Short Film News - Seventeen films from 15 countries have been selected for the Corto Cortissimo, short film competition at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival, organizers announced Tuesday.

Chosen from the 1100, these films will compete for the Lion for the best short film and the Prix UIP reserved for the best European short film.

South African producer and director Teboho Mahlatsi, winner of the 1999 best short film award, will chair the jury of the Corto Cortissimo section dedicated to short films, which opens Sept. 7.

The jury also includes Italian film editor, Francesca Calvelli and Russian director, Aleksey Fedorchenko, winner of the Orizzonti Doc section in the last edition of the Venice Festival.

"Never more than this year has the Corto Cortissimo section focused on pure intuition and bet on the future, dodging the attraction of noted names, to concentrate exclusively on formal rigor and the striking nature of emotions expressed in just a few minutes,'' organizers said in a release.

Complete list of films in Corto Cortissimo:

Competition

Letters by Ferenc Cako (Hungary)

Comment on freine dans une descente? by Alix Delaporte (France)

The Making of Parts by Daniel Elliott (Great Britain)

Detektive by Andreas GOLDSTEIN (Germany)

Thirty Years by Nicolas Ladnibat (France, Chile)

A longer year by Marco Martins (Portugal)

Mum by Mads Mathiesen (Denmark)

"Faca sua Escolha" by Paulo Miranda (Brazil)

Pharmakon by Ioakim Mylonas (Cyprus)

Rien ne va plus by Katja Pratschke, Gusztav Hamos (Germany)

Propaganda Triplets by Fernando Salem (Argentina)

Road Marks by Shimon Shai (Israel)

Fib 1477 by Lorenzo Sportiello (Italy)

What Does Your Daddy Do? by Martin Stitt (Great Britain)

Eva stays in the cupboard the nights of the full moon by Alex Stockman (Belgium)

In the Eye Abides the Heart by Mary Sweeney (U.S.A)

Adults only by Yeo Joon Han (Malaysia)

Out of Competition

Meogo and the Stick fighter by Teboho Mahlattsi (South Africa)