Members

The Bamberger Kurzfilmtage is Bavarias oldest short film festival. Each year, the festival presents around 150 current short films from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and South Tyrol. The best contributions are awarded in the categories animated short, experimental short, documentary short, fiction short, children's short and regional short. The festival has earned its place as one of the most important institutions in the German-speaking short film scene. The Bamberger Kurzfilmtage is also a founding member of the AG Kurzfilm.

Bildrausch e.V. is an association that was founded out of the activities of the WAM (Werbe Akademie Marquardt) in order to offer the cultural management students a basis for organizing film festivals as part of their coursework. This gave rise to the XXS short film festival, which can now look back on over 25 years of history and has become an integral part of Dortmund's cultural scene.
In December 2023, former students and directors Dirk Polte and Werner Bohnen, together with a newly formed board, took over responsibility for the association - and thus also for the XXS short film festival. This was successfully relaunched in 2024 and organized again.
In addition to the XXS short film festival, Bildrausch e.V. has set out to organize the Euro Shorts Filmfestival Dortmund - a festival week in the heart of Dortmund with five different arthouse cinemas and a closing event at the Dortmund Theater. A short film festival for all European filmmakers and film enthusiasts.

cellu l’art-Festival Jena e.V., founded in 1999, is a non-profit association organising the annual cellu l’art - Short Film Festival Jena since 2000 as well as movie nights and events dealing with short film.
A main focus of the programme lies on narrative forms of short film like short fiction, animation, and short documentaries. In addition, experimental and non-narrative forms are part of the programme in order to present an overview of recent works of the short film community. The best works, about 40, are selected for an international competition. A jury of three film professionals, a youth jury of three teenagers, and the audience decide on the awards for the festival's best films. Another focus of the festival is on an annually changing country and its short film scene. Three programmes present shorts from this country and are accompanied by a photo exhibition. In terms of topics the festival provides a wide range of subjects from different countries and (film) cultures.

CINEMARE INTERNATIONAL OCEAN FILM FESTIVAL KIEL is an audience oriented interdisciplinary and international film festival open to all genres. The festival programme, interconnected by its ocean theme, spans from fascination for the sea, to ocean exploration and research reports, sailing and surfing, marine conservation and human rights, to art and experimental 360° full-dome installations.

The films will take you to faraway worlds above and under the sea, they tell stories of adventures of explorers and seafarers, of whales and fish and of the place of mankind’s longing and dreams, the sea and its coastline. They want to inspire, inform, touch, shock and above all is meant as an invitation to join forces in protecting our oceans.

CineMare is committed to the local film scene and to the support of emerging filmmakers. This reflects in the German Ocean Film Award and the Environmental, Youth Film Award. CineMare is a member festival of AG Kurzfilm, the Short Film Conference, Filmkultur Schleswig-Holstein e.V. , as well as the international association of ecological film festivals, the Green Film Network, based in Tourino, Italy.

The CineMare Ocean Short Film Award is an important corner stone in the festival’s annual programming. The section CINEMARE SHORTS has been invited as curated guest screenings at festivals in Germany, France, and Mauritius.

The International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film - DOK Leipzig – is the largest German and one of the leading international festivals for artistic documentary and animated films.
DOK Leipzig was founded in 1955 and was a unique place of encounter and exchange for film makers from East and West during the Cold War. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, DOK Leipzig has developed into one of the most dynamic documentary and animation festivals, providing a high-quality, international programme and, since 2004, additional industry offers. Among DOK Leipzig's more than 41,500 spectators watching about 350 films from over 50 countries are approx. 1,700 accredited professionals from all over the world.

The Landshut Short Film Festival has been held annually in March since its founding in 2000 and is organized by the non-profit association Dynamo Kurzfilm e.V.

The festival features several competition sections with awards for Best Short Fiction Film, Best Genre Film (in horror, fantasy, and science fiction), as well as prizes for Best Animated Short, Best Comedy, Best Short Documentary, and Best Children's Film.

The festival takes place at four venues with a total of eight screens, each contributing to the unique charm of the event with its own distinctive atmosphere. From arthouse cinemas to multiplex theaters, all styles are represented, with auditoriums ranging in capacity from 44 to 430 seats.

The European Media Art Festival is quoted as one of the most important international forums for Media Arts. As important meeting place for artists, curators, distributors and the audience EMAF affected the themes, esthetics and changes in Media Arts in the past. From about 2500 entries the program is selected and gives a brad overview with experimental films, performances, lectures, the exhibition and the Media Campus on the current tendencies in media arts.

The exground filmfest in Wiesbaden is one of Germany's most important film festivals of international independent productions and is a vital meeting point for journalists, visiting professionals and other guests from the film industry. The exground filmfest includes a supporting programme of events such as workshops, exhibitions, concerts, parties and panel discussions.

The Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) is one of the largest and most important festivals for artistic animated film in Europe and worldwide. Since its founding, it has developed into a central meeting point for the international industry and the regional animation audience. The ITFS is organized by Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH.

The Independent Days | International Film Festival Karlsruhe (IDIF) takes place since 1998 in Karlsruhe at Schauburg Cinema. It is organized by Filmboard Karlsruhe e. V. which is seated at the so called "creative park" Alter Schlachthof. The Festival focuses on no- and low-budget productions from all over the world. There are no limitations regarding length or genre. Films may win several awards: Low-budget films may compete for the film award sponsored by the cultural foundation of Sparkasse Karlsruhe. No-budget filmmakers may receive the "Golden ID" sponsored by the City of Karlsruhe. Both award winners are being elected by the audience. There is also a special award given by the Festival's jury recognising extraordinary artistic work. Besides the award nominated films, there is the "Indierama" screening films out of competition.

The Filmfest Osnabrück is one of the best-established and most renowned film festivals in Lower Saxony, Germany. Yearly, it offers independently produced films from all over the world engaging with social matters. The featured movies point to current issues and trigger debates with top-class guests including filmmakers, actors, and experts of the movie industry. The Filmfest Osnabrück exclusively shows films that never have been shown in Osnabrück before, various nation-wide premieres and, especially in our short feature sector, even world premieres. In spite of its distinct choice of social relevant movies, done with the help of civic involvement, the Filmfest is a festival for broad audiences. Each year, the Filmfest awards four prizes, in total worth of 19,000 Euros. The festival’s socially committed tendency and the willingness to show independently produced movies by young newcomers deviates the renowned Filmfest Osnabrück from other German festivals. It has also made an impact abroad because of its distinctive profile. It was premiered 1986 under the title “Tage des unabhängigen Films” (Days of Independent Movies).

FILMFEST DRESDEN was founded in 1989 before the imminent collapse of the GDR and reunification of Germany. The short film festival focuses on short film in all its facets, and has become one of the most important festivals of its kind throughout Germany. FILMFEST DRESDEN is also one of the best endowed short film festivals in Europe with prizes and awards worth approximately €72,000. With roughly 80 short animation and short fiction films from up to 20 countries the International and the National Competitions are representing the centrepiece of the festival programme. In addition, the festival also has an extensive selection of special programmes focusing on a wide range of subjects and countries, as well as retrospectives and children's films. The festival section “etc. - events, trainings, connections” with masterclasses, workshops, panel discussions, talks, exhibitions and receptions supplement the film programmes. At the festival market accredited media professionals can watch more than 2,000 film entries of the current festival edition.
By now FILMFEST DRESDEN attracts around 16,000 visitors annually, including up to 500 national and international media professionals. FILMFEST DRESDEN is a member of the German Short Film Association (AG Kurzfilm e.V.), as well as being listed as a reference festival by the FFA, Germany's main federal film funding body. Film submissions are accepted from 1st October to 5th December.

filmkorte e.V. is an association and home base for short films and short film projects in Northern Germany. It organizes the Flensburger Kurzfilmtage, the "Rolle Vorwärts" program for school classes, and initiates various other short film projects.

Since 2000, the Flensburger Kurzfilmtage have been showcasing contemporary short films from German-speaking countries and neighboring Denmark. The annual competition awards prizes in the categories of Fiction, Non-Fiction, Animation, and “Daring,” as well as audience awards.The festival aims to highlight the diversity of cinematic expression — for adults as well as for children and young people. For younger audiences, the dedicated "Rolle Vorwärts" program offers screenings tailored to school classes.

filmkorte e.V. works closely with Flensburg’s two universities, giving students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in nearly all areas of festival organization.

The Friedrichshafen Film Festival "Jetzt oder Nie" ("Now or Never") is a popular film festival on Lake Constance that is organized by the Friedrichshafen Cultural Office every year in late February/early March. It is very popular with viewers and up-and-coming directors and stands for a sophisticated and carefully curated film program. Young filmmakers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland present their productions at the Film Days and enter into direct exchange with the audience. The short film competition is the highlight of the festival, along with documentaries, a film program for young audiences and a special supporting program. In the competition, the ZF Art Foundation Audience Award of €1,000 and the ZF Short Film Award of €15,000 are awarded. Both prizes are donated by the ZF Art Foundation with the aim of supporting young directors and enabling a further film production by the prize winner.

In addition to short films of all genres, documentaries as well as films for the children's program can also be submitted.

The submission period for the festival always begins in June of the preceding year.

