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The Oldenburg International Film Festival, sometimes named as the European Sundance,[1] has covered the international movie scene in all aspects since 1994. It is held in Oldenburg, Germany. Its open-minded approach leads to a mixture of movie premieres and original independent productions. Innovation and contrarian ideas are some features of the festival.

History

Rated among the top 5 Film Festivals worldwide for Independent Films by American film critic Chris Gore in his esteemed 'Ultimate Film Festival Guide', and ranked »Top 25 Coolest Festivals in the World« by MovieMaker, Oldenburg has fostered its success with a strong commitment to innovative and independent filmmaking.

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, Jerry Schatzberg and Ovidio G. Assonitis 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 Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden, Takeshi Kitano’s Kids Return, David Cronenberg’s Spider, Kevin Spacey’s Albino Alligator, Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight, 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 German premiere in Oldenburg.

Tributes and retrospectives

Tributes (by year)
Retrospectives

Awards

German Independence Award: Best Film (Audience Award)

German Independence Award: Best German Film

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.

German Independence Award: Best Short Film

German Independence Honorary Award

Hans Ohlms Award for Best First Feature Film

Since 2023, the Hans Ohlms Award for Best First Feature Film is awarded in conjunction with the Hans Ohlms Foundation.

Otto Sprenger Award

Seymour Cassel Award: Outstanding Performance

This actor’s prize is awarded for performances in films nominated for the Best German Film award.

References

  1. ^ Prot, Bénédicte (2018-09-19). "Oldenburg 2018 ends on a Promise". Cineuropa. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  2. ^ Vena, Teresa (2019-09-16). "In Full Bloom comes out on top at Oldenburg 2019". Cineuropa. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  3. ^ Staff (October 8, 2010). "Oldenburg International Film Festival honors a master of erotic cinema Radley Metzger". Oldenburg International Film Festival. Retrieved January 28, 2016.

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