About the Festival
INTERFILM Festival
5/11/24 - 10/11/24
5/11/24 - 10/11/24
About the Festival
At 9 Berlin venues interfilm celebrated 400 films from more than 60 countries in more than 50 programs. With 20,000 visitors and 700 accredited guests from all over the world, the festival came to a euphoric close with an exceptional array of winning films. 17 prizes worth 35,000 euros were conferred.
The award for Best Film, endowed with 6000,- Euro by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, went to the intoxicating comedy "How it Feels to be Hungover" by Viktor Hertz from Sweden. Both the award winner of Best Live Action - the refugee tragedy "Dark Chamber" by Otto Banovits (Sweden / Hungary) - and Best Animation - the underwater parable "Plankton" by Gustaf Lindstrom (England) - scored points towards an ®Oscar, because as of this festival edition the winners of these interfilm categories are automatically in the running for a nomination at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles (info below). - All prizes and winners are listed here - and click here for festival impressions.
Once again the KUKI Festival for Children and Youth broke all previous records: 9000 enthusiastic children, teenagers, families and teachers ensured packed cinemas and lively discussions. - All KUKI award winners are listed here
interfilm: Oscar® Qualifying Festival!
2018 kicks-off with a bang! The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles has declared interfilm an Academy Award® Qualifying Festival. As of now, winning films in the categories “Best Fiction” and “Best Animation” in the International Competition of the interfilm festival will automatically be considered to compete for an OSCAR® in the categories "Live Action Short" and "Animated Short Film".
The interfilm Festival thereby joins the ranks of OSCAR® relevant festivals such as the Berlinale, Sundance, Clermont-Ferrand, Annecy, BAFTA, Montreal, Seattle and Tampere just to name a few. Naturally, all further ACADEMY AWARD® criteria must be met.
“This is tremendous news,” exclaims Festival Director Heinz Hermanns, “especially considering our immense passion for extraordinary animation and sharp fiction”. Our colleagues at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg are equally enthusiastic: “We have been delighted by interfilm’s growing success for many years and are proud that they have now too, been acknowledged by Hollywood”, asserts Kirsten Niehuus from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. “Through this qualification, interfilm has been conferred with an OSCAR® of its own”. Even Björn Böhning, Head of the Senate Chancellery of the Federal State of Berlin is thrilled: “My many visits to the festival have led me to become an interfilm fan. It’s great that the ACADEMY is of the same opinion. I’m already looking forward to November!”
And speaking of Oscar®-Shorts: interfilm distribution will show the 2018 nominated shorts in the sections LIVE ACTION and ANIMATION in 2 programs exclusively in German, Austrian and Swiss cinemas. The release date is the 1st of March 2018.
The interfilmers are already gearing up for another round of selection viewing for the 34th International Short Film Festival Berlin, which will be held from November 19 to 25, 2018. The call for entries opens on February 1! - Enter films now!
interfilm Berlin organises the Berlin International Short Film Festival as well as interfilm Short Film Distribution. Established in 1982, the festival has years of experience and a growing number of contacts in the international cultural and short film sectors. This has enabled interfilm to forge ongoing links with several significant institutions and hold frequent, regular events, testifying to the festival’s success at bringing the short film format to an ever wider audience.
interfilm’s goal is to search out skilled and creative filmmakers and bring their work together - presenting them in an international, culturally political framework in order to best facilitate the exchange of imaginative ideas. interfilm offers a wide variety of short live-action, animation and documentaries to enthusiastic audiences who value the short film format in its own right.
interfilm has established itself as one of the most important short film festivals in Europe. It is the second oldest German short film festival (after Oberhausen), and is recognised as the second most significant and oldest international film festival in Berlin after the Berlinale. More than 7.000 films with a maximum running time of 20 minutes are submitted each year. Of those, approximately 500 films are selected and organised into different thematic programs. These include; international, German, animation, documentary and children’s films. 'Focus On' highlights productions from specific countries or regions. Beyond that there are also special sections devoted to areas such as music videos, commercials, experimental films, historical films and retrospectives.
The interfilm distribution portfolio currently comprises around 300 films. We place equal importance on distributing both 90 minute short film programs and individual shorts shown before a feature film. Our films are hired out to cinemas, television stations, cultural institutions and internet platforms. interfilm distribution's DVD sector is continually expanding, mostly for use in public spaces such as subway trains, waiting rooms and on mobile entertainment devices. This format is particularly suited to exploiting extremely short films and interfilm has a great selection at hand.