iShorts programmer Petr Horak

Petr Horak, present at the film market at this year’s Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival, represented iShorts, an ambitious and growing structure promoting Czech films. We caught up with him at the market.

Tell us a bit more about iShorts.

iShorts is a nonprofit organization. We have been trying to promote short films, especially Czech short films, for the past 6 years. Our main project is iShorts screening. A project that screening a variety of short films from around the world at the Bio Oko Art Cinema in Prague, Czech Republic. A project that has been highly successful and has drawn audiences from around the world.

Are you presenting any films at the festival?

None this year. We are seeking short films from around the World to screen at iShorts.

What are the backgrounds of the various members of the team?

We are students. iShorts is a student project. I established this project 6 years ago when I studied at Film college in Pisek. I shot my final short film and I wanted to show it to an audience but I realized that I didn’t have a place where I could to screen it.

Did you benefit from any funding, public or private?

It is difficult to fund our project because iShorts is not a film festival. Fortunately we were successful and we got a grant from our capital city Prague. There are some private companies that they help us run our project for example with graphic design and printing our posters.

What do you think of the evolution of the short film industry in your country?

I think it is growing. If we are talking about short films. Our big TV channels are helping young filmmakers and students to produce their short films. You can see some short films on our TV nowadays. And we have more short film festivals in the Czech Republic.

Where do you plan to show the films?

We screen short films at the Bio Oko Art Cinema in Prague.

What other plans do you have for the company?

Try to carry on promoting short films. Plan more screenings. Plan screenings of short films not just in Prague but in other cities in the Czech Republic.

More info on http://www.ishorts.eu/. If you wish to contact Petr, drop us a line at abla@mydylarama.org.uk