6-10.12.2023 / Białystok

See you in 2021!

See you in 2021!

Ladies and Gentlemen, due to the pandemic, which, unfortunately, does not give up, we are forced to reschedule the 15th edition of the ŻUBROFFKA International Short Film Festival to 2021.
Previously, we had not even considered the possibility that our Festival could only be held online, and the current pandemic situation does not allow us to organize it even in a hybrid version. In addition, this decision was supported by this year’s poster of the Festival (by David Štumpf), in which our bison found itself on the smartphone screen and clearly feels lost, tiny and unhappy there…

Why can’t we and don’t we want to organize the Festival online?
There are a lot of reasons:
– we believe that ŻUBROFFKA online would be just a substitute for our festival, which would be unsatisfactory for anyone, as the festival is based mainly on cordial and sincere meetings of creators, artists, viewers, the festival team, and residents of the city and the region;
– we do not believe that online screenings could even slightly replace the authentic emotions we feel while watching films in the movie theatre and discussing them later;
– we cannot limit the international festival for Polish artists and viewers only;
– we do not want to present a poorer, limited program, especially since – which is completely understandable to us – not all filmmakers agree to show their films online;
– we do not want to deprive ourselves of the joy of hosting you all in Białystok and Podlachia in person;
– the online festival means depriving our city and region of the possibility of real promotion and support for the budgets of larger and smaller entrepreneurs (including hoteliers, owners of pubs, restaurants, shops with souvenirs and regional delicacies…), which would be possible thanks to the presence of well over a hundred guests from Poland and abroad;
– the festival organized on the Internet is also a loss (albeit less tangible) for other entities with whom we have been cooperating well for years in presenting special ŻUBROFFKA screenings (art galleries, universities, schools, cultural centers, cinemas, pubs etc.), as well as for specific people: children, adolescents and seniors, whom we share with love for the cinema during workshops and screenings, and for great volunteers who are the recognizable, reliable and smiling face of ŻUBROFFKA;
– it’s also hard for us to imagine our event without our amazing announcers and friends, wise and talented Jurors coming to us from all over the world, as well as without interesting exhibitions and energetic concerts, which have become a permanent and always very much anticipated element of the festival.
Dear Filmmakers! We love cinema and your job. We are convinced that for this year’s selection we chose great, wise and important films for our competitions. But let’s wait for better times, when we will be able to invite you to Białystok and Podlachia to celebrate your work together with our faithful audience.

At the moment, we cannot announce the new date for our Festival yet, but we will do so as soon as possible. We also hope that it will be the best edition of ŻUBROFFKA.
One thing is for sure: we will definitely meet again!