[Commlist] 4th In the palace ISFF Conference

4th IN THE PALACE ISFF Conference

The Short Film at the Threshold of Emotions: Narratives, Audiences and 
Public Space

28-29 June 2025


IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival

Pernik, Bulgaria


For more than thirty years Eastern European and Balkan citizens and 
states were projected towards integration into the EU and NATO with the 
hope that they would eventually achieve steady economic prosperity and 
political security. Тhis expectation, however, has faded away as social 
inequalities, now at unprecedented levels, and divisive political trends 
have shaken transnational loyalties and blurred conceptions of 
"democracy". The conflicts in Ukraine and in the Mediterranean region 
have crumbled our previous certainties, generating a race to rearmament.

In these uncertain times, emotions might serve as a major tool for 
political mobilization. The aim of this conference is to explore short 
films through the study of emotions. In particular we're interested in 
investigating how anxiety, fear, compassion, love and other affective 
registers shape short film narratives, characters, settings and 
intersubjective relations. We also pay attention to the way in which 
short film practitioners use emotion to engage viewers. Since the 
beginning of the past century, cinema has been used as a tool for the 
construction of borders that divide people into nations and races (Mosse 
2021). Sara Ahmed (2014) has argued that feelings of hate, love and fear 
are essential for the creation of boundaries between the self and others 
that characterize national and transnational communities in the 
contemporary world.

Our goal is to open a reflection on how short films navigate the 
politics of emotion and thereby contribute in shaping "affective 
communities" (Hutchinson 2016; Gandhi 2006). In particular, we look for 
contributions that examine how short films tackle the ways in which 
minorities are stigmatized as catalysts for public anxieties (Bilgiç 
2018). We welcome analyses of short films that deal with the 
representation of aggressiveness and practices of shaming and 
humiliation in the relations between states and communities (Fattah, 
Fierke 2009). In analogy to other social artifacts, emotions are not 
"natural" sensations, but they undergo a process of construction and 
circulation that reflects Western colonial thought (Hutchinson, Bleiker, 
Bourne, Hoang, 2024). The conference welcomes research on short films 
that deal with sentiments of disillusion with independence and 
democracy, and desires for empire (Said 1994).


Alongside the social and political implications of emotions in short 
film, the conference is also interested in analyzing how cinematic 
affects intertwine with technological sentimentalization, in particular 
the “economy of attention” and its effect on our capacity to perceive 
and generate feelings. How does the economy of attention affect the 
field of short film, its processes and the relationship with audiences? 
Does it influence the emotional relationships between creator, film and 
audience? Do filmmakers using the medium of short film outwit its diktat 
and to what extent? We believe in the urgent need for digital literacy, 
providing citizens with tools the information to think critically about 
challenges related to the digital world.

Our focus is on the cinemas of the Balkans, Eastern and Southern Europe, 
but contributions on other geographical areas are also welcome. We seek 
papers that analyze the ways in which short films position themselves 
within the affective spectrum of social and political tensions. We would 
like to explore films in different genres such as  documentary, 
experimental, noir, war, sci-fi, horror, comedy, erotic, pornographic 
and exploitation. We also welcome contributions on the use of emotions 
in videos published on social media and other Internet platforms 
diffusing news and political ideas.

We encourage entries on the following specific topics:


●How do short films, social media videos and useful films address 
collective fear, an-guish, aggression and violence?

●In what ways does addressing a specific issue predetermine a film's 
audio-visual style?

●How do short films narrativize emotions?

●In what ways do past and present political and ecological crises 
condition short film narratives, production, distribution and programming?

●How do short films and social media videos navigate and negotiate 
processes of oth-ering?

●How does the distinction between specific present audiences and 
projected future audiences determine creative choices?

●How is otherness addressed in popular education through short films and 
in cinema education?

●What role do short films play in producing emotion as a tool for 
learning in the social sciences?

●Short films addressing entangled colonial heritage.


Artistic contributions:We also invite proposals for artistic 
contributions from practitioners/researchers working on any of the above 
themes. Artistic research formats include but are not limited to 
workshops, films, performative lectures or interventions, video essays, 
and found footage assemblages. Please note that complex technical 
assistance cannot be provided.


Presentation Formats & Rules


■Application documents


-Paper Abstract (Choice 1)

250-300 words. The proposal should state the issue, questions, methods 
and approaches, and at least 3 keywords.

-Artistic Research Proposal (Choice 2)

300-400 words. The proposal should outline the work's relevance to 
conference themes.

-Author’s Biography

A short professional biography, 50-70 words.


■Conference Formats


Paper Presentation:20 minutes.


Screening Session: A screening of up to 40 minutes followed by 20 
minutes of discussion.

Artistic Contribution:Exact format of the presentation to be discussed 
depending on the nature of the contribution.


All documents must be sent in English.


Conference proceedings will be published in an edited volume after a 
selection and peer review process by the organizers.


Timeline:


Abstract submission deadline: 23 April 2025


Accepted submission notification: 2 May 2025


Conference dates: 28-29 June 2025


Financial matters:

There are no fees for submission or processing.


The conference will be held during the 22nd edition of the IN THE PALACE 
International Short Film Festival on 28 and 29 June 2025. Тhe festival 
will provide 2 days of accommodation in the town of Pernik and a 
financial grant as assistance towards travel expenses. We are willing to 
assist you further in support of your travel applications to other 
institutions.


Conference scientific committee:

Fabio Bego

Nezih Erdogan

Patrícia Nogueira


Conference organization committee:

Fabio Bego

Liliya Kucheva

Nezih Erdogan

Patrícia Nogueira

Rita Capucho

Tsanko Vasilev


For any questions, please contact us (atconference /at/ inthepalace.com) 
<mailto:(conference /at/ inthepalace.com)>


Please submit your proposals via this link:

https://forms.gle/EirqDBFdD92SHKXH9 <https://forms.gle/EirqDBFdD92SHKXH9>


References:

Ahmed, Sara. 2014. The Cultural Politics of Emotions. Edinburgh: 
Edinburgh University Press

Bilgiç, A., 2018. "Migrant Encounters with Neo-Colonial Masculinity: 
Producing European Sovereignty Through Emotions", International Feminist 
Journal of Politics, 4, 542-562

Corib, A., Histoire des émotions. 3, De la fin du XIXe siècle à nos 
jours, Éditions Points / DL 2021

Fattah, K., Fierke, M. K. 2009. "A Clash of Emotions: The Politics of 
Humiliation and Political Violence in the Middle East", European Journal 
of International Relations, 1, 57-93

Gandhi, L., 2006. Affective Communities: Anticolonial Thoughts and the 
Politics of Friendship, Ranikhet: Permanent Black

Hutchinson, E., Bleiker, R., Bourne, J., Hoang, Y. 2024. "Decolonising 
Affect: Emotions and the Politics of Peace", Cooperation and Conflict, 
Online.

Hutchinson, E. 2016. Affective Communities in World Politics: Collective 
Emotions After Trauma, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Laine,T. 2007. Shame and Desire: Emotion, Intersubjectivity, Cinema, 
P.I.E. Peter Lang

Mosse, L. George. 2021. The Fascist Revolution: Toward a General Theory 
of Fascism, Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press

Plamper, J. 2015. The History of Emotions: an Introduction, Oxford 
University Press /

Podalsky, L., 2011. The Politics of Affect and Emotion in Contemporary 
Latin American Cinema: Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico, Palgrave 
Macmillan

Ramsay, D., 2023.  Archives of War: Technology, Emotion and History, 
London: Routledge

Said, W., E. 1994. Culture and Imperialism, New York: Vintage Books

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