The 18th edition of the RIFF River Film Festival was presented in Padua and at the 77th Film festival of Cannes on May 24th.

During the two presentation at the Italian Pavillion, Hotel Majestic in Cannes there were two video messages, the first by Romina Zanon artistic director of the RIFF and the second by Oscar winner Ruby Yang from the University of Hong Kong. The link with Hong Kong continues President of the Jury German director Uli Gaulke, Professor at Hong University and juror Christine from Hang Seng University.

Fourteen evenings of screenings for over one hundred short films from all over the world in competition. Eight days of special events. The twinning with Veneto festivals is born.

RiFF comes of age! With its eighteenth edition (from 29 May to 16 June 2024), once again this year the Padua River Film Festival celebrates international independent short films and showcases new talents on the contemporary audiovisual scene, with a special focus on emerging cinema and on social and environmental issues.

Under the banner of the values on which it has always been founded – creativity, freedom, dialogue, inclusiveness and internationalism – in 2024 RiFF will once again pay homage to international short films in the unique setting of Porta Portello and its steps, on its floating screen anchored to the bank of the Piovego river.

Organised by the cultural association Researching Movie, supported by the Municipality of Padua – Department of Culture, the Veneto Region, the Ministry of Culture and sponsored by the University of Padua, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, RiFF 2024 will be on stage with eight days of special events (from 29 May to 2 June, 5, 11 and 15 June) and fourteen evenings dedicated to the competition, divided into the different sections that will see 109 short films from all over Europe and the rest of the world competing in the various categories (from 3 to 16 June).

Full festival programme, days and times of special events at https://riverfilmfestival.org/edizione-2024/

The 2024 Festival will close with the awards ceremony on Sunday 16 June.

Henry Borzi