The 27th Munich International Festival of Film Schools will be kicked off on November 17 & 18 with the special program "All human beings are born free and equal". The Goethe-Institut and the Remembrance and Future Fund held a film competition for film students on Human Rights. Students from film academies and colleges of art have tackled the First Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and developed concepts for short films. The juries in ten countries have chosen 47 projects for realisation. The juries of the various countries selected three prize-winning films which will be presented in November 2007 during the International Festival of Film Schools in Munich as world premieres. The winners from the ten participating countries will receive their awards at the festival's opening night ceremony on November 18 in the ARRI movie theater.

The opening night film – a world premiere as well – is THE LORD OF EDESSA by Tim Trachte (Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München). Reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith, the film dissects a fatal love triangle.

This year's jury president is the internationally acclaimed regarded director of photography, Michael Ballhaus - the cameraman on over a 100 films, including 15 of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's greatest successes. For over 25 years, Ballhaus has been one of the most sought after cinematographers in Hollywood and has worked with the best: Francis Ford Coppola (BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA), Robert Redford (QUIZ SHOW), Barry Levinson (SLEEPERS), James L. Brooks (BROADCAST NEWS), Irwin Winkler (GUILTY BY SUSPICION), Mike Nichols (PRIMARY COLORS) and, of course, Martin Scorsese, with whom he has worked time and time again. With Michael Ballhaus in the jury:
Talya Lavie (last year's Best Film winner / Israel), Esin Kücüktepepinar (film journalist / Turkey), Till Nowak (animation artist / Mainz) and Mathias Lösel (producer / Munich).
The Award Ceremony will take place on November 24 in the Gloria-Palast. A total of ten prizes worth roughly € 50,000 will be awarded to the winning films.