Valga Hot Shorts film fest back for another spin on Estonian-Latvian border

Valga Hot Shorts (VHS) returns to southern Estonia's twin border city July 3–5, with a packed lineup of more than two dozen short films plus events across town.

With 28 short films from 19 countries on deck, the third edition of Valga Hot Shorts will span stories from around the world while mixing recent work with archival highlights.

This year's main competition is also split into four themed program cassettes — "Challenge Accepted," "Flying Circus," "Sensing the Boundaries" and "Chaos Eternal" — alongside a youth program and a retrospective dedicated to Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki.

VHS program director Johannes Lõhmus says this year's eclectic lineup will take viewers on a journey spanning North America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.

"You end up realizing that ordinary people take hits everywhere," he said. "Better to at least be a bit more prepared for it through film."

Estonian short films in competition this year include Silvia Lorenzi's "Room Number," Matiias Viiking Ojaveski's "Eat, Prey, Bird," Kaspar Jancis' "The Dog" and Katariina Aule's "Breadsong."

Alongside the competition, this year's edition of VHS will include events spread across Estonian-Latvian twin cities of Valga and Valka, capped by a second-day party at the long-closed Säde Hotel.

The jury awarding the Grand Prix "Lõke" prize includes Estonian director Anna Hints, Latvian cinematographer Toms Šķēle and Lithuanian film curator Ona Kotryna Dikavičiūtė.

Now in its third year, Valga Hot Shorts was first launched as part of the Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture program.