The international competition in the category Humour/Satire brings films from all over the world to the screen and spotlights the different facets of this genre. Dark humour or romantic comedy, slapstick or real satire, at the Filmfest comedy may be grotesque or light, tragic or feel good, it may scratch our taste buds or simply make us laugh. The focus lies on feature films but documentaries are also welcome.

Awards

Jury award: Best Feature Film (> 35 minutes), 2,500 EUR, funded by the Senator of Culture

Jury award: Bester Short Film (< 35 minutes), 1,000 EUR, funded by the Senator of Cultur

Jury Humour/Satire 2021

From unusual and surprising narration, forward use of special effects to extraordinary technology like VR or 360° cameras, creative and sometimes unconventional composition and themes that open to new worlds… that is what the international competition in innovation stands for. Beyond all borders of genre and formats, films in this category experiment with their artistic, technological and narratological substance and surprise their audiences.

Awards

Jury award: Best Narrative Innovation, 1,000 EUR, funded by Bremischen Landesmedienanstalt

Jury award: Best Visual Innovation, 1,000 EUR, funded by der Bremischen Landesmedienanstalt

Jury Innovation 2021

Films by filmmakers from Bremen and productions made in Bremen of all kinds are the central element of the Filmfest Bremen. This category includes features and documentaries that are set all around the world but where produced with participation from Bremen. On the other side it also includes productions that engage directly with Bremen and tell stories connected to it.

Award

Best Film Bremen: Audience award, 1,000 EUR, funded by the Senator of Culture

Whether classic or rock’n’roll, pop, indie, score music, folk, electronic music, hip hop or new music – films in this category bring a wide variety of genres to the screen. The program in this category includes documentaries, features and short films, that include the theme of music but are not purely music videos, and it is completed with live concerts. At the end, the audience decides for the best film in this category.

Award

Best Film Music: Audience award, 500 EUR, funded by the Senator of Culture

This category changes annually, focusing on different art forms. In 2021, the focus is on literature. The international competition accommodates screen adaptations, portraits and lyric film. Fictional, documental or experimental, this category creates a dialogue between written language and the language of film. In addition to screenings, readings and talks with authors are part of the program. A special highlight will be the super-8 evening, exhibiting 3-minute-long silent short films with live spoken texts by authors from Bremen.

Award

Best Film Literature: Jury award, 500 EUR, funded by the Senator of Culture

Jury Literature 2021

Britta Düsterhoff

Landesinstitut für Schule, Zentrum für Medien/Makemedia Studios

Sören Gäting

Media Student (Universität Bremen), presenter, curator

Adele Mecklenborg

Media educator Hannover

Kirsten Ottersdorf

Cutter and photographer

Angela Rabing

Research assistant, Universität Bremen

Alfred Tews

Film and media scientist

Xin Tong

Doctoral student Media Studies, Universität Hamburg

Regina Weber

Film and TV dramaturge

Saskia Wegelein

CEO Filmbüro Bremen

The entry fees for submissions is 4$. Films must be submitted via the festival servers filmfreeway.com, which will issue an electronic confirmation once a film has been successfully submitted. The Filmfest Bremen can pay no screening fee in case the submitted film will be selected for the programme. 

Submissions must meet the following criteria: 

• Year of production: 2018/2019/2020 
• Screening formats: DCP (Digital Cinema Package), 35mm (exceptions can be made for specific web productions among other things) 
• Please provide English subtitles in any case 

Deadline for submission: November 30, 2020 

Only complete online submissions via the festival servers FilmFreeway will be accepted. In addition to the film, two high-resolution film stills, a short synopsis, a picture and a short biography of the director, which may be used for the festival programme as well as for press releases related to the Filmfest Bremen, have to be provided. 

Selection

A committee watches all submissions at private screenings and selects the films for the programme. All submissions are watched by at least two independent members of the committee. There is no legal claim to participate in the festival. 

Notification and screening copy

Every submitter will receive a positive or negative reply via email at the beginning of February 2021. We kindly ask you not to inquire in written form or by phone. Every submitter is obligated to provide the Filmfest Bremen with a screening copy, should their film be chosen for the programme. The screening copy has to reach the festival by the end of March 2021. Every screening copy must be subtitled in English.

Rights of use 

With the submission to the festival, the holder(s) of the rights for the submitted film automatically give permission for (a) public screening(s) of their film at the Filmfest Bremen. Furthermore, they grant the Filmfest Bremen the right to use film stills, the film trailer and short excerpts of the film free of charge for promotional purposes in regards to the Filmfest Bremen. 

Film transport

The costs of sending the screening copy to the Filmfest Bremen must be covered by the sender. The costs of returning the screening are covered by the Filmfest Bremen.