FILMKUNSTFEST Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (FILMKUNSTFEST MV) draws as many as 18,000 visitors, making it one of the biggest public festivals in northern and eastern Germany - in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania's capital city of Schwerin.
A group of filmmakers launched FILMKUNSTFEST MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN in the spring of 1990, establishing it as the first new film festival on East German territory after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is held annually during the first week of May in the state capital of Schwerin in Filmpalast Capitol, which boasts six screens, including historic Auditorium 1, one of the most beautiful cinema auditoriums in Germany.
Drawing around 18,000 visitors annually – including 300 accredited film industry professionals such as filmmakers, actors, producers and journalists – with roughly 150 feature films, documentaries and shorts, FILMKUNSTFEST MV is one of the biggest public festivals in eastern Germany.
FILMKUNSTFEST MV organises four competitions, one respectively for feature films, documentaries, films for children and young audiences and short films. Films produced or co-produced in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are eligible for the competitions. Films that are not available in a German version must have German subtitles.
Professional juries of film experts and a jury of young people confer the awards. The festival's cinematic programme also features a guest of honour tribute, current films from a guest country, a section on DEFA film history and the series "Gedreht in MV" (Shot in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania). Concerts, readings and exhibitions round out the festival programme.
Since its founding in 1990 FILMKUNSTFEST MV has championed young German-language film from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. That is why films from those countries, which account for 40 entries in all, are again the focus of the generously endowed jury competitions for feature films, documentary films and films for children and young audiences. Numerous productions in these sections will celebrate their German premieres at the festival and a large number of directors and cast and crew members will present their films in person in Schwerin. Numerous expert juries consisting of a diverse range of industry professionals will award 40,000 euros in prize money.
Schwerin is the capital of the German state Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. It has a population of roughly 100,000 and is located in one of Germany's most beautiful and sparsely populated regions. A plethora of historic buildings and cultural monuments, such as Schwerin's picturesque island castle with its magnificent gardens, the city's seven lakes as well as its GDR history, make Schwerin a place of impressive architectural beauty and natural landscapes. What's more, the Baltic Sea is just a short distance away as the gull flies.
The smallest state capital delights with living history, cultural grandeur, artistic garden landscapes and an idyllic lake. The charming old town, storybook location among lakes and forests and the famous and majestic castle alone are enough to bewitch visitors to Germany’s smallest yet most beautiful state capital. But Schwerin has much more to offer! A vibrant cultural scene attracts people to the 850-year-old former royal residence. A water wonderland full of exciting sporting opportunities entices adults, while Petermännchen, the castle spirit, fills children with awe. The city’s landmark is its impressive castle located on an island in Schweriner Lake. It is one of Germany’s most notable buildings, boasting illustrious golden towers and bright façades. It was once the home of the dukes and grand dukes who ruled of Mecklenburg. Today the Mecklenburg-West Pomerania parliament convenes in this prestigious building while visitors can take tours and admire the castle’s cultural treasures.
Yet another one of Schwerin’s undisputed highlights, the mighty Schwerin Cathedral, towers 114 meter over the historic center and medieval cobblestone alleyways. Ascend the 220 steps to the top of the bell tower and you will be treated to the best view far and wide. The half-timbered buildings in the old town and Schelfstadt have been lovingly renovated, as have the elegant 19th-century residences on the Pfaffenteich. Visitors can expect a lot of hustle and bustle in the winding streets with their little specialty shops, cafés and outdoor terraces. FILMKUNSTFEST MV has established itself as Schwerin and the entire region’s definitive cultural highlight, and as one of the most important cultural events in the federal state and its capital. The festival has played a key role in contributing to Schwerin’s favorable image as a city of culture and has enhanced the city’s reputation in the region and beyond – as has the city being named home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2024. The festival’s close ties to the city and the impact it has on the surrounding region is a precious commodity that must be preserved and fostered.
The festival is held in high regard internationally, a fact that has been evidenced in recent years by the enthusiastic participation of guest countries like Spain, Finland and France. It builds cultural bridges and enhances intercultural exchange.
