International Short Film Festival ISFF on June 28-29, 2025 in Pernik, Bulgaria

4th IN THE PALACE ISFF Conference

The Short Film at the Threshold of Emotions: Narratives, Audiences and Public Space

28-29 June 2025

IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival

Pernik, Bulgaria

For more than thirty years Eastern European and Balkan citizens and states were projected towards integration into the EU and NATO with the hope that they would eventually achieve steady economic prosperity and political security. Тhis expectation, however, has faded away as social inequalities, now at unprecedented levels, and divisive political trends have shaken transnational loyalties and blurred conceptions of "democracy". The conflicts in Ukraine and in the Mediterranean region have crumbled our previous certainties, generating a race to rearmament.

In these uncertain times, emotions might serve as a major tool for political mobilization. The aim of this conference is to explore short films through the study of emotions. In particular we're interested in investigating how anxiety, fear, compassion, love and other affective reg-isters shape short film narratives, characters, settings and intersubjective relations. We also pay attention to the way in which short film practitioners use emotion to engage viewers. Since the beginning of the past century, cinema has been used as a tool for the construction of borders that divide people into nations and races (Mosse 2021). Sara Ahmed (2014) has argued that feelings of hate, love and fear are essential for the creation of boundaries be-tween the self and others that characterize national and transnational communities in the contemporary world.

Our goal is to open a reflection on how short films navigate the politics of emotion and thereby contribute in shaping "affective communities" (Hutchinson 2016; Gandhi 2006). In particular, we look for contributions that examine how short films tackle the ways in which minorities are stigmatized as catalysts for public anxieties (Bilgiç 2018). We welcome anal-yses of short films that deal with the representation of aggressiveness and practices of sham-ing and humiliation in the relations between states and communities (Fattah, Fierke 2009). In analogy to other social artifacts, emotions are not "natural" sensations, but they undergo a process of construction and circulation that reflect Western colonial thought (Hutchinson, Bleiker, Bourne, Hoang, 2024). The conference welcomes research on short films that deal with sentiments of disillusion with independence and democracy, and desires for empire (Said 1994).

Alongside the social and political implications of emotions in short film, the conference is also interested in analyzing how cinematic affects intertwine with technological sentimental-ization, in particular the “economy of attention” and its effect on our capacity to perceive and generate feelings. How does the economy of attention affect the field of short film, its processes and the relationship with audiences? Does it influence the emotional relationships between creator, film and audience? Do filmmakers outwit its diktat and to what extent? We believe in the urgent need for digital literacy, providing citizens with the information to think critically about digital issues

Our focus is on the cinemas of the Balkans, Eastern and Southern Europe, but contributions on other geographical areas are also welcome. We seek papers that analyze the ways in which short films position within the affective spectrum of social and political tensions. We would like to explore films in different genres such as documentary, experimental, noir, war, sci-fi, horror, comedy, erotic, pornographic and exploitation. We also welcome contributions on the use of emotions in videos published on social media and other Internet platforms propagating news and political ideas.

We encourage entries on the following specific topics:

● How do short films, social media videos and useful films address collective fear, an-guish, aggression and violence?

● In what ways does addressing a specific issue predetermine a film's audio-visual style?

● How do short films narrativize emotions?

● In what ways do past and present political and ecological crises condition short film narratives, production, distribution and programming?

● How do short films and social media videos navigate and negotiate processes of oth-ering?

● How does the distinction between specific present audiences and projected future audiences determine creative choices?

● How is otherness addressed in popular education through short films and in cinema education?

● What role do short films play in producing emotion as a tool for learning in the social sciences?

● Short films addressing entangled colonial heritage.

Artistic contributions: We also invite proposals for artistic contributions from practition-ers/researchers working on any of the above themes. Artistic research formats include but are not limited to workshops, films, performative lectures or interventions, video essays, and found footage assemblages. Please note that complex technical assistance cannot be provid-ed.

Presentation Formats & Rules

■ Application documents

- Paper Abstract (Choice 1)

250-300 words. The proposal should state the issue, questions, methods and ap-proaches, and at least 3 keywords.

- Artistic Research Proposal (Choice 2)

300-400 words. The proposal should outline the work's relevance to conference themes.

- Author’s Biography

A short professional biography, 50-70 words.

■ Conference Formats

Paper Presentation: 20 minutes.

Screening Session: A screening of up to 40 minutes followed by 20 minutes of discussion.

Artistic Contribution: Exact format of presentation to be discussed depending on the nature of the contribution.

All documents must be sent in English.

Conference proceedings will be published in an edited volume after a selection and peer re-view process by the organizers.

Timeline:

Abstract submission deadline: 23 April 2025

Accepted submission notification: 2 May 2025

Conference dates: 28-29 June 2025

Financial matters:

There are no fees for submission or processing.

The conference will be held during the 22nd edition of the IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival on 28 and 29 June 2025. Тhe festival will provide 2 days of accommoda-tion in the town of Pernik and a financial grant as assistance towards travel expenses. We are willing to assist you further in support of your travel applications to other institutions.

Conference scientific committee:

Fabio Bego

Nezih Erdogan

Patrícia Nogueira

Conference organization committee:

Fabio Bego

Liliya Kucheva

Nezih Erdogan

Patrícia Nogueira

Rita Capucho

Tsanko Vasilev

For any questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Please submit your proposals via this link:

https://forms.gle/EirqDBFdD92SHKXH9

References:

Ahmed, Sara. 2014. The Cultural Politics of Emotions. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press

Bilgiç, A., 2018. "Migrant Encounters with Neo-Colonial Masculinity: Producing European Sovereignty Through Emotions", International Feminist Journal of Politics, 4, 542-562

Corib, A., Histoire des émotions. 3, De la fin du XIXe siècle à nos jours, Éditions Points / DL 2021

Fattah, K., Fierke, M. K. 2009. "A Clash of Emotions: The Politics of Humiliation and Political Violence in the Middle East", European Journal of International Relations, 1, 57-93

Gandhi, L., 2006. Affective Communities: Anticolonial Thoughts and the Politics of Friendship, Ranikhet: Permanent Black

Hutchinson, E., Bleiker, R., Bourne, J., Hoang, Y. 2024. "Decolonising Affect: Emotions and the Politics of Peace", Cooperation and Conflict, Online.

Hutchinson, E. 2016. Affective Communities in World Politics: Collective Emotions After Trau-ma, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Laine,T. 2007. Shame and Desire: Emotion, Intersubjectivity, Cinema, P.I.E. Peter Lang

Mosse, L. George. 2021. The Fascist Revolution: Toward a General Theory of Fascism, Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press

Plamper, J. 2015. The History of Emotions: an Introduction, Oxford University Press /

Podalsky, L., 2011. The Politics of Affect and Emotion in Contemporary Latin American Cinema: Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico, Palgrave Macmillan

Ramsay, D., 2023. Archives of War : Technology, Emotion and History, London: Routledge

Said, W., E. 1994. Culture and Imperialism, New York: Vintage Books