51st International Short Film Festival Oberhausen

Category

Festival

Year

2005

Institution

Festivalkino Filmpalast Lichtburg, Oberhausen

Comment

"I smoked my first cigarette here. For years, I saw every single film at the Westdeutsche Kurzfilmtage, looking forward to those days in Oberhausen every year . These events were important for me, for my decision to become a filmmaker." Wim Wenders The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, one of the oldest and most renowned film festivals in the world, has always been flexible in dealing with political and aesthetic change, choosing its own standard of quality against which the "short idea on celluloid" is to be measured. A film isn't selected in Oberhausen simply for being well produced. A work must always be judged against its own claim of being something new - regardless of genre, production quality and budget. The decisive factor is a film's position vis-à-vis social reality, cultural differences and aesthetic innovation. TheShort Film Festival presents far more than a mere medley of current short productions. One of the most outstanding features of the Festival is the meticulousness with which its program is compiled. Individual works are thus brought into relation to one another, ideas and trends are elaborated and interaction rendered possible, leading to a refreshingly new short film experience. Today, every imaginable format of moving picture is presented in Oberhausen, covering the entire spectrum of the short form. The short film has long since shed its entertainment or educational function as an opener to the main feature. Instead, it now leads a very lively existence - extending far beyond the confines of the cinema. (Content: kurzfilmtage.de)