FILMKUNSTFEST MV cultivates a distinctly relaxed family atmosphere that allows audiences to have Q&As with visiting filmmakers after screenings and to experience directors and actors first-hand. An array of moderated interviews and talks on cinema are held in the theater and in the Digital Garden festival lounge located in the adjacent Schweriner Höfe.
Five juries choose the FILMKUNSTFEST MV award-winners, while festival-goers select the winners of the audience award.
Eight different awards are given in the feature film competition. A three-member grand jury of professionals from a range of film industry professions and trades (directors, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers, sound editors, film editors, etc.) decides six of them.
Three film critics who are usually from the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria and Switzerland and are members of FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) award a further distinction for a feature film in competition.
The two awards in the documentary film competition are both decided by a respective three-member jury comprised of documentary film experts.
Three representatives of the film industry also decide the winner of the award for best short film in the short film competition.
A youth jury consisting of several school pupils from Schwerin and the surrounding area under the guidance of trained media educators decides on the award for the best film for children and young audiences.
Guest Country
Every year one country will step into the spotlight as our guest country. Parts for the guest country programme include, among other things, a presentation of current cinema and events in cooperation with local partners.
DEFA films: a presentation of East Germany's cinematic heritage
Exploring cinematic history is another important aspect of the festival. That is why we are again cooperating with the DEFA Foundation to pay tribute to DEFA's cinematic heritage in a special programme. Among other things, we will present newly restored digital copies from DEFA's film inventory.
Regional filmmaking at a glance: "Gedreht in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern" (Shot in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania) / NDR Special
The sections "Gedreht in MV", which features films realised in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and in some cases funded by the state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, and NDR SPECIAL, with productions from the state broadcaster, give festivalgoers a glimpse of the regional cinematic landscape and offer a cinematic perspective on the region.
Tribute
For the tribute we dedicate a retrospective featuring exceptional examples selected from our current honorary guest's filmography.
Cinéfête
FILMKUNSTFEST MV's international programme also includes the French youth film festival CINÉFÊTE, which the festival has offered a platform for six years now. In collaboration with the Rostock Institut français, this section offers school classes in the region opportunities for lessons in French as a foreign language.
LEO – for Children and Young Audiences
In collaboration with the capital city of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania of Schwerin and the Evangelical youth organisation, FILMKUNSTFEST MV puts on the children and young audiences film competition to promote integration and participation. Children and young people from immigrant backgrounds and socially disadvantaged families are afforded the opportunity to see the films in the competition at reduced prices and outside the festival cinema. "Cinema is an appealing recreational activity for young people of all social and ethnic backgrounds and successfully contributes to participation and integration in our society," says the artistic director of the festival Volker Kufahl.
Volker Kufahl
Born in Lüneburg in 1969, Volker studied politics and public administration with a fucus on cultural and municipal politics in Constance and Leipzig. From 1992 to 1998 he attended “visual school” at the local movie theater Zebra in Constance and learned about the movie business as a volunteer and full-time employee there. He then did specialized training in movie theater management. He was managing director of Cineplex Singen from 2000 to 2001. From 2001 to 2013 he was artistic and managing director of the Braunschweig International Film Festival. In 2008 he co-founded Universum Filmtheater in Braunschweig, of which he is still a partner and managing director. He has been a member of AG Kino and Europa Cinemas since then.
He has been managing director of FILMLAND MV gGmbH since 2013 and headed the Film Commission Mecklenburg-Vorpommern until 2020. He is artistic director of FILMKUNSTFEST MV and is active in promoting cinemas in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (Cinema Culture Award MV (Kinokulturpreis MV)). He has been on numerous juries in Germany and abroad.
Fabian Liebenow
Born in Wolfen in 1981, Fabian got into film while working part-time as a projectionist to pay for law school. After finishing practical training to be a lawyer, he worked at the cinema Lichtspieltheater Wundervoll in Rostock. A movie theater management professional, he has been responsible for consulting cinemas at FILMLAND MV since 2021. He organizes the annual film industry meeting during FILMKUNSTFEST MV.
