ZubrOffka Film Festival

ZubrOFFka – the film meeting of East and West The 9th edition of International Short Film Festival ZubrOFFka is going to take place in December, 2014. It is organized in Bialystok since 2006. Through all these years the festival has evolved greatly – from small, intimate events to one of the most important short film festivals in Poland. It has become a platform for the exchange of modern ideas and thoughts, which makes creative meetings of artists from East and West possible. During the festival, several dozens of films, selected from hundreds from around the world, compete in five contests. In the category of Window to the East films from Central and Eastern Europe are shown, in section The Whole World – works by artists from other parts of the globe. Polish filmmakers contend in categories: Amateur, Students and Independent. Among the filmmakers taking part in competitions jury chooses winners of awards, including the most important, namely GRAND PRIX Festival award of 2,000 euro. The award is also an opportunity for the global distribution of the chosen film by ShortsTV. ZubrOFFka, which lasts about a week, is not only about the film competition. During the festival, usually for the first time in Poland, there is a chance to encounter the most interesting movie phenomena, promising film talents and a lot of underestimated national cinematography. Viewers can take short ‘film travels’ around the world. Last year the movies from England, Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovakia, Russia, the United States, and even the Caribbean were screened. The program included special film events, as Animated Documentary Movies, Faces of Islam, Short nominations for the Oscars, the Midnight Shorts, Legends of Old Prague or Dutch films for children. ZubrOFFka abounds in workshops (i.a. film and journalistic), comics and photography exhibitions, meetings with artists, discussion panels and concerts. During the festival, Bialystok was visited by a significant number of filmmakers, musicians, photographers, together with audience from Poland and all over the world (including Romania, Israel, Iceland, Estonia, Germany, Slovenia, Serbia, Portugal). Each edition of the festival attracted an average of several thousand spectators. The event is organized by Bialystok Cultural Centre – Film Discussion Club DKF ‘GAG’. The festival is funded from the budget of the City of Bialystok.