Aesthetica’s Industry Programme brings together an inspiring line-up of masterclasses designed to give filmmakers practical insight, creative inspiration and valuable advice for developing their careers. Taking place throughout this year’s festival, the sessions offer an opportunity to hear directly from […]

The post 5 Craft Masterclasses first appeared on Aesthetica Short Film Festival.

Only five weeks until we find out with certainty what will play at TFF #53.  Here's a reminder of what MTFB was predicting last week:

1) The Debut

2) Elsinore

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

6) A Long Winter

7) Minotaur

8) Fjord

9) Everest: The Other Side

10) Gentle Monster

11) Tenzig

12) Tender Loving Care

13) Bucking Fastard

14) Fatherland

15) The Story of Documentary Film

Other possibilities: Behemoth! Yellow Letters, Rose, Alpha Gang.

And here's your updated "Bets":

1) Elsinore

2) The Debut

3) Ink

4) Club Kid

5) La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

6) A Long Winter

7) Fjord

8) Minotaur

9) Everest: The Other Side

10) Tender Loving Care

11) Gentle Monster

12) Tenzig

13) Bucking Fastard

14) Fatherland

15) The Story of Documentary Film

Other possibilities: Yellow Letters, Rose, Alpha Gang, The Unknown, Sense and Sensibility.

WHO'S GOT WHAT-DISTRIBUTORS-AMAZON-MGM AND SEARCHLIGHT

We're continuing to look at distribution companies that have a robust presence at Telluride over the last five years.  Today we look at both Amazon-MGM and then Searchlight.

AMAZON-MGM

Here are films distributed by Amazon-MGM at Telluride the last five fests:

2021: Encounter

2022: Wildcat, Goodnight Oppy

2023: Saltburn, Cassandro

2024: Nickel Boys

2025: Man on the Run

 WHO'S GOT WHAT? DISTRIBUTORS-SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

Cinema/Chicago is proud to announce that we’ve received a 2026 Philanthropy Award from the Make It Better Foundation! We’re so grateful to MIBF for their generous support – and to have our programming and impact recognized alongside so many inspiring Chicago nonprofits and arts organizations.

The Make It Better Foundation’s annual Philanthropy Awards spotlight organizations that meet the highest standards of excellence, leadership, scalability, and impact. Each recipient is rigorously vetted by a panel of experts and selected for their contributions in making Chicago – and the world – a better place.[…]

The post Proud to be a 2026 Make It Better Foundation Philanthropy Award recipient appeared first on Cinema Chicago.

The winners of the IFFR Pro Awards were announced for 2026 in a ceremony held at ‘de Doelen’ on Wednesday 4 February. The IFFR Pro Awards celebrate outstanding projects from the CineMart, Darkroom, Lightroom and Safe Harbour selections, recognising bold artistic vision, innovation and international collaboration at different stages of development.

The winners were selected from the 21 projects for the 43rd edition of CineMart, alongside 10 projects for the work-in-progress platform Darkroom, nine immersive media projects under IFFR’s new industry platform for immersive storytelling Lightroom, and the four projects from Safe Harbour – the new market programme intended to uplift projects in development from emerging filmmakers who have experienced displacement or forced migration and who face limited access to professional networks, funding pathways and development opportunities. The Safe Harbour initiative has been developed in collaboration with the International Emerging Film Talent Fund (IEFTF).

Head of IFFR Pro, Marten Rabarts, said: “As our latest edition of IFFR Pro draws to a close, the breadth and evolution of this year’s programme was a true reflection of our commitment to meeting filmmakers’ shifting needs. This was echoed throughout the programme with the launch of Safe Harbour, Lightroom, CineMart x HBF and the Creators Lab, as well as our CineMart and Darkroom lineups which were stronger and more essential than ever. Tonight it was a privilege to come together and celebrate all the market projects, including the winners, each of which has gained remarkable momentum over the past few days – and to round out another powerful edition of IFFR Pro that has sparked connections, unlocked new partnerships and propelled projects closer to a life on the screen and beyond.”

The IFFR Pro Industry Days officially concluded on Wednesday 4 February, following a programme of initiatives including CineMart and Darkroom, alongside Safe Harbour, expanding Rotterdam Producers Lab with a new Creators Lab for writers and directors, piloting of the Dutch Talent Market on Sunday 1 February, and welcoming the first HBF Reunion at the festival. 

The Pro Hub provided a meeting place, networking environment and hive of knowledge for the whole filmmaking and professional community at the festival, programming Pro Dialogues exploring topics that resonate directly with the programme – from Asian genre cinema and African independent film to putting sex on screen and contemporary Arab filmmaking – alongside priceless Meet the Experts sessions, Pro Encounters networking roundtables with festival programmers, Pitch Out! opportunities and one-to-one mentor meetings with industry insiders.

Additionally, IFFR’s Art Directions programme celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. To mark the milestone, IFFR Pro launched Lightroom – a new industry programme for immersive work hosted at Katoenhuis, featuring a project market and the Reality Check: Lightroom symposium on 31 January. The symposium brought together artists, producers, curators, technologists, funders and policymakers to explore how immersive storytelling can move from experimentation towards sustainable artistic and industry frameworks. 

The discussion highlighted three key challenges: defining “immersive” to set clear expectations and open institutional pathways; building community and collaboration across disciplines despite limited reach and distribution; and ensuring sustainability through proper documentation, archiving and shared resources to preserve XR&rsqu