Cinematic peak quality within the festival

An extraordinarily high quality of films was the outstanding characteristic trait of this year’s Ludwigsburg European Short Film Biennale. The Wüstenrot Foundations awarded a total of EUR 52,500.00 to seven films. The surprisingly good reception by the audience and the strong presence of European young talents additionally contributed to the success of the biannual short film festival.
The Ludwigsburg audience was attracted by the quality of the films; during the open air with live music and film presentations in the evening up to 1500 spectators gathered in the yard of the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg. "It was our concept to open the festival and make it more popular. We are glad that we attained surprisingly good success“, the commercial manager of the festival, Mr. Dittmar Lumpp, summed up. All in all public response answered expectations exceedingly, he continued.
The German and European guests attended the branch’s event TONFILM07 and the European Production Day in an especially intense way. The actor Walter Sittler, And.Ypsilon, a member of the band “Die Fantastischen Vier“ and the successful producer Meike Kordes ("Vier Minuten") discussed matters amongst others with filmmakers from Switzerland and Romania. This year, the festival dedicated its focal point to those two countries. "The mix of an extraordinary film program, the lively reception by the audience and the active participation by professionals from the world of film considerably contributed to the festival’s specific atmosphere", commented Mr. Ulrich Wegenast, the festival’s artistic manager.


1st European Short Film Promotion Prize / 15.000 Euro
Herfra Til Manen (To the Moon) / Katja Eyde Jacobsen, Norway
The film transforms a harsh social topic into a touching story of two children who fight for their survival. It makes splendid use of narrative ellipsis to suggest the bitterness of life on the outskirts of society without showing open violence on screen. It is also an example of how a tragic subject can be treated with humor and compassion.

1st Germand Short Film Promotion Prize / 15.000 Euro
Fair Trade / Michael Dreher, Munich, Germany
The film tells a dark and cruel story about the effects of globalization on human beings on both sides of the Gibraltar straight. It is an achieved piece of cinema in every regard, be it the script, the camera, the cast, the guiding of the actors or the editing. The Jury especially honours the director’s eye for the relationship between the characters and the mood of the landscape.

2nd European Short Film Promotion Prize / 7.500 Euro
Lampa cu caciula (The Tube With a Hat) / Radu Jude, Romania
The film is a special kind of a road movie that reflects the love and affection between a father and his seven-year-old son within the story of a journey that they undertake with an old black & white TV set which needs to be repaired. It goes a step back from the Internet age in order to throw a tender look on the simple truths of life that will never change.

2nd German Short Film Promotion Prize / 7.500 Euro
Die gute Lage (The good location) / Nancy Brandt, Munich, Germany
The film treats a simple cinematographic idea with great subtlety. It’s a picture book of everyday life in a Munich suburb that throws an unconvential light on the subject of multiculturalism.

Promotion Prize for special achievements in the field of screenplay / 2.500 Euro
Soft / Simon Ellis, Great Britain / Script: Simon Ellis
The film blends the subject of street violence into a family drama with great ease. The story puts us into a no exit situation where we feel torn between the different choices that the two protagonists make. It involves us emotionally from the first image to the very end.

Promotion Prize for special achievements in the field of cinematography / 2.500 Euro
Podroz (The journey) / Dariusz Glazer, Poland /Camera: Jakub Kijowski, Poland
The film is a convincing example of the great tradition of Polish filmmaking at the University of Lodz. The camera stays at close distance to the main character in order to deliver a compelling study of a young mother who is longing to escape from the miseries of her daily life.

Promotion Prize for special achievements in the field of music and sound design / 2.500 Euro
La leçon de guitare (The Guitar Lesson) / Martin Rit, France / Music: David Rit, France
The Jury gives the sound design award to this film for its atmospheric beauty and the clever combination of live music and playback songs in the sound track. In the film the development of the action goes parallel to the learning process of the protagonist as a guitar player so that you can hear the story as well as see it.


The jury gives a Special Mention for the originality of their artistic vision to
Annem Sinema Ögreniyor (My Mother Learns About Cinema) / Nesimi Yetik, Turkey
and
Du soleil en hiver (Sun in winter) / Samuel Collardey, France


The jury:
Anna Stieblich (actress), Katinka Feistl (director), Andreas Kilb (film journalist), Tudor Giurgiu (director) and Christian Denier (Manager Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand).