The competitions are the beating heart of the festival. Besides the European Competition, there are Flemish competitions for fiction, animation and documentary. The ideal chance to find out which young directors will be making it big on the film scene. On Sunday, December 4th, the highly sought after VAF Wildcards will be awarded at the festival!

Popular programmes like Shorts for children, Animation Nations and Virtual Reality return. Immerse yourself in the Labo programme or be amazed by short films from famous directors in Big Names, Short Films.

This year, special attention will be given to Artificial Intelligence, Denmark, our Artists in Focus: Marc James Roels and Veerle Baetens and a wildly fascinating exploration of short film theory in The Yin and Yang of Short Film Storytelling. The Focus on Ukraine talks about the life of the Ukrainian before the invasion.

Series with acclaimed or hailed short films that are a must-see for every film fan: Oscar Shorts, European Film Awards, Peer Awards and the winners of this edition.

During the guest screenings local partners of the festival show their favourites: Canvas, Humo, Kortfilm.be and Sabam. In addition, filmconcerts, a free admission Lounge and many professional activities. Also the official opening and closing can't be missing.