Gateways to the World

The Power of Ports

Bremen has been shaped by open trade and the activities of the Hanseatic merchants for centuries.
The port at Bremerhaven is one of the largest and most important in Europe, and is Germany’s largest transhipment centre for further goods traffic on inland waterways and rail transport.

In the 21st century, we live in a globalised and digitalised world, where not only the transfer of goods increasingly determines our exchange, but also the people behind it.
Together with bremenports, we are therefore organising a new competition this year, which is dedicated to ports and the transfer of people and goods.
The focus will be on harbours and their people, and on the ships and goods of this world associated with them.

This category is dedicated to films that illuminate the topic of ports in all its facets. Harbours are far more than mere landing stages – they are places of departure, encounters and change. Whether as a symbolic setting or a central location, they stand for connections between people, cultures and stories.

In the ‘Harbours’ category, you can look forward to films that show these meaningful places in a new light – as metaphors for transitions, longings and challenges. From documentary portraits to dramatic narratives and visual poems, here the harbour becomes the starting point for captivating cinematic art.

Discover stories that begin at the gates of the world.

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Our harbours? Simply cinematic!

How great is this? Harbours now have their own category at Filmfest Bremen! Ports and cinema – they fit like a glove. Both are places of longing, full of stories and endless possibilities; both harbours and films are gateways to the world. And even if the romance of seafaring has perhaps faded a little in the modern harbour world, the fascination for these special places remains unbroken.

Ports are simply cinematic: people unload huge container ships on dizzyingly high container gantry cranes, van carriers transport boxes weighing tonnes, and an endless column of vehicles disappears into the belly of the gigantic car freighters – like an ant trail that just won’t end. Or think of the enormous parts for offshore wind farms that are on their way, huge pipes that are loaded in Bremen or other project cargo from the ‘high and heavy’ sector. It’s pure action – and every visit to the harbour could be a blockbuster!

That’s why I’m all the more pleased that the ports are now also being put in the spotlight at the film festival. There are so many stories that want to be told. I’m excited to see what documentaries and feature films await us in this category and how they capture the magic of the harbours.

And not to forget: Bremen’s ports are still the backbone of our economy and provide good jobs for tens of thousands of people. They continue to be essential for Bremen’s success – which is why it is a logical step that the film festival is now also giving the ports a stage. We at bremenports, the management company for Bremen’s ports in Bremen and Bremerhaven, support this new category with full conviction!

With this in mind: lines away for the ports at Filmfest! Good luck to all participants and have fun discovering the fascinating world of our ports.

Yours, Robert Howe

managing director bremenports

Awards

Best Feature Film
endowed with 2,000 EUR

Best Short Film
endowed with 500 EUR

Our jury awards the prizes to the winning films at Theater Bremen, Kleines Haus, on March 23rd 2025.

Nominated Films

Praia Formosa

Como El Viento

Flow

Nominated Shorts

Hard Times – The Power of Ports #1

Erased Cargoes and Anchors – The Power of Ports #2

Jury

Ronald Schwarze

Ronald Schwarze (55) is an expert in location marketing for the ports of Bremen and has extensive experience in the logistics sector. Over the course of his professional career, he has traveled to numerous ports around the world, getting to know not only their economic importance, but also their cultural facets. His fascination for foreign cultures is reflected in his passion for films and series. As a self-confessed TV show junkie and film enthusiast, he particularly appreciates stories that broaden the view beyond his own horizons. On the Filmfest jury, he judges the “Ports” category with a trained eye for authenticity and maritime narrative power.

Kai Stührenberg

Kai Stührenberg was born on 28.11.1964 in Bremen, is married and has three children. After graduating from high school, he studied business administration at Bremen University of Applied Sciences, majoring in sales/marketing and human resources and training. Kai Stührenberg is a member of the party Die Linke and has held management positions in business for many years. Most recently, he held the position of press spokesman for the Senator for Economics, Labor and Europe. From 01.11.2020 to 04.07.2023 he was State Councillor at the Senator for Economic Affairs, Labor and Europe, responsible for the areas of Labor and Europe. Since 05.07.2023, he has been State Councillor for Ports at the Senator for Economic Affairs, Ports and Transformation.

Ilona Rieke

Ilona Rieke is Co-Managing Director of Filmbüro Bremen and Artistic Director of Filmfest Bremen. She watches around 1,000 films a year, reads several hundred film ideas and scripts and believes that the cinema is still the best place to experience film. She believes in film as an art form and as a source of inspiration for social discussions. She has always been fascinated by ports as places of departure and trade.

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