These questions shaped the Dealing with the Past programme at the 10th edition of the Drim Short Film Festival, held from 5 to 9 August 2026 in Struga, North Macedonia. Bringing together filmmakers, film professionals, young creatives and audiences, the festival created opportunities to explore how cinema can help us understand the past and its continuing influence on our societies.
The festival presented 42 films across several venues in the city. Within this wider programme, the Dealing with the Past selection featured six short films addressing memory, conflict, history, justice and reconciliation. Through different cinematic approaches and personal perspectives, the films invited audiences to reflect on how experiences of violence and injustice are remembered, represented and passed on.
Screenings at the Park of Poetry provided a setting for encounters between films and audiences, complemented by discussions with filmmakers and guests. Participants connected to I Believe the Portrait Saved Me and Memories of Occupation – Pyrgi were hosted in Struga for three days, creating additional opportunities for exchange and dialogue around the stories presented on screen.
Rather than treating the past as something distant or settled, the programme encouraged audiences to consider how historical experiences continue to shape identities, relationships and public narratives today. Film can make these experiences tangible, bringing personal testimonies and overlooked perspectives into public view. By creating space for different voices and interpretations, cinema can also challenge simplified accounts of history and encourage more attentive engagement with the experiences of others.
The programme extended beyond screenings through the masterclass “Old Habits and New Stories – Writing Cinema in the World We Live In,” led by Massimiliano Nardulli at Europe House Struga. The session explored how contemporary cinema can respond to conflict, difficult histories and social change, highlighting the importance of storytelling in engaging with the world we inhabit.
By bringing together artistic expression, critical reflection and public discussion, Drim Short Film Festival offered a space in which audiences could approach the past from different perspectives. These encounters do not necessarily resolve disagreements or provide definitive answers. Instead, they can help create the conditions for listening, questioning established narratives and acknowledging experiences that might otherwise remain unheard.
Supported by Pro Peace North Macedonia, the Dealing with the Past programme reflects a broader commitment to addressing exclusionary narratives and fostering dialogue through art, culture and public engagement. In this context, film becomes more than a medium for telling stories: it becomes a means of examining how societies remember, how they relate to difficult histories, and how they imagine possibilities for living together.
Through its 10th edition, Drim Short Film Festival reaffirmed the value of bringing cinema into public spaces and connecting local audiences with regional and international filmmakers. By opening room for reflection and exchange, the festival demonstrated how cultural platforms can contribute to a more critical and inclusive engagement with the past—and to the ongoing work of reconciliation in the present.
