Anne Gaschütz

No short-film canon is complete without Maya Deren. A pioneer of experimental and avant-garde cinema, she broke the rules of conventional filmmaking and fused choreography, photography, and poetry into pure visual rhythm. A Study in Choreography for Camera may not be her most famous work, but to me it distills all her strengths in under three minutes: the camera tenderly tracing Talley Beatty’s semi-nude body as he dances, turning movement itself into transcendence. I love a good dance scene in a short—so this one naturally speaks to me.

Widely considered the first explicit lesbian film, Barbara Hammer invites us into the sphere of female lovemaking and the sensual exploration of the female body. The first openly lesbian American filmmaker, Hammer’s works have inspired many and shaped generations of queer cinema. "Dyketactics" not only shows us the intimacy between women, it also delves into female desire and lesbian identity while embracing an avant-garde approach to form. Hammer is, quite naturally, a pioneer of queer filmmaking—and a given on this list.

Part of a French TV commission asking seven female directors to answer the question “What is a woman?”, Agnès Varda’s response feels decades ahead of its time. Long before #MeToo, "Women Reply" gives voice to women discussing their bodies, rights and lived realities with clarity and humour. Forty years on, their words might as well have been recorded yesterday. “Our body, our choice” - Varda’s film remains painfully relevant in a world where reproductive rights are being rolled back and where women’s and queer lives, never free from scrutiny, are once again under intensified attack.

Lingford explores the link between sexual desire and warfare, creating a disturbing cycle of recurring images of passion, violence and death. Retelling the biblical story of Judith and Holofernes, she confronts us with female aggression and the erotic charge of power. The film questions nationalism, patriotism and the seductive pull of destruction – asking whether violence can ever lead to peace. Almost three decades later, "Pleasures of War" still feels frighteningly current, forcing us to confront our own belief systems.

This film deserves a place on the list for its title alone, but even more so for the sheer talent that is Susann Maria Hempel. One of the most inventive shorts I’ve ever encountered, this hybrid of documentary and experimental cinema recounts the traumatic biography of a post-1989 East German life. Intricate in detail and unafraid to show us the ugly, it confronts us with a reality we might not want to face. Hempel’s film is both painful and poetic - a testament to an extraordinary filmmaker.

Randa Maroufi’s "Le Park" takes us to an abandoned fairground in Casablanca, where Moroccan youth appear frozen in time. Using a unique technique that holds her characters in still poses while the camera glides through their world, Maroufi creates a haunting tableau of a generation suspended between dream and despair. The stillness of the bodies, paired with the movement of the camera and unsettling audio, reveals deeper layers of social tension and violence. The gaze itself becomes the film’s protagonist. "Le Park" firmly established Maroufi on the international short-film map - an extraordinary artist who absolutely belongs on this list.

Shiva Sadegh Asadi is one of Iran’s most compelling animation filmmakers. Her work dives into womanhood, femininity, abuse and human relationships with poetic darkness. With roots in painting and animation, Asadi creates haunting worlds that mirror the inner turmoil of humankind. "Maned & Macho", to me, is one of her most daring works – a dark, dreamlike tale of a girl confronted by the beasts emerging from her subconscious. It’s an unsettling, deeply symbolic reflection on a woman’s place in society.

I first saw Azul Vazante at Uppsala Short Film Festival and was struck by both its honesty and rawness. A trans woman lies in a hospital bed placed in a public square outside a church in Brazil, visited by her mother while passers-by stare and comment. It’s a painful yet tender film about trans identity, motherhood, and the public gaze - brave, unsettling, and politically charged. Alquéres dismantles narrative convention with confidence, creating something both vulnerable and defiant.

I remember seeing this for the first time in the video library at Winterthur and being completely taken aback - not only by Ushev’s technical mastery, but by the sheer emotional force about to be unleashed on me. A deeply personal account of politics, fatherhood, family, migration and much more, this film struck a powerful chord. I later rewatched it properly in a cinema and could fully take in Ushev’s brilliance - his animation craft and narrative intensity unfolded in full force. Ushev has long been an essential figure in animation and beyond, and could earn a spot here with almost any of his films. For me, it’s this one: the rare short that brought me close to tears, in the best possible way.

I love this film for its unapologetically unconventional approach to storytelling. Fashion designer Selly Raby Kane channels all her playfulness and imagination into this gem from Senegal, set in a small Dakar restaurant that becomes a crossroads for eccentric and compelling characters. With dazzling costume design, offbeat humour, culinary flair and an obvious joy in creation, "Tang Jër" invites us into a world where everyday life becomes surreal and celebratory - a reminder not to take things too seriously.