The BOO International Short Film Festival was created by the merging of two international film festivals: ELBE DOCK and Young Film Fest.

BOO’s  dramaturgy is based on a selection of films from the most prestigious film festivals (Cannes, Venice, Locarno, Clermont-Ferrand, Berlinale, Sundance, Toronto, Oscar nominations), but also gives space to emerging talents. An important part of the festival is its industry programme focused on short films and audiovisual education.

Short films have the chance to compete in six competitions. The European BOO and Czech-German BOO competitions build on the tradition of the ELBE DOCK festival, where the Czech-German program held a special place alongside the pan-European program. In other competitions, decisions are made by specially selected groups of viewers who participate in intensive audience development programs at the festival. In mini BOO, these are young participants aged 4 to 8; in 12+BOO, viewers aged 12 to 14; in 15+BOO, students aged 15 to 19; and in BOO for the Elder and Wiser, participants aged 60 and older.

What makes BOO different from other film festivals? First of all, its approach to the audience, which tries to involve them as much as possible and actively lead them to an open dialogue, while also placing great emphasis on the peer-to-peer method, which consists in sharing experiences between members of the same age or professional group.

Another area where BOO excels is its international industry part, which features a rich programme focused on short films and, above all, audiovisual education and examples of best practices from abroad. Every year, you can look forward to a wide range of topics from the worlds of audiovisual education and short films, presented by leading experts from across Europe.