At the 27th Hamburg International Short Film Festival

Hamburg, 23 May 2011Short Films, Long Amazement –At the 27 th Hamburg International Short Film FestivalMore than 300 films from over 40 countries will be shown between 7 June and13 June27 th Hamburg International Short Film Festival (ISFF)The first films shown to amazed audiences on fairs and during vaudeville shows all had one thing incommon: They were short. Likewise, many early attempts at film making, in which directors developconcepts and ideas for future features, are quite often rather short as well. Even though the short filmstarted because of technical limitations, it is now offering impressive opportunities: There is hardly anyother medium that offers as much space for new, daring and boundless views as the short film. Andsince it never fails at delivering marvels and surprises, we will be bringing short films into Hamburg'scinemas for a week.In order to do justice to the diversity of contemporary short film productions, our selection panelsscreened approximately 4.500 submissions from more than 70 countries. Eventually, they cameup with a selection of the 200 best films, which will be shown in the competitions.You can find further information regarding the festival, the venues, the competitions and the prizemoney in the press release “Festival Information” in the attachment.Furthermore, our seven special programmes will give an overview of the exciting past and the diversepresence of short films:Sweden's dazzling film scene receives a closer look in this year's Country Focus. The collectorManuel de Santaren presents contemporary trends of the American video arts scene. StephanDrößler, director of the Munich Film Museum, takes us on a journey through the History of 3D Film.Animal in Film – A cinematographic Bestiary examines the multi-layered relations between humanbeings and animals and their impact on film since itʼs beginnings. The Early Works programme goeson a treasure hunt for early gems by famous directors of feature films and other artists. Theprogramme Man-Machine addresses the hybrid interaction of sound and film. And in our new seriesMy Evening with... we invite a guest to shape the programme with his own films and stories. The firstedition will be hosted by the director Vincent Moon. He brings the films of his “Take Away Show”project in which musicians perform at unusual places.You can find detailed information in the attached press release “Special Programmes”.

Our festival centre called “Meisterwerkstatt” on Friedensallee 128, 800 meters from theZeisehallen, is unique in all respects. The heart of the festival will be beating on the previouslyculturally unused area of the former Kolbenschmidt factory. During the day film makers and membersof the audience can mingle at the info counter, the film market, the Festival Café, one of the manyworkshops or in the sun. We will screen short films out in the open and in the cafeteria. And in theevenings, you will get the chance to engage in stimulating debates or lose yourself on the dance floorat the festival club. This way, all festival activities beyond the cinemas are focused in one location.You can find further information regarding the festival centre in the attached press release “FestivalCentre”.Side by side with the Hamburg International Short Film Festival, the 13 th Mo&Friese Children's ShortFilm Festival will once again celebrate film art from 5 June to 12 June. The young and old audiencescan chose between ten programmes with 50 shorts from 25 countries. You can find the wholeprogramme and further information at: http://www.moundfriese.de/index.php?id=1886&L=1Graphical Material / Interview PartnersOur Logo, this year's poster motif and stills from selected films are available in printable resolution at:http://festival.shortfilm.com/index.php?id=pressebilder&L=1If you are interested, we would gladly send you our Press DVD on which you will find a compilation ofshort film highlights from this year's competitions and special programmes.If you need film material for a report on TV or the Internet, please refer to our contact information atthe end of this mail. The administrative director Sven Schwarz, the artistic director Birgit Glombitza,the Short Film Agency's managing director Alexandra Grammatke or the curators of the specialprogrammes are all available for interviews. We can also help you to get in touch with the attendingfilmmakers during the festival.For further information of the 27th International ShortFilmFestival Hamburg please contact:Tim Gallwitz or Sebastian Bartosch, presse@shortfilm.com, 0049-40/39 10 63 - 27,Friedensallee 7, D-22765 Hamburg; www.shortfilm.comIf you donʼt want to receive more press releases, please contact us.