‘You can say a lot in a short amount of time,’ says Eileen Arandiga, director of the CFC’s Worldwide Short Film Festival. And apparently she’s not the only one who believes that — the lineup outside Toronto’s Bloor Cinema for the fete’s opening gala on Tuesday night reached around the block as the festival pulled back the curtain on its 15th edition.

The seven international shorts did not disappoint.

The animated Skhizein from France, written and directed by Jeremy Clapin, masterfully explored the question of what it means to be ‘beside oneself’ after being hit by a 150-ton meteorite; while the U.K.’s heartwarming Gone Fishing blurred the line between life and death as a man makes good on his promise to take an old friend fishing.

The audience also adored Canada’s Next Floor, the Denis Villeneuve short that has already screened at over 100 festivals, about a group of dinner guests gorging themselves on a gory smorgasbord — until the floor gives way. ‘I think people will watch it in a hundred years as a reflection of the time we live in,’ said documentary filmmaker Robin McKenna at the after-party.

‘This was fabulous… a very wonderful display of talent,’ agreed producer Pierre Sarrazin.

Speaking to Playback Daily after the screening, Canadian Film Centre founder Norman Jewison summed up the appeal of short films. ‘I believe the intensity on the screen in a short film is so much more exciting than many long features. And with so many screens in the world, on airlines, phones, short films really have a place in our lives,’ he said.

This year’s festival includes 295 films from 46 countries and is expected to draw over 400 buyers, distributors and other delegates. Almost 4,000 shorts are part of the festival’s marketplace. The WSFF runs to June 21.