09/04/2003

The 49th edition of one of the world’s oldest and prestigious short film festivals, the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival will run in the German town from 1-6 May 2003.
In order for a film to be selected for Oberhausen, it must relate to social reality, cultural differences and be innovative: good quality and a high budget are not in themselves sufficient. All formats and genres are eligible to take part.
The 2003 programme includes films from all over Europe including 42 from host country Germany, 9 from Belgium, 8 from France, and one each from Greece (Vrohi by Syllas Tzoumerkas) and Italy (In utero by Ila Bêka) as well as contributions from Switzerland, Latvia, Hungary, Sweden, South Korea, Australia and Singapore.

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The full selection can be downloaded from the official official web site.
Since 1989, the festival proper has been accompanied by a complimentary sidebar Short Film Market where industry operators are given a welcome and much-needed opportunity to catch up on the latest trends in vogue the world over. In 2001, some 3,600 films were entered and they can be viewed by potential buyers on video both during and after the festival. The film catalogue went online in 2001, and today the Short Film Exchange contains around 15,000 titles from 1997 to 2001, with subsequent titles being added all the time.

For ulterior information contact: Hilke Doering (doering@kurzfilmtage.de).