KURZFILM FESTIVAL HAMBURG

Short, concise, discursive, stimulating, style-forming. The Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg presents the state of the art of the short form and brings together cinema, exhibition, performative works, concerts and discourse. As one of the most renowned and important European short film festivals, Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg has been screening more than 400 films every year that react to the world in loud and sparkling, quiet and poetic, wild and calm ways. This way, selected programmes present the whole range of courageous, experimental and artistic films. Film makers, industry and audiences celebrate the short form together.

THE PROGRAMME

In three great competitions, the International Competition, the German Competition and the Triple Axel, film makers and artists compete for prizes of a value of 15,500€. In the Laboratory of the Present, curated film programmes introduce questions, conditions and commentaries on contemporary issues which are then discussed in the associated discourse format forum with guests. The Archive of the Present presents rare insights into archives and institutions. In addition, there are many other screenings, audiovisual art in open space, performance, open-airs, concerts and parties.

The festival is an exhibition space and a dance floor, it’s both intellect and emotion, and a place for the industry with plenty of space inviting the visitors to stay for a while. Music, art, people, archives and performances turn the festival into a roaring festivity. Come and see – celebrate with us!

THE YOUNG AUDIENCE

The Mo&Friese Junges Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg is a part of the Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg and dedicated to young audiences between the age of 4 and 18. The festival presents several contemporary and relevant short films in its international competition programmes. Film makers, audiences and trade professionals have a chance to get into conversations at several events. Furthermore, film workshops help to familiarize children and young adults with aspects of film making. You can find out more about Mo&Friese here: moundfriese.shortfilm.com: moundfriese.shortfilm.com

THE NUMBERS:

• More than 400 short films from over 40 nations are being screened.
• Among them, over 150 films run in seven competitions.
• The juries and audiences award more than 15.500 € in total prize money.
• Mo&Friese awards prizes worth a total of 3000 €.
• The festival plays host to ca. 200 film makers from over 25 countries in addition to 400 trade visitors.
• Over 15,000 visitors attend roughly 100 programmes and events in six different cinemas, the festival centre and open-air screenings.

COMPETITIONS

All three competitions of the festival feature narrative films, documentaries, hybrid formats, animations, 3D productions and more. The International Competition shows contemporary aesthetics and new narratives. The German Competition features the best from the national short film and film academy scene. The Triple Axel Competition features film of three minutes or less about a specific, annually changing subject.

LABORATORY OF THE PRESENT

The Laboratory of the Present section is conceived as a place for the examination of current issues based on film programmes and discussions. The Forum offers accompanying deepening rounds of talk in which the curators alongside guests from a wide range of fields further engage with the subject in discourses and offer additional context. Subjects of the last years were, among others: “Afrotopia - In the Present Sense”, “Pleasure Rebels - Feminism, Sex, Anarchy”, “The Organic City” and “Germany and the far right”.

ARCHIVE OF THE PRESENT

In the Archive of the Present section, we present film archives and their mental systems, show cinematic treasures and long forgotten pearls. Archives are the foundation of our own understanding and memory space of our presence. Everything that still is will soon be gone and forgotten or, after all, preserved and kept.

OPEN SPACE

At the festival’s Open Space, we are creating an annually changing exhibition situation at the festival centre. Artists who work both in the cinematic and exhibitionary context present their current works here. Artists of the last years: Akram Zaatari, Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca, Helena Wittmann, Nika Son, Alexandre Larose, Paul Spengemann, Mischa Leinkauf & Matthias Wermke, Rainer Kohlberger, Lab Laba Laba Collective and Luftwerk.

MO&FRIESE

For young audiences, the Mo&Friese Junges Kurzfilm Festival presents several contemporary and relevant short films in its international competition programmes for different age brackets between 4 and 18 years.

… MORE

To every festival, we invite a fine selection of distributors who present themselves, their idea, their profile, and their films in Distribution. In Wild Card we present important feature-length films that, in our opinion, do not get enough coverage. And under the umbrella of More Happenings, we present a colorful mix of special screenings, open airs, parties and partner events for example with the Zeise Shortfilm Slam, the Hamburg Animation Club or the Short Film Walks from A Wall is a Screen

International Competition

The Hamburg Short Film Award (3,000 euros) is awarded by a five-member international jury. The Deframed Award (2,000 euros) is awarded by the international jury to a film which deals with reality in a poetic, formal, analytic and unconventional way while ignoring all rules in a pioneering spirit. The Hamburg Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards is awarded by the jury of the International Competition.

German Competition

The Jury Award (2,000 euros) is awarded by a three-member jury.

Audience Award

The Audience Award(1,500 euros) is awarded to a film from the International or the German Competition.

Kodak Film Award

The Kodak Film Award for Best Analog Film (6 x 15m Super 8 or 4 x 30m 16mm film, B&W or Color Negative) is awarded to visual filmmakers who consciously use analog film in their artistic process and creatively use the look and texture of analog film as a stylistic medium in their project.
All projects selected for International and German Competition that have an analog film content of at least 50% in terms of running length are automatically nominated, regardless of the film format used (8, 16mm, 35mm, 65mm).

Triple Axel Competition

The Triple Axel Competition is supported by the Hamburgische Kulturstiftung. The audience award is endowed with 1,000 euros.

ARTE Short Film Award

The competition spanning ARTE Short Film Award consists of the purchase of one film (up to 6,000 euros) and its subsequent screening in the »Kurzschluss« programme by ARTE, the Franco-German cultural TV channel.

Mo&Friese Competitions

The Friese Award is awarded by jurors between the ages of seven and nine for the programs from the age of four and six. The Mo-Prize goes to a film from the programs for ages nine and up, chosen by 10 to 13-year-olds. The NEON Prize is awarded to films by young people aged 12 and over. All three prizes are endowed with 1,000 euros each. In addition, a three-member adult jury selects a film from the 4+, 6+ and 9+ programs for the ECFA Prize of the European Children's Film Association. The award includes a nomination for the “Best European Film for Young Audiences of the Year” in the short film category.