#PanelTalk | When the Impact is the Aesthetic | Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival

European short film culture often treats impact as an added value; Indigenous filmmaking has long treated it as a core artistic principle. With the Indigenous Cinema Alliance (ICA) represented at the European Short Film Market in Clermont-Ferrand for the first time, this panel discussion looked into how impact-first approaches that underscore Indigenous-led short films—whether political, social, or otherwise—often sit in contrast to the aesthetic expectations and eurocentric views of what defines quality, which in turn underpins the decision-making of European and international festivals. How can impact-driven short films that connect with the pressing realities of global inequity, violence, extraction, social struggles, and climate emergencies move beyond the beaten paths of racial equity discourse, and what responsibilities do festivals, markets, and programmers carry in expanding how artistic value and curation are defined? A panel talk organised by Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in collaboration with Indigenous Cinema Alliance and Talking Shorts, and moderated by Anishinaabe producer, programmer and curator Jason Ryle (TIFF), with the participation of Filipino filmmaker Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan (Vox Humana), Tłı̨chǫ Dené filmmaker Sadetło Scott, and mixed-heritage artist Tracy Rector (4th World Media). Hosted by Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, in collaboration with Indigenous Cinema Alliance and Talking Shorts.