2026

ShorTO XR Content Market Showcase

Public Programme. Deserting the Norm: Gramsci, Total Refusal, and Media Guerrilla

The event features a screening of works by the Austrian pseudo-Marxist media-guerrilla collective Total Refusal – including “Hardly Working” (2022), “How to Disappear” (2020), and “World at Stake” (2025) – followed by an open discussion with Fioranna Fontana, researcher at the Istituto Gramsci, to explore the Gramscian concept of cultural hegemony through a contemporary lens. Designed to foster an informal and engaging dialogue with the audience, the format connects critical theory with contemporary mediums.

The initiative officially inaugurates the celebration programme promoted by the Fondazione Istituto Piemontese Antonio Gramsci ETS for the 90th anniversary of Antonio Gramsci’s death, which will feature a rich calendar of events in 2027.

WITH

Robin Klengel, Leonhard Müllner, Michael Stumpf – Total Refusal 

HOST

Carla Vulpiani – Programmer at ShorTO Film Market

LANGUAGE: ENG

Immersive Lounge – ShorTO XR Content Market Showcase

The programme brings together two strands: immersive experiences selected by ShorTO Film Market through the “XR Content” call, presented in a showcase created in collaboration with CTE NEXT, Turin’s House of Emerging Technologies (www.ctenext.it); and a selection of works by students of the Politecnico di Torino’s Master’s degree in Cinema and Digital Media Engineering, produced with the support of the Visionary Media Lab, some of them developed within the European project AVENUE CoVE – ERASMUS+.

Masterclass. The political dimension of narration: Total Refusal

Founded as a Media Guerrilla group, the collective of filmmakers, artists and researchers Total Refusal have conquered a space of prominence within the contemporary artistic panorama, creating sociopolitical video-essays in the form of film, performance and live lecture using mainstream videogames. As Special Guests of ShorTO 2026, thanks to the support of the Forum Austriaco di Cultura in Milan, Total Refusal will dig into their writing and research processes as well as the artistic and technical practice of their machine-animation-cinema creation with social impact.

WITH

Robin Klengel, Leonhard Müllner, Michael Stumpf – Total Refusal 

HOST

Carla Vulpiani – Programmer at ShorTO Film Market

LANGUAGE: ENG

Pitching Session: Road to Euro Connection/Italy 

Pitch session for short film projects in development that already have an established author/producer team and are looking for co-productions. The teams have been selected from the Italian projects that have applied to the European co-production pitching forum Euro Connection. The same selected teams will take part in the programme Talent Connexion in Clermont-Ferrand during the International Short Film Market in February 2027.

HOST

Carla Vulpiani – Programmer at ShorTO Film Market

LANGUAGE: ENG

Pitching Session: Think Outside the Keyframe

Think Outside the Keyframe is ShorTO’s call for projects focused on animation projects. It is dedicated exclusively to two categories of applicants: directors or creative teams composed of a producer and a director, from any country in the world, seeking support for the development or production of an animation project at any stage of development.

HOST

Carla Vulpiani – Programmer at ShorTO Film Market

LANGUAGE: ENG

Panel. Agora EU: the dialogues in progress

The European debate on the support for the audiovisual and cultural sectors is entering a decisive phase with negotiations on the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework. The Irish Presidency’s proposal to reduce the AgoraEU budget from €8.6 to €6 billion (a reduction of around 30%) has raised strong concerns across the sector, underscoring the urgent need for robust, lasting support. Organized in collaboration with Creative Europe Desk Italy MEDIA, this panel offers cultural and audiovisual professionals an overview of the current state of play – illustrating the structure of AgoraEU, analyzing the MFF negotiations, and presenting sector advocacy initiatives to foster a forward-looking discussion on the future of European funds for culture.

WITH

Lucia Dubravay Trautenberger – Managing Director of Animation HUB

Alessandra Gariboldi – President of Culture Action Europe

Simona Martini – Training and Support Manager at Fondazione Fitzcarraldo

Silvia Sandrone – Project Officer, Creative Europe Desk Italy MEDIA – Turin

HOST

Alba Garavet – EUROPE DIRECT TORINO, Metropolitan City of Turin

LANGUAGE: ENG

One-to-one meetings

One-to-one meetings for projects participating in the Road to Euro Connection/Italy and Think Outside the Keyframe pitching sessions.

Panel. Italian Short Film Atlas: i risultati

Il Centro Nazionale del Cortometraggio e Concorto Film Festival, con la consulenza scientifica dell’Università di Bologna (Dipartimento delle Arti), presentano i risultati dell’indagine di “Italian Short Film Atlas – Cultura e industria del cortometraggio in Italia”, un progetto biennale (2025–2026) che ha l’obiettivo di mappare l’attuale ecosistema del cortometraggio nazionale e offrire uno strumento di analisi a supporto delle politiche culturali per il cinema breve in Italia. 

