Festival Data:

• Established: 2001
• Genre: General
• Attendance: 9000
• Media Attendance: 92
• Accredited Industry Attendance: 247
• Total Number of Films Screened: 146
• Total National and International Premieres: 44
• # of Shorts Screened: 93
• # of Features Screened: 53
• Accreditations: ECFF, FIPRESCI

• Competitive
• Retrospective
• Students Section
• Has Panels
• Has Seminars
• Workshops

Festival Website:

Festival Description:

The goEast film festival, which was established in 2001, is organized by the Deutsches Filminstitut - DIF, and offers more than 150 films from Central and Eastern European countries every year during a week in April. The program includes not only the film presentations, but also a supporting program with special events, Symposium, podium discussions, a reading and parties. The goEast film festival aims to initiate authentic cultural dialog and exchange – with the festival promoting communication between filmmakers and film-goers in general, with a Students’ Film Competition targeted specifically at communicative exchange between young directors from East and West.

In Wiesbaden, a city maintaining rich historical ties with Eastern Europe, the festival found a home in the Caligari-FilmBühne, one of Germany’s finest cinemas, which lends the festival its very special atmosphere.

Attendance figures continued to rise over the years, accompanied by increasing media coverage. goEast now plays host to some 150 guests annually, among them such renowned directors and stars as Krzysztof Zanussi, Ji_í Menzel, István Szabó, Hanna Schygulla, Béla Tarr, Jerzy Stuhr, Kira Muratova, and Martin Sulik.

During the seven days of the festival, some 150 full-length and short films are screened, accompanied by film talks, panel discussions, and an extensive program of accompanying events. Ten feature films and six documentaries were competing in the main festival section. An international jury awards four prizes worth 29,500 euros in total.

A goEast speciality is the extensive program of accompanying events. Encompassing music, panel discussions and readings, the sidebar program caught the imagination of industry visitors and general public during the eighth festival once more.

Film Submissions:

• Accepts direct submissions
• Submission formats: 16mm, 35mm
• Call for Entry: http:/ / www.filmfestival-goeast.de/ files/ goeast_entryform.pdf