Editor

INTERNATIONALE MÜNCHNER FILMWOCHEN
27.11.- 30.11.2003

International Festival of Film Schools – November, 2003 in Munich
For the first time in five years, the most important European festival for film
schools returns with a new concept to its original time frame in November.
Tomorrow’s master directors will present their films, documentaries and
animated films from November 27 to 30 at the Munich Film Museum. A total
of 77 films from 43 film schools in 31 countries can be seen during the 23rd
annual International Festival of Film Schools. The festival will open on
November 26 with a screening of the German documentary “The Story of the
weeping Camel” by Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni (nominated for the
European Film Awards / best documentary).
In order to guarantee audience and film specialists the most interesting student
works of the year, a committee of professionals pre-screened all entries
submitted by participating film schools. At the end of the festival, a second jury will choose the winning films from the program. We are pleased that German
award-winning director Peter Sehr (“Kaspar Hauser“, “Love The Hard Way“)
agreed to act as jury chairman.

The range of films will be broader than ever before. The main focus no longer
lies exclusively on European film schools. In future, films from Asian, African
and American schools will have equal standing and be part of the regular
program instead of being relegated to special sections.
Discoveries will certainly be made at this festival – and not only by film students.
After all, later Oscar-winners such as Caroline Link, Florian Gallenberger,
Jan Sverak or Nick Park introduced their early works here, and Canneswinners
Thomas Vinterberg and Lars von Trier received early notoriety here.
And current internationally acclaimed directors such as Peter Cattaneo (“The
Full Monty”) or Michael Caton-Jones (“Rob Roy“) and renowned German
filmmakers such as Sönke Wortmann, Detlev Buck and Rainer Kaufmann
gained attention here for the first time with their student films. Moreover, the film
“The Red Jacket” by Florian Baxmeyer, who last year received the ProSieben
Young Director’s Award, won the Honorary Foreign Student Academy Award
(“Student-Oscar“) this summer. In addition, the ProSieben network gave him the
job of directing the TV-movie “Murdering Elite”.
Only the generous support of Telepool and the German Royalty Collecting
Company of Film and TV Producers Ltd. (VFF), made the Festival of Film
Schools possible again in 2003. Organising body of the Festival is
Internationale Münchner Filmwochen GmbH, while the artistic management
lies with Andreas Gruber, professor in charge of the Film and TV-Movie
Department at the Munich School for Film and Television.
“We would like to present the entire spectrum, from popular hits to slightly
bizarre, exciting experiments“ artistic director Andreas Gruber summarises the
basic credo of the festival.