The eighth season of the international student film festival SmallShorts concluded in Moscow on May 22 and 24. HSE Art and Design School announced the winners in four categories. At the Pioneer cinema, audiences watched the best works by young filmmakers from 14 countries, and the final day at the TSIKL space turned into a celebration of cinema, quizzes, and live dialogue with curators.
Screening at «Pioner»: Contest Winners on the Big Screen On May 22, the premiere of the 2026 season’s competition program took place at the «Pioner» cinema. Audiences watched the winning films and works recognized by the jury—ranging from intimate dramatic narratives to experimental video and animation.
SmallShorts 2026 Winners
Screen I. Game Film Hong Soyeon, Wind Beyond
Screen II. Documentary Film Elizaveta Neustroeva, «Beyond»
Screen III. Experimental Video and Video Art Elizaveta Chilingarova, N.
Screen IV. Animation Kitman Yong, Open Tour
Screen IV. Animation Uliana Druzhinina, Evgenia Ikonnikova, Ekaterina Potapova, «Everyone Can Be a Fairy»
🏆 Awards and Special Mentions from the Jury
- Nir Shenhav, «Breeze, ” and Leonid London, „Mirzamera“ (game film)
- Olesya Grishakova, „Kladez, ” and Maria Makarova, „my girl“ (documentary film)
- Maryana Slepushkina, „The Last Observer“ (experimental)
- Ulyana Lavor, „Pustyr“ (animation)
The festival jury included experts well-known within the professional community: Film scholar Evgeny Maizel, director Dasha Likhaya, film critics Valeria Kosenko and Alisa Nastrdinova, and curator Andrey Vasilenko.
«CYCLE»: thematic programs, quiz, and film discussion
On May 24th, the festival continued in the «TSIKL» space with three curated programs selected from the longlist:
«Cinema Surfaces» — an investigation into the screen as a material: a veil behind which an image hides, or a plane upon which it presents itself; «Documentary: Nostalgic, Lyric, Vulnerable, Naive» — how universal images emerge through the personal stories of young directors; «Cinema of Mysterious Gestures» — films that engage with mystifications, enigmas, hazy memories, and timeless ideas.
Between screenings, film critic Kostya Skvortsov hosted a movie quiz: viewers recalled facts about Japanese cinema, major animation directors, and other details that test not only knowledge but also cinematic intuition.
The day concluded with an open discussion about the programs with the curator of the HSE Film Club, thisweekwewatch, Sasha Napreenko, and the creators of the works—exploring how young artists view the world and what tools they choose for their narratives.
Over 150 students from 14 countries participated in the 8th SmallShorts. The festival continues to expand: a media platform for film and video, SmallShorts on the mediiia platform, has launched, and it is accepting submissions from writers and authors indefinitely.
Photographs HSE Art and Design School, Evgeniya Savkina