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Feature films, animation, documentaries, children's film, music clips, international or German films – all of them make up interfilm, the International Short Film Festival Berlin, whose audiences have increased steadily in the past decade.
Around 4,000 films from 90 countries were submitted to the Festival offices in Berlin. 450 of these have been selected for competition in the fifteen international programs and three German programs, and for screening in the 50 special programs. Three of the fifteen International Competition programs will be devoted to the theme Violence and Intolerance – Confrontations, and three others to the documentary genre. The documentary also serves as this year's special focus – and as such will be the subject of various workshops and panels.

The Youth and Children's Program KuKi is back again as well – and bigger than ever. There will once again be a film workshop for children. The topic this year is “Is this the right place?“, a question on which a group of 9 to 11-year-olds will write and direct their own short film.

Additional focus will also be put on short film productions from Romania and South Korea. While the program “Around the World“ concentrates on productions from Italy, Croatia, Spain, Australia, South America, France and Southeast Asia, the interfilm program “Special Guests“ offers something for its “regular customers“ and film connoisseurs, making it one of the most innovative film forums in the city. In addition, interfilm presents nine programs featuring a comprehensive spectrum of diverse, cross-media short film formats in “interfilm Extra”.
Over 16,000 visitors are once again expected to attend Berlin’s second-largest film festival. The competition juries will present cash and material awards amounting to € 40,000.
The Festival Office and Film Market will be located at Kino Babylon Berlin:Mitte. interfilm Berlin provides international trade visitors and journalists with the opportunity to view all submitted films during the festival at the Film Market.

From 6 – 11 November, visitors to interfilm can see approximately 450 films as well as experience numerous events at the following locations:
Babylon Berlin:Mitte - Hackesche Höfe Filmtheater - Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz - Roter Salon at the Volksbühne - Club 103 in Berlin-Kreuzberg.

Festival Opening
Tue 6 Nov 9 pm
Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz – Afterparty starts at midnight at Roter Salon
The complete program is available at www.interfilm.de





International Competition
Approximately 100 films will compete for interfilm Short Awards in the categories “Best Film”, “Best Animation”, and “Best Feature Film.” The “Best Documentary” will be chosen by a specially appointed jury, and a third jury will select the “Best Film Against Violence and Intolerance” from the competition programs “Confrontations.”
German Competition
The German Competition is a special forum for national productions. A jury will select the winner of the interfilm Short Award for “Best German Film” from the numerous candidates. For the first time there will also be an Audience Award for this competition section.

The documentary will be the center of attention at the 23rd International Short Film Festival Berlin. There is something for everyone in the six Documentary programs. The Kasseler Dokumentary and Video Festival presents its most innovative documentary productions, and the Leipziger Documentary and Animation Festival offers the best documentaries of the past 30 years. Unreal reality meets the really unreal in the program Reality Bites, which ponders the question of how extremely the power and manipulation of pictures is utilized – not least by the media itself. Lectures and seminars on the subject of the documentary will accompany the film programs. Their main topics will be “The Short Documentary as a Formal Gateway” and “The Documentative as a Medium to the World for Children”

Children and Youth Program KuKi – Shorts for Kids
Since 2000, interfilm has been showing short films for children and young people. The three individual programs present different aspects of the view of childhood and and youth. In 2007, interfilm once again steps beyond the fairy tale in its selection. The productions are characterized by their ample diversity. This program promises to be a lively film experience for the audience and the children’s jury, who will choose the “Best Children’s Film” from the competing films for children 4+, 8+, and 10+.

In addition, a thematic youth program with short films on the project topic “Is this the right place? Being foreign – Being different?” The theme is meant not only to inspire discussion on the subjects of immigration and social exclusion, but also to show snapshots of confusion and orientation during puberty.

Beyond the three established competition blocks, interfilm implements a project divided into three building blocks: Script competition, writing and production workshop. 200 children from seven Berlin schools wrote impressive stories on the topic “Being Foreign – Being Different.” The winning story “Grey on Grey” won and will be adapted for the screen in the writing workshop, headed by playwright Katharina Schlender. The finished script will be filmed by and with children during the Fall Break 2007, and presented in the KuKi program on the same topic. Overseer for the project “Children Making Short Film” is Guido Hammesfahr AKA Fritz Fuchs from the ZDF children’s show “Löwenzahn.” In consistency with this year’s documentary focus, there will also be a program with documentaries for children, followed by a discussion group led by a media pedagogue.

Eject
Once again this year, the audience can choose ist favorite strange short film from the oddballs shown at the Volksbühne during Eject – Midnight Movie Madness. A party will follow at Roter Salon.

Country Focus: Romania and South Korea
The country focus on Romania will be dedicatied to the lively and productive Romanian film scene in recent years. Even though the films differ greatly in style, similarities are visible in the caustic, sometimes merciless, but often humorous and desperate look at the state of Romania and its society.
In recent years, a film landscape has emerged in South Korea – practically from nowhere – that shows enormous potential. Blossoming with innovative energy, the South Korean film scene is currently the most vivacious in Asia. A young generation of filmmakers produces technically brilliant animations and short features which reflect the tensions between traditional forms of thought and modern (city) life.
„Around the world“
This year again, interfilm presents itself as an important film platform for intercultural exchange between countries, people, projects and ideas – especially through its comprehensive selection of international short films.
The focus in this program will be on Italy (short films from Antonioni and Fellini), Croatia (historic animations and new short films), Spain, Australia (selection of the newest Australian short films), South America, France (films on Paris) and the best animation films from Southeast Asia.
Within the festival section “Special Guests“, two programs will showcase animations from the renowned French Studio Folimage and producer Nicolas Schmerkin, founder of the short film production company Autour de Minuit. Further, a selection of award-winning European short films will be shown in the program European Academy Short Award. Initiated by United International Pictures (UIP) and the European Film Academy (EFA), juries at twelve European festivals select one film from each, which is then automatically selected for the European Film Award.
“interfilm Extra“ offers a comprehensive spectrum of diverse, cross-media short film formats. The self-proclaimed flipbookographer Volker Gerling combines film, photography and performance for his photographic flipbooks in the program Daumenkino. Similarly, in the program 3-D Berlin – A Century of 3-D Photos, projections of Meistersteins historic 3-D photos will be shown. And while the special program Clip It offers collages of music, images and animation, the most innovative international and national music videos will be the stars in the program Music Videos.
In addition to short film, interfilm will also host numerous events. Especially noteworthy is Mitte im Glück, from 29 October – 11 November, consisting of an exhibit on Meisterstein’s historic 3-D photos from Berlin and event parcour between the venues Babylon Berlin:Mitte and Hackesche Höfe Filmtheater.