International Short Film Festival Oberhausen

Over the course of more than five decades, the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen has developed into one of the most respected film events in the world. The festival hosts a German and an international competition, a children's and youth film competition, a regional competition and the MuVi Award for the best German music video. Extensive thematically orientated special programmes and retrospectives of individual film personalities supplement the programme. The festival is associated with a comprehensive film market, and in addition the festival also acts as a non-commercial distributor and short film archive. Up until today, the Festival continues its tradition of launching up and coming filmmakers and setting trends - whether it's the early recognition of short videos, the support of music videos, the exploration of new digital formats or its openness for the interaction between art and the short form. Due to its unorthodox view regarding short films, the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen has always been highly successful in defining a specific image, despite the variety of political and aesthetic developments that have been instigated there – such as the Oberhausen Manifesto, possibly the most important group document of German film.