CON
Federico Cadalanu – Dottorando in Cinema, Fotografia e Televisione presso il Dipartimento delle Arti dell’Università di Bologna

Francesca Marchesini – Programmatrice Industry di Concorto Film Festival

MODERA

Alessandro Giorgio – Programmatore di ShorTO Film Market

LANGUAGE: ITA

ShorTO XR Content Market Showcase

The showcase, organized in collaboration with CTE NEXT, Turin’s House of Emerging Technologies (www.ctenext.it), offers accredited attendees a selection of XR projects, open to accredited professionals on November 28, 29, and 30, from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM, at the Circolo dei lettori e delle lettrici, Sala Artisti. CTE NEXT is a project by the City of Turin promoted by the Department for Ecological and Digital Transition, in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Turin and the University of Turin, their incubators I3P and 2i3T, LINKS Foundation, CSI Piemonte, 5T S.r.l., Piemonte Innova Foundation, and CIM4.0.

Pitching Session: You Only Pitch Twice  

International co-production pitch for short films in development. Selected participants have five minutes to present their project to an audience of industry professionals. The projects were selected throughout the year at partner pitching forums: Brussels CoProMarket – Short Film Sessions (Belgium), SFC | Rendez-vous Industry (France), Baltic Pitching Forum (Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia), ShorTS International Film Festival (Italy), Sentiero Film Lab (Italy), Premio Sonego (Italy), and Short Film Forum (Kosovo). The pitching session is preceded by a brief presentation by two representatives of the partner forums from which the projects were selected: Sentiero Film Lab and Premio Sonego.

HOST

Carla Vulpiani – Programmer at ShorTO Film Market

LANGUAGE: ENG

Pitching Session: Almost Famous

For the 11th edition of ShorTO Film Market, the  Italian Short Film Center is launching a new pitching session in collaboration with the distribution company Lights On, which will award a distribution contract prize to one of the projects. Almost Famous is a pitch for short films in the final stages of post-production – with a rough cut or completed and unreleased – seeking distribution deals and festival premieres. Selected participants have five minutes to present their project and an excerpt of the film to an audience of industry professionals. Following the pitching session, participants will take part in a series of one-to-one meetings with Decision-Makers, scheduled by the ShorTO team.

HOST

Carla Vulpiani – Programmer at ShorTO Film Market

LANGUAGE: ENG

Light Lunch sponsored by Lights On

Panel. 8 ½ e Bianco e Nero: leggere il corto nel 2026

Nel 2026 due delle più autorevoli riviste italiane di cinema, 8 ½ (periodico promosso da Cinecittà e dalla Direzione Cinema del Ministero della Cultura) e Bianco e Nero (edita dal Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia), hanno dedicato un numero speciale al cortometraggio contemporaneo. L’incontro offre l’occasione per approfondire i contenuti delle due riviste insieme ai curatori e ad alcuni degli autori.

CON
Simone Bardoni, Direttore artistico di Concorto Film Festival e co-curatore del numero 616 “Il cortometraggio oggi” di Bianco e nero

Nicole Bianchi, giornalista di Cinecittà News e 8 ½

Cristiana Paternò, Direttrice di Cinecittà News e 8 ½

Giulio Sangiorgio, Direttore responsabile di Bianco e nero e co-curatore del numero 616 Il cortometraggio oggi

MODERA

Carlo Griseri, giornalista e critico cinematografico

LANGUAGE: ITA

One-to-One meetings

One-to-one meetings for projects participating in the You Only Pitch Twice and Almost Famous pitching sessions.

Award Toast

Closing Toast in the presence of the Award Partners, who will announce their selections.

Public Programme: SIC@SIC Short Italian Cinema@Settimana Internazionale della Critica

The Italian Short Film Center continues its collaboration with the Venice International Film Critics‘ Week for the promotion of Italian short films by proposing a public screening of the titles in competition at the 10th edition of SIC@SIC (Short Italian Cinema @ International Film Critics’ Week) at the Cinema Lux, in the context of the special screenings proposed by TFI Torino Film Industry.

Dove le lacrime aspettano | directors: Caterina Bertini, Blu Diego Fasoli | CamFilm, BigFish

E-I-E-I-O | director: Noemi Arfuso | Panoramic Studio, Il Varco, Nouvelle Bug

Granchità | director: Anaïs Landriscina, Chiara Toffoletto | Bad Take Film

Gusci | directors: Elisa Chiari, Francesca Trovato | Base Zero

Puca | director: Sara Scalera | Gm Production, Limbo Film, Hubris Pictures, Red Couch Pictures, Eidos Film, 8 Production

Revolver | director: Paoli De Luca | Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Anemone Film

Se mai le cose | director: Giulia Cosentino | Okta Film, Envie de Tempête Productions