Dear film lovers,
First of all: We are happy. Happy that we have once again succeeded in organizing this wonderful film festival in its 49th edition. Happy that this could take place again under “normal” circumstances, without any pandemic restrictions. And really super-happy how the last four days have panned out.
Because anyone who has looked around and spent time on the Bürgerbräu ground between Thursday and today, Sunday, will have quickly noticed the many volunteers, dressed in black hoodies and with team ID cards around their necks, were in a happy mood. The 49th International Film Festival also had thousands of happy visitors again.
For Katharina Schulz, member of the board of the organizing Filminitiative Würzburg e.V., the film program was a decisive reason for this: “We were overwhelmed with positive feedback. Especially with the films with filmmakers present, it was noticeable how well such a festival format fits in Wuerzburg. It’s nice that this festival was again been able to provide so much space for exchange and interaction.” Schulz’s colleague Florian Hoffmann adds, “The cinema halls were full, our festival meeting place, the Maschinenhaus, was full as well, and we are simply fully satisfied.” Werner Schmitt, third in the group, joins in: “Already at the start of ticket sales and at the opening on Thursday, you could notice how much people were longing for the film festival and how much they were looking forward to our film selection. That then carried through for three more days.”
In numbers:
6,000 tickets were solved this year. Considering the reduced number of screenings (including fewer Thursday and Friday time slots), that made the occupancy rate identical to 2020, the last festival without Corona restrictions. 80 percent of the possible seats were taken, a little more than half of the performances were sold out.
And here are the winners of each category:
BEST FEATURE FILM
- Picciridda by Paolo Licata (2,500 Euro from VR-Bank Würzburg)
- 10 Songs for Charity by Karin Junger
- June Zero by Jake Paltrow
BEST DOCUMENTARY
- So wie wir by Torsten Repper (1,500 Euro from Vogel Communications Group)
- Music for Black Pigeons by Jørgen Leth and Andreas Koefoed
- Väter unser by Sophie Linnenbaum
BEST SHORT FILM
- Naked Men in the Woods by Paul Ploberger (500 Euro from Würzburger Hofbräu GmbH)
- Au revoir Jèrôme! by Adam Sillard, Gabrielle Selnet and Chloé Farr (500 Euro from Würzburger Hofbräu GmbH)
THE SELF-MADE ONES
- Antonia by Schulfilmgruppe Luisenfilm from Von-Pelkhoven-Schule (150 Euro from Bezirk Unterfranken)
