Press Info 31.03.2023

8th Filmfest Bremen: From comedy to AI to KyrgyzstanWorld, European and German premieres from 28 countries will be screened from 12 to 16 April 2023 in the cinemas Schauburg, City46, Atlantis and Cinema as well as in the Theater am Goetheplatz.

“We are looking forward to the live experience in the cinema and to filmmakers travelling from far and wide to present their films to our Bremen audience in person,” Matthias Greving sums up the anticipation for the 8th Filmfest Bremen. “A wonderfully varied programme with over 100 short and feature-length films will give film fans their money’s worth from comedy to documentary to drama and horror from 12 to 16 April,” adds programme director Ilona Rieke. The four major competitions – Humour/Satire, Innovation, Bremen Film and German Premiere – offer a rich programme palette at the 8th Bremen Film Festival.

International Competition Humour/Satire

In this competition, unique in Germany, a total of 29 productions will compete for the respective prize for the best short, medium and long film. From light-hearted to grotesque, the films from Europe, Asia and North and South America prove that laughter works across national borders.

Clothes make the man: this is confirmed with a humorous wink in the Brazilian family story CAPTAIN WITS (BRA, 2022) by director Filipe Gontijo. In order to breathe joy back into his grandson, a disillusioned former child star, the grandfather, costumed as a nostalgic superhero, roams the city with him.

A rhythmic generational conflict full of charming twists is the French comedy THE RUMBA THERAPY (F, 2022) by Franck Dubosc. In it, the hitherto unknown father tries to conquer a place in his daughter’s life for the first time through his ambitious dance training.

In the whimsical feel-good film FRANKY FIVE STAR (D, 2022), the main character Franky is in a clinch with her various personalities. The film team around director Birgit Möller will personally present the fairytale-like tragicomedy at the gala event for the Bremen Film Prize organised by Sparkasse Bremen. In it, Bremen proves to be a filming location with great potential and interesting locations beyond the town hall and Roland figure.

The jury members Nora Dreyer from Filmfest Emden, filmmaker André Erkau and actress, cabaret artist and singer Gisa Flake will decide who has the laughs on their side in the competition category Humour/Satire by awarding three prizes totalling 9,000 euros.

International Competition Innovation

Visual, technical and narrative creativity is expressed in the Innovation Competition.
Producer Till Derenbach, Thomas Schäffer, Managing Director of nordmedia, and Nicola Jones, Head of Filmwerkstatt Schleswig-Holstein/Moin Filmförderung, form the jury and award three prizes of 1,500 euros each, donated by the Bremische Landesmedienanstalt.

ORPHEA IN LOVE (D, 2022) by Axel Ranisch will be shown in German cinemas from the summer. At the Bremen Film Festival, the film will tell the complex love story between the daydreaming Nele and Kolja, a dancer and pickpocket, using the artistic means of film, song and dance.

THERE`S NO PLACE LIKE HOME (DNK, 2022) brings an oppressive family conflict to the screen. The film based on a Danish bestseller is also nominated in the German premiere category and is considered one of the favourites in both categories. Programme director Ilona Rieke says it is reminiscent of David Lynch’s great series TWIN PEAKS. The well-known singer Gitte Haening sings in the film in a nursing home and will be present at the premiere in Bremen, as will director Puk Grasten and producer Regner Grasten.

Heart of the festival: the Bremen Film Competition

22 short to medium-length films and six feature-length films start the race for the coveted audience prizes. Often shot on smaller budgets, the range of films made in Bremen and the Lower Saxony region is impressive: In the documentary BLUE SKY WITH CLOUDS (D, 2022), director Astrid Menzel paddles with her grandmother, who suffers from dementia, from Bremen to Kiel. With her self-experiment, she wants to find out whether it is possible to live together with her grandmother, who is dependent on help.

The student film project IRGENDWO AM MEER (D, 2022) by Patrick Büchting based on the novel by the celebrated author of books for young people Adriana Popescu celebrates its world premiere in Bremen. With the already well-known actors Carlotta Weide, Jonas Kaufmann, Louie Betton and Sophia Münster, the coming-of-age story portrays the attitude to life of young people in a very close and authentic way. Also nominated in the category Best German-Language Film, parts of the cast and crew are also guests in Bremen.

The road movie LASVEGAS (D, 2023) by Kolja Malik is not afraid of kitsch and big feelings.
With its very own visual language and aesthetics, the unconventional love story unfolds in the setting of the fashion industry.

The two audience prizes in the Best Film from Bremen and Best Film from Lower Saxony Competition
are each endowed with 1,500 EUR and donated by the Senator for Culture.

Premiere Competition

“We are rightly very proud of the top-class feature films and documentaries in our new international competition,” says Marc Sifrin from the festival’s organising team.

A total of eleven films, including two documentaries, are competing for the two audience prizes of  7,500 EUR and 2,500 EUR.

In THE SCENT OF THE WORMWOOD (KGZ, 2022), the audience is immersed in the foreign landscape
and intense colours of Kyrgyzstan. Director Aibek Daiyrbekov tells of the lives of three young people for whom the end of childhood demands a decision: go their own ways or follow in family footsteps?

DON ́T WORRY ABOUT INDIA (IN, 2022) takes a documentary and highly entertaining look at the self-image of the largest democracy in the world.Indian director Arjun Jr comments laconically from off-screen where democratic conditions in India work and where they fail… A film that is as political as it is funny, with a highly topical social theme.

The British newspaper The Guardian praised GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER(S) (GB, 2021) as “one of the best films ever made”. Now the documentary has its German premiere in Bremen. Director David Wilkinson meticulously investigates the question: Why did so many of those responsible for the Holocaust escape? Of those involved in the Holocaust, around 99 percent were never brought before a court or ever held accountable for their actions. Almost eight decades after the end of the war, the film explores the background to this and searches for answers.

Festival passes and individual tickets

The festival pass costs 40 EUR / reduced 35 EUR, single tickets 8 EUR / reduced 7 EUR.
More information at filmfestbremen.com.
Further information
filmfestbremen.com
facebook.com/filmfestbremen
instagram.com/filmfestbremen
linkedin.com/company/filmfest-bremen

Supported by: nordmedia, Die Sparkasse Bremen, Kinescope Film
Supported by: The Senator for Economics, Labour and Europe, The Senator for Culture, hanseWasser, Karin and Uwe Hollweg Foundation, Waldemar Koch Foundation, Bremer Aufbau-Bank GmbH, JOKE Event AG
Cooperation partners: Bremer Filmkunst Theater, Theater Bremen, Cinema im Ostertor, City 46, Bremische Landesmedienanstalt, Bremer Straßenbahn AG, Filmbüro Bremen, BLG Logistics Group, GfG/Gruppe für Gestaltung, Closeup, Instituto Cervantes Bremen, Institut français, Dorint Hotel & Resorts, Beck ́s Museum Weserburg, Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus, IndieFilmTalk, NOON, Wandscher Gruppe, Hochkantfestival, Blumen Timm, bremen digitalmedia, Dedo Weigert Film
Media partners: Radio Bremen, Weser-Kurier, Bremen erleben