Matthias Hoffmann
Born in Saxony between Dresden and Leipzig, after finishing school Matthias headed to East Berlin to study at Humboldt University and received a degree in musicology with a focus on pop culture and media from the Research Center for Popular Music. Before and after the fall of the Wall he worked researching and reporting on events, and then as head record manager, most recently at the label DSB Deutsche Schallplatten GmbH, successor to the East German label AMIGA (pop), ETERNA (classical) and LITERA (spoken word). He then founded the event management and communications agency pehnert&Hoffmann and worked with clients like public broadcasters NDR and MDR. His collaboration with FILMLAND MV gGmbH began ten years ago on the AHRENSHOOPER FILMNÄCHTE festival project. Since 2023 he has been director of marketing, sponsoring and communications at FILMLAND MV
André Lehmann
Schwerin-born, André has always worked on musical projects and organized events. In 2007 he got his first glimpse at the lively atmosphere at FILMKUNSTFEST MV when he had the opportunity to work at the festival and was thrilled by the experience. Since 2009 he has been putting his passion for film and event management to work organizing FILMKUNSTFEST MV as festival manager.
Jürgen Tobisch
Jürgen was born in Böblingen, Baden-Württemburg. He discovered his love of film at a very early age in the library in his hometown of Sindelfingen. After studying film studies in Bochum, Mainz and Edinburgh, he worked at numerous film festivals between 2003 to 2013, including FILMZ Mainz, Bollywood & Beyond in Stuttgart, Filmfest Hamburg and the Berlinale. He also organized several film festivals and short film events in Sindelfingen. Since 2017 he has been FILMKUNSTFST MV programming director. He currently curates the German feature film and the children and young Audience competitions, as well as the alternating featured guest country films and the guest of honor tribute. Beyond that, he oversees organization of the Cinema Culture Award (Kinokulturpreis), the Mecklenburg-West Pomerania School Cinema Week (SchulKinoWoche MV) and the AHRENSHOOPER FILMNÄCHTE festival.
Favorite film: The World According to Garp
Sonja Holzinger
Since graduating from high school Sonja has lived and worked in Germany and France. She received a B.A. in literature, art and media at the University of Konstanz. She specialized in film in Lyon while on the ERASMUS student exchange program. She did internships at ARTE and the Goethe-Institut in Toulouse. From 2018 to 2020 she worked as a production assistant at two Berlin-based production companies. She received her master’s in media studies at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. While studying there she took over programming and managed the jury and guests for the 50th edition of the Sehsüchte International Student Film Festival. In 2022 and 2023 she organized the Forum Alentours in Strasbourg, a meeting for German and French-speaking film professionals to promote cross-border co-productions. Most recently, she was festival and funding manager at Berlin-based international distributor.
Steffen Buchholz
Steffen was born and grew up in the east of Germany. Shaped by the era of reunification, he made his way into the media sector in 1992 after finishing secondary school and doing compulsory military service. His path was varied. It all started with experiences with camera, sound and lighting engineering while working for the school broadcaster at the State Center for Film (Landesfilmzentrum MV) in Schwerin and continued with musical and documentary video and movie production at Filmbüro MV. From 1995 he was already working – first as an intern and then permanently – in the engineering department at Landesfilmzentrum MV; while there he taught himself web development and database management. He has been a devoted festival employee since and continues to contribute in various areas.
He has been the freelance technical director of FILMKUNSTFEST MV since 2009. He is responsible for all the technical aspects of the festival – from coordinating film copies and subtitles for them to organizing live video feeds for film discussions in cinemas and publishing the festival program on the website. He uses his broad knowledge and passion for technology to ensure the festival goes off without a hitch.
Favorite film: Bram Stokers Dracula (F.F. Copolla)
Anja Seemann
Anja was born in 1980 in Schwerin. After 15 years working in controlling at a corporation, she now works as a freelance project/event manager and film production accountant. She studied business and has been working for FILMKUNSTFEST MV since 2021. Her areas of responsibility include organizing openings and award ceremonies, compiling guest lists and looking after guests of honor.
