Situated in Northwest Germany, the Oldenburg International Film Festival covers since 1994 the international movie scene in all of its aspects. This open minded approach leads to an inspiring mix of great premieres, surprising discoveries and original independent productions. Off beat innovation and ideas against the grain are the trademarks of the festival.
Among the guests of honor were Alex Cox, Frank Oz, James B. Harris, Tim Hunter, Belgian cult director Harry Kümel, Jim McBride, Philippe de Broca, Andrzej Żuławski, Ken Russell and Jerry Schatzberg who have all attended the festival for the retrospectives of their work. Icíar Bollaín, Seymour Cassel, Asia Argento, Stacy Cochran, Richard Stanley, Ben Gazzara, Larry Clark, Tim Blake Nelson as well as Luke and Andrew Wilson have attended the festival for tributes in their honor.
Internationally acclaimed films, such as Takeshi Kitano’s Kids Return, Kevin Spacey’s Albino Alligator, Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight, David Cronenberg’s Spider, Larry Clark’s Ken Park, Luke and Andrew Wilson’s The Wendell Baker Story, and The Fountain by Darren Aronofsky or indie hits like Larry Fessenden’s Habit, Cory McAbee’s The American Astronaut, Michael Polish’s Northfork, Paul Provenza’s The Aristocrats, Susan Buice and Arin Crumley’s Four Eyed Monsters or The Guatemalan Handshake by Todd Rohal, received their celebrated German premiere in Oldenburg.
Tributes and Retrospectives
Tributes (by year)
1994: Nancy Savoca
1995: Katt Shea
1996: (none)
1997: Icíar Bollaín
1989: Seymour Cassel
1999: Asia Argento
2000: Stacy Cochran
2001: Ben Gazzara, Richard Stanley
2002: Édouard Niermans
2003: Larry Clark
2004: Tim Blake Nelson
2005: Luke Wilson and Andrew Wilson
2006: Peter Fleischmann
2007: Stacy Keach
2008: Marius Müller-Westernhagen, Michael Wadleigh
2009: Scott McGehee, David Siegel
2010: Timothy Bottoms
2011: Roger Fritz
2012: (none)
2013: Bobcat Goldthwait
2014: (none)
2015: Joanna Cassidy
2016: Nicolas Cage, Amanda Plummer
Retrospectives
1994: Alex Cox
1995: Frank Oz
1996: James B. Harris
1997: Tim Hunter
1998: Roberto Faenza
1999: Harry Kümel
2000: William Wellman Jr.
2001: Jim McBride
2002: Bernard Rose
2003: Philippe de Broca
2004: Andrzej Żuławski
2005: Ken Russell
2006: Jerry Schatzberg
2007: Abel Ferrara
2008: James Toback
2009: Bruno Barreto
2010: Radley Metzger
2011: Ted Kotcheff
2012: Phedon Papamichael
2013: Mania Akbari
2014: Philippe Mora
2015: George Armitage
2016: Christophe Honoré
1998: Richard Schenkman — Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five — USA, 1998
1999: Noah Stern — The Invisibles — USA, 1999
2001: Buket Alakuş — Anam — Germany, 2001
2002: Scott Thomas — Anacardium (Deranged) — USA, 2001
2003: Michael Polish — Northfork — USA, 2003
2004: Dennis Iliadis — Hardcore — Greece, 2003
2005: Marcos Siega — Pretty Persuasion — USA, 2005
2006: Scott Dacko — The Insurgents — USA, 2006
2007: Jan Hinrik Drevs — Underdogs — Germany, 2006/2007
2008: Emily Atef — The Stranger in Me (Das Fremde in mir) — Germany, 2008
2009: Judi Krant — Made in China — USA, 2009
2010: Paul Gordon — The Happy Poet — USA 2010
2011: K. Lorrel Manning — Happy New Year — USA, 2011
2012: Jan-Ole Gerster — Oh Boy — Germany, 2012
2013: David Perrault — Our Heroes Died Tonight (Nos heros sont morts ce soir) — France, 2013
2014: Michal Samir — Hany — Czech Republic, 2014
2015: Tom Sommerlatte — Summers Downstairs (Im Sommer wohnt er unten) — Germany/France, 2015
2016: Emre Konuk — The Apprentice (Çirak) — Turkey, 2016
The Best German Film award is juried by an international panel of five—filmmakers, actors, artists, writers, producers—of which at least three members come from other countries than Germany. The films are shown in original version with English subtitles. Jury members have been, e.g., in 2011: Matteo Lovadina, Radley Metzger, Ildi Toth Davy, Soopum Sohn, and Matthew Modine. The 2012 festival saw an all-woman jury, consisting of Tamar Simon Hoffs, Gabrielle Miller, Lana Morgan, Debbie Rochon, and Mira Sorvino.
