699 submissions from 63 countries have been considered for this year‘s competitions, with a selection of 43 films from 22 countries finally emerging. We will shows these films in 16 blocks. This means that our programme has grown a little volume-wise compared to recent years, so there will be late-night screenings on Thursday and Friday. Some of the programme blocks will comprise entries from different genres because we have found over the last few years that it‘s worth bringing different cinematic languages together.
We also have a new prize donor. Our long-time sponsor, the local housing company Eberswalder Wohnungsbau- und Hausverwaltungs-GmbH, will donate an additional €2,000 for the Audience Award in the Animated Films Competition. We are happy about their support and also about all the public and private supporters and sponsors who have kept their faith with us.
Our festival has had a paramount theme for many years – the province. Issues of rural life, the use of resources, coming, going and staying, these are all topics that play a special role in our films. The world often looks different when viewed from the province because its inhabitants have developed special ties to the places they live in and the people they live with. Films that devote attention, love and tenacity to these people mean a lot to our understanding of the world. While the ferocious discussion of big issues evokes the impression of a constant emergency state, such works provide profundity, nuances and reflection. We strive to keep up this kind of complex view on the world, through our film selection process as well as the discussions with filmmakers and the special cultural programmes that accompany the festival.
This year‘s poster theme and design line by Katja Lösche pick up on Matthäus Merian‘s 1625 panorama of Eberswalde and put the province in limbo – an equally unsettling and inspiring artistic exploration.
Welcome to the Festival!
Dr Kenneth Anders