Fight for your short!

The Short Film Corner of the Cannes festival gathers over one thousand films from all over the world. The directors have ten days to show their latest work, talk to possible buyers and attract as much attention as possible to their shorts.

In order to better understand how this experience works, we decided to follow young Finnish director Harri J. Rantala, who is presenting his fourth film, Nurmoo, a thirty-minute story about wrestlers who are forced to choose between the sport and their private lives. Being in Cannes is not new for him: all his other works have already participated in the Short Film Corner; which has given him the opportunity to be selected in over thirty festivals.

We followed Harri during the four days of his stay, and he shared his strategies, hopes, and feedback from directors and the public.

Day 1: First impressions

(Number of people having watched his film: 45)

Harri arrives in Cannes full of expectations. After the success of his other films, this is his most expensive production to date, and “the only one in the Short Film Corner that focuses on sport”, he says. Besides, by choosing the city of Nurmo as his backdrop, he intends to keep alive the memory of his hometown, which has been merged with another city and “disappeared”. “People consider me a hero in my hometown”, he affirms. Quite a big responsibility.

Day 2: Wrestlers on the red carpet

(Total number of people having watched his film: 115)

Harri books a first screening in the miniature rooms available at the Short Film Corner. Many possible buyers attend the screening, and at the end he begins to have the first concrete negotiations with a producer in California and with the president of the Saint Petersburg Film Festival. The publicity campaign takes place, with the actors of the film walking around the Croisette and on the red carpet in traditional Finnish wrestling uniforms. Attention is guaranteed, and Harri ends his day with photos and party invitations.

Day 3: “There are the Kaurismaki brothers, and then there’s me”

(Total number of people having watched his film: 200)

“My film is known by everyone now.” Harri arrives with a large smile, confident that the parties and the marketing campaign are working just fine. A second and last screening takes place, and it’s considerably less well-attended than the day before. However, this does not discourage him; since his purpose is mostly to get people talking about Nurmoo rather than actually find immediate buyers. And, in this respect, business is going well: three television channels are talking about him, more photos are taken and more parties are organized. “Cannes is just the beginning”, he reminds us with a smile. Nurmoo has already been invited to festivals, from Scandinavia to Italy.

Day 4: Final results

Harri’s contacts multiply. Producers from Toronto, Houston and Lisbon get in touch with him. Even if no actual deals are made, he considers his work to be over and heads to Monaco for the last day of the trip with his producer and the cast of the film. Has the participation in Cannes this year met his expectations? “Definitely”, he says. Harri reminds us how small the Short Film Corner was five years ago, and states that this is one of the best places to expose such a difficult product as a short film. According to him, the photos and television programs will be enough material to go home and start working on Nurmoo’s career. As far as Harry is concerned, going to the Short Film Corner is satisfying in itself, despite the possible results reached there.

Having followed Harri through these days, we could say his experience seems to match those of the other young directors who walked around the green carpet of the Short Film Corner everyday. Cannes works as a powerful symbolic element for the short film’s career, in a way that being able to present your film there counts just as much as much as the results one may achieve. In its fast progress, the Short Film Corner functions mostly as a showcase to the world than as an actual market; which is already considerably important for a product with such limited commercial potential as a short film.

Bruno Carmelo