BOF: Int. Short Film Festival Oberhausen

IONCINEMA.com presents: Best of Fests
53rd International Short Film Festival Oberhausen

When: May 3rd to 8th, 2007
Counting Down:
Where: Oberhausen, Germany
Official Website: http://www.kurzfilmtage.de/

What: In the course of more than five decades, the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen has become one of the world's most respected film events – a place where filmmakers and artists such as Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Roman Polanski, Alexander Kluge and Werner Herzog, and more recently Ulrike Ottinger, Romuald Karmakar, Pipilotti Rist, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and François Ozon have presented their first films. Up until today, the Festival continues its tradition of launching up and coming filmmakers and setting trends – whether it's the early recognition of short videos, the support of music videos, the exploration of new digital formats or its openness for the interaction between art and the short form. Due to its unconventional view of short film, the Festival has always been very successful in resisting being pinned down to a certain image. It has nevertheless managed to instigate various political and aesthetical developments, for instance through the Oberhausener Manifest, perhaps the most important group document in the history of German film. Careful programming and a pioneering choice of subjects has helped the Festival to build up its exclusive position in an increasingly unpredictable market.

Accreditation: Academy Award ® accreditation, FIAPF

Sections: The four competitions, featuring some 140 new films and videos from all around the world attract television programme editors as well as curators, festival representatives and journalists. The main award at the festival is the 7,500 € Grand Prize of the City of Oberhausen that goes to the winner of the International Competition. International candidates also vie for other prizes, such as the ARTE Award for a European short film, with 2,500 € in prize money. German entries have a chance to be chosen as best entry in the German Competition (5,000 €) or to capture the 3sat Promotional Award, along with 2,500 €, for a work that shows viewers a new way of looking at things.

Samples: TBA

Winners: TBA