Germany prides itself in having film festivals dedicated to almost every genre and region in the world. The scene is unique worldwide – and so diverse that one tends to almost lose track of them all. Film critic, Michael Kohler, presents his ten favorite festivals.
German film festivals should actually not really be doing very well at all. Home cinemas are getting bigger, moving images are accessible all the time via smartphone and film history is often just a mouse click away. Nevertheless the opposite is the case – film festivals in Germany are booming, every decent-sized city has one, and you could in fact spend practically all of the year hopping from one of the German film festivals to the next.
So how can this be explained? First of all, film festivals are all the rage at the moment; more and more (short) films are being produced and distributed via more and more channels, without anybody peaking out on them – against this scenario festivals provide orientation. And they offer the audience not only big screens and premieres, but also a feeling of community that cannot be compared with watching a film at a normal cinema. As soon as a film in the cinema is over, the audience usually disperses in all directions, whereas festivals keep the festival goers interested with a variety of attractions. They resemble global villages with guests from all over the world. You might even see a few stars or meet filmmakers, or both, and in Germany there is something to suit almost every taste. There is hardly a niche, region or genre that does not devote itself to at least one festival. Not only is the density of the German film festival scene unique, but also its variety. This is made possible not least by its active promotion by the German federal government, the regional governments of the Länder and the municipalities, which see film festivals as attractive location and tourism factors. Digitisation also plays an important role, because films are much more readily available due to digitisation and the costs, especially for transport and maintenance, are correspondingly lower.
Faced with such a variety of festivals, it is more or less impossible to pick out the most important ten. Some of them are, of course, in a league of their own, such as the Berlinale, the Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen or the Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Films. This trio represents in equal part the long tradition of film festivals in Germany, as well as their internationality. It represents federalism, which promotes culture in the entire country, instead of only in a few centres, and, last but not least, these three festivals, and the history they can look back on, represent the overcoming of the division of Germany.
The other members of the “Top Ten” each have something that sets them apart from the rest: The Filmtage Hof festival is like a family get-together for the German film community, Down Under Berlin is a typical capital start-up, the Fantasy Filmfest a successful fan project and the Filmfest Munich is attractive with its urban flair. One thing, however, that all German festivals have in common – they are open to the general public. Snobbism à la Cannes is alien to them.
Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Berlinale): Founded: 1951. Location: Berlin. When? February. Program: international premieres, art house cinema, film history. Main Prizes: Golden Bear, Silver Bear.
Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen (The Oberhausen Short Film Festival): Film as subversive art
Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen: Founded: 1954. Location: Oberhausen. When? End of April / beginning of May. Program: short films of all kinds. Main prize: Grand Prize of the City of Oberhausen, MuVi Prize for German music videos
Dok Leipzig: Founded: 1955. Location: Leipzig. When? End of October / beginning of November. Program: documentaries, animated films. Main Prizes: Golden Dove, Silver Dove.
Filmfest München/Filmfest in Munich: Founded: 1983. Location: Munich. When? End of June / beginning of July. Program: international cinema, German film. Main Awards: Arri / Osram Award, the “New German Cinema” Sponsorship Award.
Lucas - International Festival for Young Filmlovers: Founded: 1974. Location: Frankfurt / Main. When? End of September / beginning of October. Program: children’s and youth films. Main prize: feature film prize, short film prize.
Fantasy Film Fest: Founded: 1987. Location: diverse. When? August - September. Program: fantasy, horror, thriller. Main Prize: Fresh Blood Award for the Best Debut Film.
Internationales Frauenfilmfestival: two festivals in one
Internationales Frauenfilmfestival: Founded: 2006. Locations: Dortmund / Cologne. When? April. Program: women’s Films, lesbian movies. Main prizes: Best Director Prize, Prize for Best Feature Film Debut.
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