Short Films, Long Amazement – at the 27th Hamburg International Short Film Festival


The first films shown to amazed audiences on fairs and during vaudeville shows all had one thing in common: They were short. Likewise, many early attempts at film making, in which directors develop concepts and ideas for future features, are quite often rather short as well. Even though the short film started because of technical limitations, it is now offering impressive opportunities: There is hardly any other medium that offers as much space for new, daring and boundless views as the short film. And since it never fails at delivering marvels and surprises, we will be bringing short films into Hamburg's cinemas for a week.

In order to do justice to the diversity of contemporary short film productions, our selection panels screened approximately 4.500 submissions from more than 70 countries. Eventually, they came up with a selection of the 200 best films, which will be shown in the competitions.

You can find further information regarding the festival, the venues, the competitions and the prize money in the press release “Festival Information” in the attachment.

Furthermore, our seven special programmes will give an overview of the exciting past and the diverse presence of short films:
Sweden's dazzling film scene receives a closer look in this year's Country Focus. The collector Manuel de Santaren presents contemporary trends of the American video arts scene. Stephan Drößler, director of the Munich Film Museum, takes us on a journey through the History of 3D Film. Animal in Film – A cinematographic Bestiary examines the multi-layered relations between human beings and animals and their impact on film since it’s beginnings. The Early Works programme goes on a treasure hunt for early gems by famous directors of feature films and other artists. The programme Man-Machine addresses the hybrid interaction of sound and film. And in our new series My Evening with... we invite a guest to shape the programme with his own films and stories. The first edition will be hosted by the director Vincent Moon. He brings the films of his “Take Away Show” project in which musicians perform at unusual places.
You can find detailed information in the attached press release “Special Programmes”.


Our festival centre called “Meisterwerkstatt” on Friedensallee 128, 800 meters from the Zeisehallen, is unique in all respects. The heart of the festival will be beating on the previously culturally unused area of the former Kolbenschmidt factory. During the day film makers and members of the audience can mingle at the info counter, the film market, the Festival Café, one of the many workshops or in the sun. We will screen short films out in the open and in the cafeteria. And in the evenings, you will get the chance to engage in stimulating debates or lose yourself on the dance floor at the festival club. This way, all festival activities beyond the cinemas are focused in one location.
You can find further information regarding the festival centre in the attached press release “Festival Centre”.


Side by side with the Hamburg International Short Film Festival, the 13th Mo&Friese Children's Short Film Festival will once again celebrate film art from 5 June to 12 June. The young and old audiences can chose between ten programmes with 50 shorts from 25 countries. You can find the whole programme and further information at: http://www.moundfriese.de/index.php?id=1886&L=1


Graphical Material / Interview Partners
Our Logo, this year's poster motif and stills from selected films are available in printable resolution at: http://festival.shortfilm.com/index.php?id=pressebilder&L=1

If you are interested, we would gladly send you our Press DVD on which you will find a compilation of short film highlights from this year's competitions and special programmes.

If you need film material for a report on TV or the Internet, please refer to our contact information at the end of this mail. The administrative director Sven Schwarz, the artistic director Birgit Glombitza, the Short Film Agency's managing director Alexandra Grammatke or the curators of the special programmes are all available for interviews. We can also help you to get in touch with the attending filmmakers during the festival.