Radio journalist: It seems that almost every city now has its own film festival. This is a good thing – it means more people are watching films, and creates more opportunities for new and young directors, actors and filmmakers. But how can you make your festival different to all the others? One of the answers, it seems, is to specialise. Valentina: There are hundreds of film festivals all over the world now. In Italy, where I live and work, there are at least 20. We decided to make ours different – shorter! Radio journalist: This is Valentina Ricciardi. She is the curator of a festival of short films in Italy. Valentina, why short films? Valentina: Well, there are lots of reasons. Firstly, I think that short films are a very undervalued form. Radio journalist: How do you mean? Valentina: Well, a short film isn’t just a normal film – but shorter, Radio journalist: How is it different? Valentina: Well, so many big films now have so many special effects and famous actors, that they often don’t have a story! We’re not interested in special effects or leading “A-list” actors. None of that matters in a short film.