CLERMONT-FERRAND —
A MECCA FOR GERMAN SHORTS
Over the past years, the International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand has developed into a steady platform for the presentation of German short films. Not only were the German Short Film Association (AG Kurzfilm) and German Films on hand with market screenings and a booth at the festival’s film market, but there were also eleven German shorts and co-productions competing for the Grand Prix in the two sections International and Lab Competition during the 38th edition of the festival: THE BATHTUB by Tim Ellrich (AT/DE), DRY HOT SUMMERS by Sherif El Bendary (EG/DE), HER SON by Katharina Woll, IN THE DISTANCE by Florian Grolig, and SEXY LAUNDRY by Izabela Plucinska (DE/CA/PL) were shown in the International Competition. Another five German shorts and co-productions were selected for the Lab Competition: BEHEMOTH – OR THE GAME OF GOD by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (LS/DE), FREEDOM — INDEPENDENCE by Bjørn Melhus, IN BETWEEN IDENTITIES by Aleksandar Radan, SYMBOLIC THREATS by Matthias Wermke, Mischa Leinkauf and Lutz Henke, as well as SYNTHESIS by Christoph Girardet. At the German market stand, representatives of international short film festivals and organizations picked up the latest edition of the popular catalogue German Short Films 2016 and its accompanying preview DVDs. As one of the screenings presented by the AG Kurzfilm, the 11th edition of the “Soirée Allemande” — a French-German cooperation of AG Kurzfilm, German Films, the International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand, the Goethe-Institute Lyon and the KurzFilmAgentur Hamburg — traditionally celebrated its premiere at the festival on 8 February.
