Press release from 04.03.2024

General announcement 9th FILMFEST BREMEN 2024

From April 10 to 14, Filmfest Bremen celebrates its ninth edition with 33 German premieres. Over 100 films from 21 countries were selected from almost 800 submissions to compete for prizes at competition at six venues for prize money of over 50,000 euros. There will also be workshops, panels, audience discussions and concerts.

Competition categories
Humor/satire, innovation, German premieres, Bremen and surroundings
Inspired by last year’s great success with over 14,000 visitors, the Filmfest is once again fully committed to bringing viewers together with well-known film stars and the industry’s up-and-coming talent in Bremen’s established venues – with great cinematic art and great entertainment.

“We are looking forward to the coming together of local, regional and international filmmakers from 21 nations and our audience from Bremen and all over Germany,” says festival director Matthias Greving.

“With our four competition categories, we offer filmmakers and audiences alike a a diverse and interesting spectrum. In the international HUMOR/SATIRE section not only sitcom humor, but also bitter, subtle humor, and of course also light humor.”

Ilona Rieke, program director of the Filmfest Bremen, is particularly looking forward to her favorite category, cinematic innovation: “In no other category can you find so many different stylistic many different stylistic devices and ideas far removed from the usual and customary in film and television culture. This is where new narrative styles are opened up, new camera new camera angles or daring to create their very own visual language. We can see there animations, visually stunning dramas, unorthodox documentaries and experimental films.”

Of course, the regional competition is also a must. This year, three prizes will be awarded in this category. The Senator for Culture is donating the prize money for the best Bremen film in the amount of 3,000 euros, and the “BAB – Die Förderbank” is also honoring the best short and feature-length films from Bremen and the surrounding area.

Last but not least, the “Deutschlandpremieren” competition was established last year with films of all genres and forms. “We were delighted to receive more than 100 submissions from all over the world, all of which have the status of never having been shown on a German screen before.” adds Marc Sifrin, the festival organizer. “With a 15-member screening committee, we finally selected eight feature films and two documentaries, ranging from drama to global politics and long-term projects through to coming-of-age films that are extremely varied.”

Bremen Film Prize 2024

Last year, Maria Schrader received the Bremen Film Award from Sparkasse Bremen – at the Filmfest Bremen at the gala in the Theater am Goetheplatz. Over two days the actress and filmmaker also accompanied her retrospective in the city. The Bremen Film Prize was established in 1999 by the Sparkasse Bremen and has honored European luminaries of the film industry for their artistic work. In the year 2019, the Bremen Film Award was given a new stage within the festival. Since then, it has honored the Oscar winner Caroline Link, the actor and author Hape Kerkeling and the filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki. Whoever receives the “Golden Pug” and the EUR 8,000 prize on Wednesday, the 10th of april of 2024, is still a mystery. It is still a well-kept secret – which will only be revealed on March 8, 2024. But this much can already be revealed: for the first time in the history of the history of the Bremen Film Prize, the guest of honor will perform a major concert program afterwards.

Opening film and venues

On Thursday, April 11, 2024, Daniel Hill’s debut film “Beth + Jeremy and Steve” will open the international competitions at the Schauburg at 19:00. The director and writer will be traveling together with his friend and producer Evan M. Gandy from Portland/Oregon (USA) to celebrate the film’s international premiere in Bremen.

In this coming-of-age story, a teenager enters into a liaison with a married woman and comes under enormous pressure when her husband enters the playing field. Despite all the tragedy that lies hidden in this love triangle, there is always a youthful lightness, absurd humor and a large pinch of cinematic nostalgia in this wonderfully narrated and convincingly acted story.

Further venues are the cinemas Atlantis, Cinema im Ostertor and City46 as well as the Theater Bremen.

Short film competitions

The film festival is also organizing various short film competitions with various cooperation partners.

The 48h short film competition Klappe!, which is also made possible by Sparkasse Bremen, kicks off the festival. Filmmakers have to create a three-minute short film on a given theme. The announcement of the theme will take place on March 8, 2024, at 8:00 pm. The films will be presented at the Schauburg on March 23, 2024.

In addition, films about SV Werder Bremen lasting a maximum of three minutes can be submitted until March 28. To mark the 125th anniversary, the traditional soccer club and the film festival are organizing a Werder short film evening on 13 April with a colourful program at the Theater am Goetheplatz.

There is a specific requirement for the WFB Short Film Award this year, as Bremen has proclaimed 2024 the Year of the Bicycle, and films about the bicycle are to be created by March 28. On April 14, the films will be presented in the theater’s Kleines Haus.

hanseWasser Sustainability Award

Since 2022, Filmfest Bremen has placed a special focus on sustainability within the festival. Together with the company hanseWasser, the festival management has selected films from all competition participants in the sections that are dedicated to the topic of sustainability – be it satirical, documentary or fictional metaphysical. Particular attention was paid to the ecological aspects of sustainability in the selection process. Seven films were nominated, illustrating that this topic is an integral part of our everyday culture. The winning film will be announced by an expert jury at the awards ceremony on April 14 at Theater Bremen.

Ticket prices will be available from March at filmfestbremen.com. Advance ticket sales for the gala start on March 8, the remaining tickets will be available from March 15.