23rd International Short Film Festival Berlin

This year, the International Short Film Festival ‘interfilm' takes place for the 23rd time, a veritable meeting place for the international short film and video scenes. More than 400 short films and videos will be shown during the six days of the festival and an estimated 100 films will be nominated to compete in the international competition. An international jury will award ‘interfilm Short Awards' worth € 40.000.

COMPETITIONS

International Competition
Approximately 100 contemporary short film productions will compete in 7 programs for the votes by an international jury. Awards will be presented in the categories “Best Film,“ “Best Animation,“ and “Best Fiction.”

Confrontations – Against Violence and Intolerance
The competition section “Confrontations – Against Violence and Intolerance“ is a further addition to the International Competition, with two to three programs. The central theme of “Confrontations” is the worldwide phenomenon of violence and intolerance, and aims to exhibit the many ways filmmakers deal with the resulting complex of problems and possible strategies for a solution.   

Documentary Program - Realities         
The Documentary Competition, with two to three programs, is also international in its scope. This year’s festival focus on the documentary puts extra emphasis on the roundup of unique international realities in this competition.

Audience Competition Eject
All that’s weird and wonderful – Midnight Movie Madness has become an interfilm cult event, and this year it celebrates it’s 10th bizarre birthday! On Friday, 9 November, the Volksbühne audience will choose the strangest of the strange.

German Competition
A juggernaut of German short film. For the fifth consecutive year, this competition provides homegrown productions with their own forum. The three programs will be judged by a special jury, and for the first time the audience will also have a chance to pick their favorite.

Youth and Children’s Competition KUKI
The competition section for children’s short film will be divided into three sections:
Competition Program for Children 6+
Competition Program for Children 8+
Competition Program for Children 10+   

YOUTH AND CHILDREN'S FILM - KUKI       

The Youth and Children’s Film Festival 

“Is this the right place?“ (12+)   
In addition to the 3 regular competition programs for children aged 6-12, and the script and production workshop in which 10-to-12-year-olds get to make their own short film on the subject “Is this the right place? Being Foreign – Being Different”, there will also be youth film program with the same theme. Questions raised are those of immigration, social exclusion and confusion and orientation during puberty.

Documentaries for  Children (10+/12+)         
In keeping with this year’s festival focus on the documentary, interfilm will also include documentary film programs for children. The programs are aimed primarily at school groups, and will be followed by open discussion led by media pedagogues.  

Filmworkshop (10+)                     
200 children from seven Berlin schools wrote impressive stories on the topic “Being Foreign – Being Different.” The winning story will be adapted for the screen in the writing workshop, the finished script will be filmed by and with 10 children during the Fall Break 2007, and presented in the KuKi program on the same topic. The project “Children Making Short Film” is sponsored by interfilm and Bewegliche Ziele e.V. The film will be presented to a broad audience within the festival, and is also a highlight in the KUKI program.

FOCUS ON DOCUMENTARY FILM

Kassel Documentary and Video Festival
Our festival counterparts in Kassel present the best productions from their last festival and sum up the year 2006.

Leipzig Documentary and Animation Film Festival
Leipzig presents animated documentaries: Highlights of three years of ANIMADOK. 

Without Words – Non-Dialogue Documentaries              
The power of images becomes evident in films that document without words.

Jan Peters Special      
This documentary filmmaker presents peculiar treasures from his copious repertoire.

Reality Bites
Films that are challenge the definition of reality, and a classic festival program: a study in the power and manipulability of pictures – not least by the media itself. We present films on the perimeter of the documentary genre. Unreal reality meets the really unreal.

Documentaries for Children (10+/12+)          
See KUKI – Youth and Children’s Film

COUNTRY FOCUS

Romania
The highly diverse and energetic “New Romanian Wave” within the Romanian film scene captures the status quo of a country and snapshots of its population.

South Korea
In recent years, a film landscape has emerged in South Korea – practically from nowhere – that shows enormous potential. Blossoming with innovative energy, the South Korean film scene is currently the most vivacious in Asia. A young generation of filmmakers produces technically brilliant animations and short features which reflect the tensions between traditional forms of thought and modern (city) life.

AROUND THE WORLD

Croatia
Historic animation film – Zagreb School of Animation
New Croatian short film – a selection from the Tabor Short Film Festival

Australia
St. Kilda is Australia’s most important short film festival. In 2007, it took place for the 25th consecutive year. The program includes a small selection of films that were produced in Australia in the last 18 months. All were shown at the St. Kilda Festival early this year, and offer an overview of new productions rather than embody a specific theme.

