Each year, a fascinating selection of film festivals are planned across Europe. However, unless you have a Learjet on standby, you probably haven’t been to all of the cinema events that have taken place since the beginning of the year. We looked at some of the upcoming festivals for 2010 in a January feature, but here we have done the legwork for you and created a small selection of short films that have shown at festivals so far this year. Even larger events such as the Berlinale have a short film category, whilst more specialised festivals like the London Short Film Festival focus purely on shorter works for the big screen. Shorts can last up to around 40 minutes, but we have created a choice of super short works including documentary, comedy and music shorts for a varied mini film festival programme. Enjoy!

Pandora’s Inbox – Nicholas Paton

Ugh. How we all hate those annoying emails requesting that you forward to six friends in order to find the love of your life/ensure everlasting good luck/other unlikely and probably untrue eventuality. But what about if you received an email with the words ‘Do not delete this message, or you will die’? Nicholas Paton’s short Pandora’s Inbox was featured at the London Short Film Festival as part of the Funny Shit programme. In the film, Eddie receives a spam email promising good luck should he forward it to his friends, or death in 60 seconds should he delete it. Unwisely, he deletes it, and the countdown begins…

A Boy, A Wall and a Donkey – Hany Abu-Assad

Movies That Matter is an annual festival taking place in The Hague with a focus on human rights films and documentaries. This year an event entitled ‘Upload Cinema: Saved by Youtube’, looked at the power of digital film and how creative activists are harnessing the power of the internet to make change and draw attention to their cause. Hany Abu-Assad’s short film is a smart, thought-provoking short film about three very resourceful boys who live in the middle of the Gaza Strip and want to make their own movie.

The Colours by Zebra & Snake – Miikka Lommi

The Tampere Film Festival is a shorts extravaganza (and one of the most important European events of its kind), screening over 500 short films each year on a huge range of themes. One of the events this year focused on Finnish music videos and one of our favourites has to be Miika Lommi’s clip for ‘The Colours’, a track by Zebra & Snake. Cool kid Lommi has previously filmed eye-popping and quirky videos for artists such as Femme en Fourrure and is part of the Kennel Helsinki stable of creatives. We especially like this clip as Lommi has created a film that perfectly matches the feel and energy of the music, plus it’s a damn good track! Worth mentioning too is Jukka Ässä’s Paha maa (directed by Teemu Niukkanen); a simple, dreamlike film which is reminiscent of Air’s beautiful videos.

12 Years - Daniel Nocke

Daniel Nocke’s hilarious 3D animated film was shown as part of the shorts programme at this year’s Berlinale. Nocke wrote and directed this short work in which we see a restaurant conversation taking place at the end of a relationship. ‘For twelve years she ignored sneers and mockery and stood up for her relationship. But that was probably a mistake…’ If you’re planning post-breakup revenge, you probably shouldn’t follow this female’s lead!

Sako – Aram Abrahamyan and Davit Martirosyan

This short, thoughtful documentary was shown as part of the Adobe Youth Producing Change event at the London Human Rights Watch Film Festival. The event shows work by young filmmakers across the globe who have created films sharing the problems and issues faced by society in their part of the world.  Directed by Aram Abrahamyan and Davit Martirosyan, the film is an insight into the life of thirteen year old Sako, an Armenian boy working in a gravestone factory in order to support his family. It’s sad, touching and humbling as Sako tells us about his daily life and his hopes for the future.

February 29th – Stefano Pari

Over 200 short films were shown at this year’s Rotterdam International Film Festival. Stefano Pari’s February 29th is a beautifully filmed and acted snapshot of of one man’s daily life working in a factory. Pari paints a picture of grey, dreary, routine and ultimately very lonely existence, but the film concludes on a life-affirming, hopeful and unexpected note.