KINO London Short Film Festival unveil a promising line up of 90 short films
by Natalia Albin Legorreta
KINO London Short Film Festival, known for championing emerging voices in film, have unveiled their 2025 line up. The event will take place from August 22 to August 25 exclusively at The Garden Cinema in Holborn and the programme has expanded on last year’s 63 films to a staggering 90 this year.
The BIFA qualifying festival showcases diverse national and international shorts in a variety of different genres and styles by new, independent filmmakers. Their opening gala, which screens their “stand-out” selections, includes Stress Head by Kyle Jon Shephard, Wish You Were Here by Ramzey Sabbagh and Fhuad Braimoh, Nuisance by the Nott Brothers, Hermanos by Rachel McDonald, The Pearl Comb by Ali Cook, What We Wish We Could Be by Luke Shelley, The Viewing by Nick Blake and the world premiere of Frayed by Ben Silver and Nadine Iskandar.
From then, the festival ranges in curatorial themes, including:
Micro-budget and no-budget showcases of short films made with under £2500 in one category and £500 in another category
Intimate Complexity showcases works exploring sex and intimacy, including Olive by Rosie Potts which has already been selected for two other BIFA-qualifying festivals, and the UK premiere of Fuck-a-Fan by Muriel d’Ansembourg, having premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival
Open Minded presents films surrounding mental health, including Contact Hours by Harry Richards (which has already been making some noise for a few months) and Triangle by Péter Engelmann, which was shortlisted for the BAFTA Student Film Awards
Two sets of “Sample Platters”, which include multi-genre curations and include the likes of Decoy by Sarah Nocquet, which was shot in one day with an all women crew, and A Film in Another Language by César Velasco, who was shortlisted for Best New Director by Shots North America in 2022.
Other categories include returning talent to the festival, films produced by KINO and open mic nights where people are invited to bring their own short films to screen.
You can find the full line up and events here.