The Filmfestival Münster is an event organised by the Filmwerkstatt Münster. It takes place every second year — in the autumn of odd numbered years (i.e. 2001, 2003, etc.). The oldest competitive film festival in the Westphalia region started in 1981 and was called "Filmzwerge — Tage des unabhängigen Films" (Short films — the days of independent film). Even though the name and concept of the festival has changed over the years, the competition of German-language short films remains the centrepiece of the festival.

Since its foundation in 1991, the Haus für Poesie has been promoting and supporting all areas of literature, but especially poetry, both as the written word and in conjunction with other art forms and media. Its work has focused exclusively on poetry since 2000. It is the venue where contemporary poetry in all its diversity of forms is showcased and discussed.

One of the main concerns of the Haus für Poesie is to nurture and encourage the next generation of writers and to get children and young people excited about poetry.

The Haus für Poesie has built up formats and structures which are unique for the art of poetry in Germany and in some cases unique in the world.

• With the web portal www.lyrikline.org, which has been awarded the Grimme Online Prize, Haus für Poesie runs the world’s biggest online portal for contemporary poetry. The platform is made possible by a network of partner institutions in more than 50 countries.
• The open mike competition for young, German-speaking writers of prose and poetry has been in existence since 1993 and takes place in Berlin. It is the best-known competition for new talent in the German-language area.
• New poetic talent is nurtured in the open poems poetry workshop.
• The poesiefestival berlin is the largest of its kind in Europe and year by year brings some 150 well-known poets and artists to Berlin from all over the world to be part of the 10-day international celebration and discussion of poetry.
• The VERSschmuggel / reVERSible translation workshops in which pairs of poets from two different languages translate each other ensure that German poetry gets the very best translations and poetry from other languages is translated into German.
• The ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival brings together poetry films from around the world and is the only festival of its kind internationally.

The in-house programme of events of the Haus für Poesie in its event room in the Culture Brewery provides continuity throughout the year for the ongoing interaction with poetry with book launches, discussions and poetry from around the world.

FiSH – Filmfestival Rostock – is a yearly event for the young German film scene located in the city harbour of Rostock.

The focus is on the national competition JUNGER FILM which features the best short films of the current independent filmmaker generation. The films are reviewed by a jury that presents their views publicly on stage. Another part of FiSH is the SehSterne programme which consists of films, reportages and documentaries about and from the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well as specific themes such as Film+Music.

Peculiar to FiSH is also the international program which is a forum for ambitious and promising directors of one guest country from the Baltic Sea region.

In addition, the media institution and the Ministry for Education, Science and Culture of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania award the prize Medienkompetenz-Preis M-V to the best media education projects of the state.

Networking meetings, workshops, receptions and film parties provide possibilities for exchange between the audience and the film industry.

FiSH attracts over 3,000 film lovers every year to venues situated along the city harbor.

interfilm Berlin holds the annual INTERFILM - International Short Film Festival Berlin and is also a short film distribution agency and world sales. Thanks to its many years of experience, its continually expanding number of contacts in the global cultural and short film industry interfim has managed to supply the short film format with a broad platform.
Established in 1982 the festival has years of experience and ever-expanding contacts in the international cultural and short film sectors. interfilm has established itself as one of the most important short film festivals in Europe. It is known as the second-oldest German short film festival after Oberhausen and the second-most significant international film festival in Berlin after the Berlin Film Festival.
The interfilm distribution portfolio contains ca. 300 films. Equal emphasis is given to programme blocks consisting of 90 minutes of films and of shorts to be shown before a feature.

The International Short Film Festival 20minmax was founded in 2005 and has since become a firmly established part of the cultural scene in Ingolstadt. It provides a platform for innovative short films from around the world, each with a maximum length of 20 minutes. Every year, the festival attracts filmmakers and a diverse audience to celebrate the richness of the short film format.

At the heart of the festival are competitions such as the International Competition, the Southern Germany Competition, and the Youth Competition, complemented by special programs. The festival is characterized by openness, curiosity, diversity, social discourse, and appreciation — values that are also reflected in its film and program selection.

Held over the course of about a week at venues such as the Audi Programmkino, the Kulturzentrum Neun, and the Ratschhaus, the festival offers not only inspiring film screenings but also opportunities for exchange between filmmakers and audiences.

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.

The International Short Film Week Regensburg was founded in 1994 under the name Regensburg Short Film Week by the Arbeitskreis Film e. V. (Film Working Group) as a non-profit festival which only screens short films. At the core of the programme are the various competitions: The International Competition, the German Competition, the Bavarian Competition and the Regional Competition. The supporting programme focuses on thematic and regionally-related topics and the presentation of film schools and other festivals. The Short Film Week sees itself as an intermediary between filmmakers and the public. The festival is a founding board member of the European Coordination of Film Festivals and already undersigned the Code of Ethics in 1996. This membership is a reflection of the Short Film Week's concern to offer short film and short film makers an appropriate and fair platform.

