórdia. It's the movie festival, a moment of discovery that will light the country's screens!
