What started 40 years ago as “Filmzwerge” is now a full-grown festival that awards highly endowed prizes in three competitions, as well as repeatedly addressing new aspects and perspectives of the film and cinema landscape in numerous supporting programs and events.
Eight debut films by promising directorial talents are once again invited to the European Feature Film Competition, which is being held for the ninth time this year. Since 2019, only debut films by young directors have been competing for the best director prize, which is awarded by an international jury and comes with 5,000 euros in prize money.
For the first time, the Münster Film Festival will also be showing a best-of of the Africa Film Festival Cologne in cooperation with Die Linse e.V. this year. The opening film of the Münster Film Festival, which is also the first entry in the European Feature Film Competition, connects these two program series as well as the continents: In “Borga,” York-Fabian Raabe’s directorial debut, Kojo, a young Ghanaian, leaves his family behind in Accra to become a so-called Borga in Germany – someone who has made it to enormous wealth abroad and impresses those back home.
But the protagonists of the other competition entries also take on long journeys, both geographically and emotionally. The films tell of a world in upheaval, of cracks that run through biographies and societies, and of the strength and determination with which the characters fight back.
The country focus on films from the Netherlands, which is unique in Germany, is devoted this year to films by Heddy Honigmann and Dick Maas, two great directors from our neighboring country who could not be more different. And in the late hours of the night, we invite all genre friends to enjoy some well-groomed shocks and offbeat thrills in the Nightwatch series.
In the European Short Film Competition, 36 short works from 12 different countries can be marveled at in six programs. In the Westfalen Connection section, the best short film from the region will once again be determined and, out of competition, two more German premieres can also be experienced here in the presence of the film teams: The directorial debut “Qazi” by Anil Fastenau and Jakob Gehrmann tells the dramatic story of a young Pakistani refugee who is forced by economic and family circumstances to try his luck in Europe, and Julia Jacob’s film project “City of Hope” depicts the world of the “New German Kids” in a small town in southern Münsterland.
This year, the Münster Film Festival is also cooperating with the Tage des Provinzfilms (Provincial Film Days), which will offer panel discussions and film screenings on September 16 and 17 under the motto “Luise und ihre Schwestern: Women in front of and behind the camera”.
Together with young curators, a look back at the festival’s 40-year history is taken, and with the film series Kino aufs Land, the Münster Film Festival finally tours through the Münsterland region. In Wettringen, Vadrup and Darup, in the Hotel zur Post, Piesers Gasthof and the Alten Hof Schoppmann, different visual worlds and genres meet on the screen. In addition to current short films from the festival selection, the program also includes selected productions from the region.
Direct link to the presale:
https://www.cineplex.de/event/5210/muenster/
