The initiative is the result of a partnership between Curtas Metragens – Cooperativa de Produção Cultural and the Foundation ”la Caixa”, forming part of a shared strategy to promote cinematic heritage, contemporary filmmaking, and wider access to culture. For more than three decades, the Cooperative has developed an extensive network of Portuguese and International partnerships, collaborating with organisations such as the Portuguese Film Institute (ICA), Creative Europe MEDIA, the Institut Français, Swiss Films, among many others. These collaborations have helped establish Curtas Vila do Conde as one of the leading international festivals dedicated to short films while bringing some of the most important names in contemporary cinema to Portugal.

The collaboration with the Foundation ”la Caixa” marks a new step in this trajectory, expanding the international reach of the festival's programme and making a range of exclusive content available to new audiences. The longstanding relationship that the Cooperative has maintained with Spain — reflected in the activities of Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival, the Agência – Portuguese Short Film Agency, and Solar – Cinematic Art Gallery — now finds a new expression through this partnership.

One of the project's main highlights is the launch of a series of original interviews with filmmakers, artists, and musicians invited to Curtas Vila do Conde. Featured participants include American filmmaker Whit Stillman, composer and pianist John Carroll Kirby, filmmaker Maureen Fazendeiro, musician and artist Lee Ranaldo, and Portuguese animation filmmaker Regina Pessoa. These conversations offer an in-depth insight into the creative journeys of these artists and their relationship with the festival.

Coinciding with the opening of the 34th edition of Curtas Vila do Conde on July 17th, CaixaForum+ will also present a selection of ten short films screened at the festival's 2023, 2024, and 2025 editions. Most of these films will make their exclusive streaming debut on the platform, where they will remain available for one year.

The animation selection includes As If the Earth Had Swallowed Them (Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado) by Natalia León, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and Percebes by Laura Gonçalves and Alexandra Ramires, a film that follows the life cycle of the goose barnacle against the backdrop of Portugal's Algarve coast.

The fiction programme features 2720 by Basil da Cunha, Even Thought It's Night (Aunque es de noche) by Guillermo Galoe, winner of the Goya Award for Best Fiction Short Film, Human Nature (Naturaleza Humana) by Mónica Lima, and The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent by Nebojša Slijepčević, winner of the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival and nominated for the Academy Award in the same category.

The documentary selection brings together four acclaimed works from the international festival circuit: Being John Smith by British filmmaker John Smith; Man Number 4 by Miranda Pennell; Southern Brides (Las Novias del Sur) by Elena López Riera, winner of the César Award for Best Documentary Short Film; and Daria's Night Flowers by Iranian filmmaker Maryam Tafakory, a cinematic essay that weaves together images, literature, and memory to reflect on desire, patriarchal violence, and censorship.