The 32nd Braunschweig International Filmfestival 2018
A concert every day, sold out films and more visitors than ever - the 32nd edition of the Braunschweig International Film Festival presented a varied programme and celebrated a tremendous success.
The ride through the festival week started in the Stadthalle Braunschweig with Sergej M. Eisenstein's BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN. US composer Yati Durant, who wrote the score, conducted the State Orchestra Braunschweig.
Every evening a special (film)concert took part as part brand new music film festival FXM: FILM MEETS MUSIC:
In GOLDRUSH, Charlie Chaplin looked for the big gold find. Helmut Imig conducted the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, that supported the film with live music at the Sharoun Theatre.
The next evening, composer and founder of CAN Irmin Schmidt presented the german premiere of his CAN-DIALOGUE FOR LARGE ORCHESTRA.
Milford Thoma's little moon princes CLAIRE was star of the next evening at the St. Michaelis Church II.
On Friday BIFF welcomed video artist Digital 21 & Stefan Olsdal, who is bass player of the alternative rock band 'Placebo'. The duo created a bybrid of electronic music in combination with remarkable visuals. Spanish singer Beatriz Villar Ramirez de Verger and a string orchestra accompanied the concert, wich was complemented by an after show party at the Café Riptide.
On Saturday BIFF presented Abel Gance's J'ACCUSE! with Stephan Graf von Bothmer live at the piano. The festival week was endet by ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT by Lewis Milestone.
"Sound On Screen" presented six music documentaries including two movies about the lifes and carriers of feminist female rappers SILVANA and M.I.A.
With Beyond: No Surrender the festival also presented strong women and showed movies, which center, in a cinematic unconventionally way, highly different livelihoods of women: i.e. GIRL about transgender and ballet.
The New German Films set a new agenda: six of eigth films were from established female directors or newcomers. The spectrum ranged from Lisa Brühlmann's BLUE MY MIND about friendship and metamorphoses to Marie Wilke's AGGREGAT about political german atmospheric pictures.
The Home Match showed 16 short and feature films of filmmakers from Brunswick and its region. RAUS was shot in the Harz Mountains, MY FAVORITE FABRIC's music was written by Peer Kleinschmidt from Braunschweig. Part of the programme were also projects from the regional universities.
"..at Midnight" celebrated the come back of pagan horror: wide landscapes, pagan rites and loneliness characterize this genre in movies like THE WICKER MAN, THE WHITE REINDEER oder THE FIELD GUIDE TO EVIL.
"Cinestrange goes BIFF" presented in cooperation with the Cinestrange festival three special genre movies including Gaspar Noés CLIMAX.
At the two-day Industry Days different professionals held lectures about film financing and film aestetics. For example producer Pandora da Cunha Telles talked about her experiences with „Who killed Don Quixote?“.
Crowd favourite of altogehter the 206 short films and 110 feautre films were SIR by Rohena Gera, the comedy WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO DESERVE THIS? by Eva Spreitzhofer or CHRYSTAL SWAN by Darya Zhuk.
With a great number of meeting points and get togethers including concerts in the FourSide hotel, a queer get togehter and the festival party, BIFF enabled the visitors to meet and socialize with professionals and other festival fans.
On saturday svening star guest Sandrine Bonnaire was awarded the festival's main prize "The Europa", which is supported bei BIFF'S main sponsor Volkswagen Financial Services. The festival awarded the actress for her outstanding acting perfomances and contribution to European film. The laudatio was held by film publicist Horst Peter Koll.
Rohena Gera was chosen as winner of the "Heinrich" for SIR by the festival audience. A group of young German and French awarded the German-French Youth Award "KINEMA" to BLUE MY MIND by Lisa Brühlmann. A three-headed jury, including last year's "Home Match"-winner Nora Fingscheidt", awarded "Die Goldenen Vier Linden" to Gaya Jij for MY FAVORITE FABRIC.
For the first time the "Queer Film Prize Lower Saxony" was awarded in Braunschweig. Minister of Social Affairs Dr. Carola Reimann handed over the prize to Olga Chajdas for NINA. Furthermore, the main sponsor completed the festival's main competition with the new jury prize "Volkswagen Financial Services Film Prize" for X-THE EXPLOITED by Károly Ujj Mészáro. The "Braunschweiger Film Prize" for the best newcomer went to Anna Suk for her role in the Austrian police drama COPS. BIFF awarded DARK EDEN by Michael Beamish and Jasmin Herold with the "Green Horizons Award" as the best movie regarding sustainabilty.