The Spanish Film Award
Enjoy this exclusive presentation of the winners of the Goya Award for Spanish short film.

Cortitos
Once again this year: Ibero-American short film.

AsiAnima
New animations from Southeast Asia will again be presented in one program.

Metropolises: Films on Paris
Following our New York special last year comes a program featuring Paris. Unique productions offer renderings on the history, lifestyle and distinctive features of this metropolis.

SPECIAL GUESTS

Studio Folimage         
Animation films from the renowned French animation studio in Valence, under the direction of Jacques-Rémy Girerd. The Studio was founded in 1984 and established itself as a specialist in the classic techniques of animation and stop-motion. The distinguishing feature of each film remains the individual approach of the respective directors, which lend the films high artistic quality and unconventional style. Thus, Folimage functions as a polar opposite to the commercial productions typical of large animation studios in the US and Japan.  

European Academy Short Award: Prix UIP
The nominees for the European Short Film Award: For the third year running, interfilm presents the winners of the Prix UIP. Initiated by United International Pictures (UIP) and the European Film Academy (EFA), juries at thirteen European festivals select one film from each, which are then automatically selected for the European Film Award. From these, the 1,600 members of the EFA select the nominees of the European Short Film Award.

Cottbus Film Festival
A selection of Eastern European short films, curated by our festival counterparts in Cottbus.

Quick Flick World
Films that were made in a jiffy by separate teams, under one motto.

Simon Ellis
One of the most active and original short film directors in England displays his creative prowess.

Autour de minuit
Nicolas Schmerkin, editor of the magazine “Cinema Reperages” and founder of the renowned short film production company “Autor de Minuit”, is a frontier runner in animation, experimental and fictional film. His visionary works feature asthetically employed new technologies, outlining his own graphic universe.

INTERFILM EXTRA

Shocking
Films full of suspense and scary effects – the 2007 edition.

Experiments
Experimental films with a narrative impact.
                           
Music Videos
German and international music videos in two programs.

Berlin in 3-D
Meisterstein presents historical photographs animated in to 3-D, offering new perspectives on Berlin.

Clip It                          
Clip It is a collage of music, images and animation. In addition to innovative animated music videos, short films from the industrial and advertising sectors will also be featured. The aim is to create flowing transitions on a visual level, but also to homogenize diverse structures in appearance, narration, sound and technique, while still allowing the unexpected to come alive in the individual clips.
  
DaumenKino
People and places that really exist: Volker Gerling presents his very special form of cinema: the flipbook.

PODIUM DISCUSSIONS

The short documentary as a formal gateway.
What shapes international short documentary film today? How do you produce innovative, in-depth, challenging projects for various platforms? In the age of interactive television, online content, podcasting, IMP test and user-based content, the possibilities for multiple platform use are expanding. What opportunities do these new trends open for the distribution of independent documentary productions, and how will these new developments influence the future of the documentary?

Kids in Docu-Land – The Documentary as a Medium to the World for Children
The documentary sector for youth and children is growing. With television editors, pedagogues and students, we will discuss the new documentary potential as a media agent for authentic explanations of the world, somewhere between the Milka Cow and (till now transfigured) nature show. For example, can the medium of documentary help children understand nature?

EVENTS

Mitte im Glück            
Mon 29.10. – Sun 11.11.
Exhibit/obstacle course between the Babylon and Hackesche Höfe cinemas with Meisterstein’s historic 3-D photos of Berlin.

Festival Opening
Tue  06.11.  00:00
Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
Party from 01:00 at Roter Salon

Festival Lounge
Wed 07.11. –  Sun. 11. 11.
Roter Salon at the Volksbühne
19:00 und 21:00 Special Programs
from 23:00 Festival Lounge
Programs on film curiosities, the newest clips and music videos, and exclusive guests from the media will be presented every evening at Roter Salon. Later, enjoy the comfy Festival Lounge, which acts as a meeting point for filmmakers and visitors alike.

Festival Party
Sat 10.11. from 23:00
103 Club, Falckensteinstr. 47, Berlin-Kreuzberg
A shuttle bus will transport festival visitors from Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte directly to the party. Screen-weary eyes can take a break and dance to international DJ sets and live acts.  

Award Ceremony
Sun 11.11. 19:30
Babylon Berlin:Mitte
Closing Party from 22:00 at Roter Salon