Festival Data:

• Established: 1994
• Genre: General
• Attendance: 16000
• Media Attendance: 100
• Accredited Industry Attendance: 250
• Total Number of Films Submitted: 540
• Total Number of Films Screened: 72
• Total Screenings: 89
• Total Domestic Films Screened: 25
• Total Foreign Films Screened: 47
• Total National and International Premieres: 37
• # of Shorts Screened: 19
• # of Features Screened: 53

• Retrospective

Festival Website:

Festival Description:

Being a non competitive film festival, the Oldenburg Film Festival started its career in 1994 and since then it is covering the international movie scene in all of its aspects. This open minded approach leads to an inspiring mix of great premieres, surprising discoveries and original independent productions. An eclectic and attractive program has been the result for the past years. Off beat innovation and ideas against the grain are the trademarks of the Festival.

Among our guests of honor were Alex Cox, Frank Oz, James B. Harris, Tim Hunter, Belgian cult director Harry Kumel, Jim McBride, Philippe de Broca, Andrzej Zulawski, Ken Russell and Jerry Schatzberg, who have all attended the Festival for the retrospectives of their work. Iciar Bollain, Seymour Cassel, Asia Argento, Stacy Cochran, Richard Stanley, Ben Gazzara, Larry Clark, Tim Blake Nelson, Luke and Andrew Wilson and Stacy Keach have attended the Festival for tributes in their honor.

Internationally acclaimed films such as Takeshi Kitano's "Kids Return," Kevin Spacey's "Albino Alligator," Steven Soderbergh's "Out of Sight," David Cronenberg's "Spider," Larry Clark's "Ken Park," Luke and Andrew Wilson's "The Wendell Baker Story," "The Fountain," by Darren Aronofsky, "The astronaut Farmer" by Michael Polish and indie hits like Larry Fessenden's "Habit," Cory McAbee's "The American Astronaut," Michael Polish's "Northfork," Paul Provenza's "Aristocrats," Susan Buice and Arin Crumley's "Four Eyed Monsters," "The Guatemalan Handshake" by Todd Rohal and "Sisters" by Douglas Buck received their celebrated German premiere in Oldenburg.

As a result of the Festival's superior program that focuses on independent filmmaking, press and industry often call the Oldenburg Film Festival the European/German Sundance:

"Oldenburg: The German Sundance ... has become a must in the festival circuit."
Cannes Market News

"The German Sundance"
Screen International

"Not only the repeatedly quoted comparison with the Sundance Festival in the USA where the Oldenburg International Film Festival is called the European Sundance shows the rapid development of this festival, which was until recently a secret tip in the festival circuit."
Filmecho Filmwoche (German nationwide trade magazine)

Awards given include: German Independence Award – Audience Award , German Independence Award – Best German Film, German Independence Award -  Honorary Award, German Independence Award – Best Short Film, Otto-Sprenger-Award

Film Submissions:

• Accepts direct submissions
• Submission formats: VHS, Beta-SP, Digi-Beta, 16mm, 35mm, DVD, MiniDV, DVCam, Other