HE Aspe Small Film Festival has grown beyond its modest beginnings and now stands as a notable event in its region. Across its first decade of operation the festival has fulfilled its mission to showcase compact, powerful storytelling, and this year it marks that milestone with a lineup of shorter works that is leaner than in prior editions. The volume of submissions did dip during the pandemic years, yet the total number of entries in this cycle held steady, matching or exceeding pre-2020 levels, underscoring sustained creative energy in the shorts field.
In its ongoing phase at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium, the festival runs from Monday through Thursday, with Friday assignments at the Wagner Theatre. The program spotlights several remarkable short films from around the world, including a Special Jury Award winner at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021, Criminals, by Serhat Karaaslan from Turkey, which has garnered a total of 27 international recognitions. This section highlights the festival’s ability to curate prestige-worthy work while celebrating emerging talents, and mirrors the growing appetite for concise cinema in global markets. [Citation]
Compared with the 871 works entered in the previous edition, this year’s competition drew 1,362 short films from diverse regions, with strong participation from Türkiye and Egypt among other nations. The lineup drew from an array of voices, including entries by filmmakers from Holland, Italy, and beyond, reflecting a broad, inclusive approach to short filmmaking. Among the notable participants are Danish projects in the official Pig program and the dynamic energy of other emerging voices, illustrating the festival’s commitment to broad geographic representation. [Citation]
Yet the essence of the festival remains the same: a platform that curates the best short-form cinema from around the world, with a particular emphasis on works produced in the Valencian Community and the province of Alicante. This tenth edition features four Alicantino shorts in the competitive slate, each linked to enduring local storytelling threads. Eternal Life, directed by David Valero, opens the schedule on Monday; Hard Core, by Adem Aliaga, anchors Tuesday; The Kisses I Lost, a piece by Mark Chanca, marks Wednesday; and And Boy, associated with Alex Rey, closes Thursday’s program. The programming strategy balances international breadth with strong regional identity. [Citation]
A still from The Neverending Story, directed by David Valero, accompanies this section of the program.
Other Valencian spotlight selections include Lovers, directed by Joan Vives; African Children, a collaboration with Julio Perez del Campo and Carlos Bover; Mare, featuring Daniel Allue and Josep Cister starring Ana Polvorosa; Shit Therapy, led by Javier Polo; and Anticlimax, a collaboration with Nestor Lopez and Oscar Romero, which has received Málaga recognition and features Manolo Solo and Belén López. The lineup also notes Ana Maria Ferri, a past Best Short Film Script Award winner from the 2020 edition who returns to the festival in this cycle. [Citation]
All screenings are free to the public and seating is capped around five hundred. The festival is known for drawing a loyal audience that returns year after year. One organizer remarked that the early editions often stretched beyond four hours, prompting adjustments as the event matured. The evolution reflects a balance between breadth of coverage and a comfortable attendee experience, maintaining momentum while ensuring accessibility. [Citation]
From Monday through Thursday, screenings begin at 22:00, with Friday programming starting at 20:00 at the Wagner Theatre. That Friday features three local shorts that competed that day: Let’s Get Wind! by Sarah Aguilera; What Cake? by Maria Gonzalez Navarro; and The Prostitute’s Chair by Navarro Seathose, films that showcase the festival’s ongoing commitment to both regional and national talent and to the broader ecosystem that supports festival registration and distribution on dedicated platforms. [Citation]
A poster paying homage to John Ford appears in connection with the tenth edition of the festival.
Following the screenings, the festival culminates in an awards ceremony that honors winning entries across multiple categories. A total prize pool of 2,500 euros is distributed among the jury prize, the public prize, and regional recognitions from the Valencian Community and equality-focused categories, with an additional award for best screenplay. This year’s edition continues the tradition of recognizing excellence in short-form storytelling across creative and social dimensions. [Citation]
Additionally this year, the festival poster commemorates the North American filmmaker John Ford, honoring a legacy that continues to influence short and feature storytelling alike. [Citation]