The Norwegian short film festival in Grimstad (June 14-19) is coming under fire locally for having snubbed Norway's only official Cannes competition entry this year, Jens Lien's one minute short Natural Glasses.

Festival officials have answered the criticism by urging the directors of the films refused to still bring their shorts and screen them after midnight.

Even though Norway only produces around ten features per year, the number of short films is increasing. A record number of 333 Norwegian shorts have been submitted for the festival, but only 66 of them will be screened during the event, now in its 24th year. This year's festival will be opened by Norway's minister of culture, Ellen Horn, who also performs in Nightcap, one of the shorts that did make it into the final selection.

Medium- and feature-length documentaries will also be shown - among this year's premieres are Alain Berliner's The Sweetest Sound and Pelle Polis and Beauty Will Save The World by veteran Swedish directors Pal Hollender and Stefan Jarl.

Guests include Harald Zwart, who made his Hollywood directorial debut earlier this year with One Night At McCool's. Zwart's first shorts were screened at Grimstad.