The Dresden Film Festival is enjoying itself becoming increasingly popular among filmmakers internationally: This year, more films were submitted to the competition than ever before, according to the festival management. A total of 3,200 films were submitted, around 300 to 400 more than last year, said Anne Gaschütz, who runs the festival together with Sylke Gottlebe, to MDR.
“We were also very surprised that we received so many submissions,” said Gaschütz. “I also think that our festival has of course grown over the years and has become much better known, also internationally.” Last but not least, the good prize money is also attractive. With prize money totaling 72,000 euros, the Dresden Film Festival is one of the most highly endowed short film festivals in Europe.
Competition: The race for the “Golden Riders”
A total of 370 films from 62 countries will be shown at the Dresden Film Festival in 2024. 60 films are competing for a total of 14 jury prizes and two audience prizes in the three categories “International Competition”, “National Competition” and “Central German Competition”. The highest prizes internationally are the “Goldene Reiter Animated Film” and the “Goldene Reiter Short Film” with 7,500 euros each, and nationally the “Saxon Film Promotion Prize” with 20,000 euros. Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk will also sponsor the Audience Prize in the national competition in 2024.
The “Central German” was created in addition to the “National” competition in order to give regional film productions and regional artists more attention. “And we are also raising awareness with our own competition for Central German productions,” says festival director Sylke Gottlebe. “We are also bringing together filmmakers from the region with international filmmakers.”
The almost week-long festival usually attracts up to 20,000 visitors per year. It was launched in 1989.
I’m always fascinated by the emotional moments – how such short films manage to hit deep in the heart.
Sylke Gottlebe, festival director
“Strike Germany”: Films have been withdrawn
The films are mostly very political, festival director Anne Gaschütz told MDR. “Filmmakers also react to events that are happening in the world with short films.” For example, there are exciting Iranian films that use very artistic means to respond to what is happening in Iran. “And what we often submit are films that deal with gender diversity and queer stories.”
Filmmakers who withdrew their films from the festival also wanted to make a political statement. The background is “Strike Germany” – a call to cultural workers not to work with or for German cultural institutions, as a response to Germany’s policy in the Middle East war. “That’s exactly what we’re affected by,” Anne Gaschütz told MDR KULTUR. “We deal with it in such a way that we see ourselves as a platform for democracy. And we also want to exchange ideas and talk to people.” The withdrawn films have not been replaced. They can still be seen online: “We have made this clear and also why they were withdrawn.”
In some cases, the filmmakers also decided to write their own statement about it. As a festival, we give them the space to express their opinions, said Gaschütz at MDR KULTUR. “And of course we will also have some conversations about this at the festival – and also two discussion rounds on the topic of what the responsibility of film festivals is in politically difficult times and very controversial times.” The film festival wants to create protected spaces where, for example, an Israeli filmmaker and a Palestinian filmmaker can exchange ideas.
“Dreaming “Utopia” – these are the themes
This year’s festival was titled “Dreaming Utopia – everything will be fine.” The motto is now contrary to current world events. But it was decided a while ago, festival director Anne Gaschütz told MDR KULTUR. “For the last three years we have had a focus on the topic of diversity. It was about anti-racism, gender diversity, activism. And we actually wanted to treat ourselves to something nice again and dream a little and we focused on utopias and how we want to live together, agreed.”
Two of the focuses are on “architecture and construction” and the “utopia of home”. It’s about architectural dreams in earlier times and the question: What can the city of tomorrow look like? And it’s about how we want to shape our future so that we can live well together.
“Filmmakers naturally deal with different living environments. We are here in Germany, we have a completely different view of architecture and coexistence than someone from a completely different country […] and that is of course very exciting,” said Gaschütz.
Additional funding for the film festival
This year the festival can look forward to additional funding. Anne Gaschütz can explain the fact that more money is coming from the state and federal government primarily through her good luck and her good program in recent years. “We don’t just do the festival. We travel all year round and bring programs to Saxony and go to the countryside,” says Gaschütz. The BKM also gave a one-off increase for the national competition this year. This is intended to ensure that German short films have a platform and find their audience.
Favorites of the festival directors
“I always find it nice when a film touches me or when a film is current and shows me a point of view that I find very exciting,” said Anne Gaschütz to MDR. “For me that was in the international competition ‘Dreams like Paperballs’.”
The film from Haiti celebrates its German premiere at the Dresden Film Festival. It’s about a single father who takes care of his daughter because her mother left to find a better life. “I think this is such a representative film for what competitions do: namely, show the world and give new insights,” says festival director Gaschütz.
Her colleague Sylke Gottlebe also finds it fascinating how such short films always manage to “hit deep into the heart.” She particularly highlights Olga Kosanović’s film “Land der Berge”, for which the filmmaker received the Max Ophüls Prize in January. “It’s a very strong film. It tells a migration story in Austria: how a father and his daughter try to be recognized, get a work permit and try to give their daughter an everyday, great life.”