Jörn Wille
Jörn was born in Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania in 1979. In 2000 he began pursuing a career in photography, film and data preservation at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences (FHTW Berlin). In 2011 he trained to be an event manager at FILMLAND MV gGmbH. At FILMKUNSTFEST MV he is responsible for organization and short films, among other things. His primary profession is working as a property and event manager for the Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft Südwestmecklenburg; he also supervises DeveLUP, the “future center” for the rural district Ludwigslust-Parchim.
Anette Czepulowski
Born in 1980, Anette grew up in Schwerin and had itchy feet from an early age. For a time, her urge to seek freedom in far-off places ended at a quay wall in the Port of Hamburg where she trained at an international freight company. She had soon had enough of sending goods to ports with exotic sounding names and decided to explore the world. An internship in Johannesburg, South Africa was the beginning of an unsettled life of travel. No sooner has she finished her traineeship and she was working as a flight attendant at Lufthansa. She spent nearly 13 years going from five-star hotels to mud huts, from traveling business class to riding in cycle rickshaws and oxcarts and from wearing high heels to sporting flip-flops. In the end she chose flip-flops. She ultimately returned to her hometown of Schwerin and is settled, for the time being. Today she works for the Schwerin city marketing company in tourist information and assists in organizing the supporting program for the upcoming FILMKUNSTFEST MV.
FEATURE FILM COMPETITION
FILMKUNSTFEST MV's generously endowed feature film competition fosters German-language film and cinematic co-productions with German, Austrian and Swiss participation.
For presentation in the cinema submitted films must be provided in a high-resolution digital format for screening.
Cinematic productions from Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as co-productions with those countries are eligible to participate. Films that are not available in German must have German subtitles.
Films should be at least 70 minutes long and not have been officially released in cinemas before showing at the festival. World premieres are preferred. The event organiser decides on exceptions.
Film registration and an online screening link must be sent to the festival office, along with digital film stills and a digital press book, if available.
The material will only be returned if expressly requested. The producer, distributor, director or university must complete the registration.
Films and materials can also be uploaded via the form on the organiser's website at https://www.filmkunstfest.de/service/filmanmeldung.
Either independent expert juries or the audience choose the award-winners. Unless specified otherwise, the directors are the award-winners.
Festival management's decisions regarding programme selection and placement as well as jury decisions cannot be contested, the decisions are final and no legal recourse is available.
The festival bears the costs of carrying out the competitions, for the three-person grand jury and for the three-person FIPRESCI jury as well as the costs of travel and accommodation for one to two guests per competition entry. For this reason no film rental costs can be paid.
FILMKUNSTFEST MV enjoys the support of prominent political figures, private companies, banks, cultural institutions, initiatives and media partners in the state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. These include the government of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, the state marketing corporation, the capital city of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, i.e. the mayor of Schwerin, the regional Sparkasse savings bank, the state lottery, various regional and local companies from various economic sectors (e.g. automobile, beverage, technical services, hospitality, pub and restaurant) as well as NDR, the biggest regional radio and television broadcaster, which has been the festival's media partner for many years along with the local newspaper and even presents its own new productions in a special film series. NDR, the City of Schwerin, the state government and further sponsors endow the twelve awards with prize money totalling 40,000 euros which is awarded in the four competitions.
Many embassies and several of the country's political foundations support the presentation of special films. Eminent guests are invited to the festival to join in discussions on these occasions.
The film series for the annually changing guest country is regularly supported by that country's embassy in Berlin and its current ambassador is invited to attend the opening ceremony in Schwerin along with the minister-president of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. Furthermore, private companies and film and cultural institutions from guest countries have supported FILMKUNSTFEST MV in years past.
Freundeskreis FILMKUNSTFEST MV e.V. (Friends of FILMKUNSTFEST MV e.V.)
Indulge in the joys of film with like-minded people!
The Freundeskreis was founded in August 2012 to support FILMKUNSTFEST MV.
Members of Freundeskreis FILMKUNSTFEST MV e.V. strive to awaken a year-round interest in and excitement for the upcoming film festival in Schwerin among film enthusiasts.
To achieve that members and interested parties are provided with exclusive information and the chance to attend film screenings outside of when the festival is being held.