2004: Andreas Struck — Sugar Orange — Germany, 2004
2005: Catharina Deus — About a Girl (Die Boxerin) — Germany, 2005
2006: Birgit Grosskopf — Princess (Prinzessin) — Germany, 2006
2007: Jakob Moritz Erwa — All the Invisible Things (Heile Welt) — Austria, 2006
2008: Emily Atef — The Stranger in Me (Das Fremde in mir) — Germany, 2008
2009: Thomas Sieben — Distance — Germany, 2009
2010: Philip Koch — Picco — Germany, 2010
2011: Linus de Paoli — Dr. Ketel — Germany, 2010
2012: Jan-Ole Gerster — Oh Boy — Germany, 2012
2013: Tom Lass — Kaptn Oskar — Germany, 2013
2014 + 2015 (not awarded because of budget cuts)
2007: Marcos Valin, David Alonso — Atención al cliente (Customer Service) — Spain, 2007
2008: Liz Adams — Side Effect — USA, 2008
2009: Hassan Said — Mute — USA, 2009 (Best foreign-language short film)
2009: Tom Bewilogua — SCISSU — Germany, 2009 (Best German-language short film)
2010: Jeremy Bradley, Reuben Sack — Salvation Insurance — USA, 2010
2011: Markus Engel — Der letzte Gast (The Last Guest) — Austria, 2011
2012: Meghna Gupta, Gigi Berardi — Unravel — United Kingdom / India, 2012
2013: Patrick Baumeister — Preis — Germany, 2013
2014: Kevin Meul — Cadet — Belgium, 2014
2015: Martijn de Jong — Free — Netherlands, 2014
2016: Ruken Tekes — The Circle (Hevêrk) — Turkey, 2016
2013: Mania Akbari, Bobcat Goldthwait
2015: George Armitage, Joanna Cassidy
2016: Nicolas Cage, Christophe Honoré, Amanda Plummer
2007: Ben Reding, Dominik Reding — For The Unknown Dog (Für den unbekannten Hund) — Germany, 2005
2008: Emily Atef — The Stranger in Me (Das Fremde in mir) — Germany, 2008
This actor’s prize is awarded for performances in films nominated for the Best German Film award.
2012: Tom Schilling for his role as Niko Fischer in Oh Boy (Germany 2012)
2013: Martina Schöne-Radunski for her role as Alex in Kaptn Oskar (Germany 2013)
2014: Victoria Schulz for her role as Ruby in Von jetzt an kein zurück (Germany 2014)
2015: Sarah Silverman for her role as Laney in I Smile Back (USA 2015)
2015: Nikola Rakočević for his role as Slav in Travelator (Serbia 2014)
2016: Noémie Merlant for her role as Claire in Twisting Fate (À tous les vents du ciel) (France 2016)
2016: André M. Hennicke for his role as Udo in Strawberry Bubblegums (Germany 2016)
Because of the festival programme and its focus on independent filmmaking, press and industry professionals have dubbed the festival the “European/German Sundance”.
“One of the most offbeat festivals in Europe.” (Variety 2009)
“Now in its 16th edition, Oldenburg proves that, justifying its reputation as Germany’s premiere indie fest by putting innovative filmmaking ahead of boxoffice glamour, while still filtering out the dregs of the low-budget scene.” (The Hollywood Reporter 2009)
“Oldenburg: The German Sundance (…) has become a must in the festival circuit.” (Cannes Market News)
“The German Sundance” (Screen International)