The Berlinale – since 1951 the most important film festival in Germany and one of the most significant festivals worldwide.
The Golden Bear is a prestigious award for a cinematic work. Since 1955, the festival has also awarded the Golden Bear for the best short film. Many careers have started here. Filmmakers such as David OReilly, Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, and Leila Albayaty took their first steps with the Berlinale Shorts, while others like Akram Zaatari, Köken Ergun, and Ulu Braun have presented their latest works.

With the establishment of the independent Berlinale Shorts section in 2006—formed from the short film programs of the Competition and Panorama sections—the festival deliberately strengthened the position of the short film.

Every year in February, Berlinale Shorts offers a glimpse into the global production of independent short films, showcasing world and international premieres. There are no limitations—all formats are presented: documentary and narrative films, experimental and animated films.

Young talents and established directors and artists present their latest productions on equal footing, providing direct insight into the future of cinema.

The study at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (HfG) offers a unique scope for dedicated learning, research and experimental development. In order to learn to deal with a complex and diverse reality, studies at the HfG Karlsruhe are consistently organized across disciplines: anyone who studies theory gains skills in creative and artistic practice at the same time. Conversely, anyone who studies art or design practice enters into theoretical considerations. This interlocking of the departments of Communication Design, Product Design, Media Art, Exhibition Design and Scenography, Art Research and Media Philosophy succeeds because it takes place in the greatest possible freedom: The students have the opportunity to develop their own interests and strengths, to determine their individual focus thereby creating a personal profile. As new technologies evolve over the next few decades, independent minds are more in demand than ever. In this way, the HfG Karlsruhe directly ties in with the ideas and concepts of the Bauhaus tradition - a tradition in which the design of the future is seen as a central social task.

Studies, teaching and research at the HfG Karlsruhe are also in close contact with one of the best and most innovative exhibition machines in the world - the ZKM | Center for Art and Media.

The Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival is annually taking place on six days in November and is dedicated to regional film production as well as national and international documentary work in all its variations. Current documentary and artistic experimental short and feature films will be screened, media installations will be presented in the exhibition Monitoring and audiovisual performances and VJ-Sets will be staged at the DokfestLounge.
The Dokfest invites to exciting discussions about film and art, will deal with issues of net culture and will offer hands-on events with the possibility to network for ambitious up-and-coming filmmakers.
The Kassel Dokfest understands itself as a festival with an international orientation and a strong focus on new media and the promotion of talented filmmakers.

The Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg is an association that has devoted itself to promoting and improving the public awareness of short films since 1992. It operates a theatrical distribution service for short film, negotiates worldwide licensing rights, maintains a short film database linked to an extensive video archive containing 50.000 titles. The theatrical distribution catalogue contains about 700 international short films, the licenced stock of the sales department about 200 titles. The agency organizes short film workshops in schools and film-related projects with national and international co-partners. Every year it hosts and runs the Hamburg International Shortfilm Festival and the Mo&Friese Childrens' Shortfilm Festival.

The KFFK - Short Film Festival Cologne presents over 100 short films across six days. National and international works are showcased in competition sections and themed programs. In the festival center at the Filmhaus and in many other cinemas across Cologne, the film programs are complemented by VR works, children's programs, accessible screenings, workshops, and numerous opportunities for interaction between filmmakers and audiences.

The association Kurzfilmfreunde Köln e.V. draws on twenty years of experience in organizing short film events. At the heart of their activities is the KFFK, which takes place annually in November. It brings together classic short film formats with innovative new approaches. Through events such as Shorts on Wheels—a combination of bike tours and public short film screenings—as well as many free and low-barrier events, the KFFK works to create inclusive and easily accessible cultural offerings.

The Kurzfilmtage Thalmässing is an independent shortfilm festival. Since 1995 it has annually shown national and international shortfilms. There are no limitations in genre or format. The movies should not be longer than 15 minutes.
In Thalmässing the audience is on top priority: it appoints the first and the second prize in the competition (1.000 and 750 euros). Two more awardees are elected by the "AV-Medienzentrale Eichstätt" and the festival team (each with 500 euros).
The rural location Thalmässing gives the shortfilmdays its special kind far from a cultural saturated media scene. Personal contact between filmmakers and audience is very important and possible.
No red carpets in Thalmässing but these are compensated by outstanding service, wonderful and cosy atmosphere as well as an enthusiastic and passionated audience!

Kurzsuechtig is a film festival dedicated specifically to short films from Central Germany (Saxony, Thuringia & Saxony-Anhalt).
Every year during the five-day festival in Leipzig’s west, we showcase the best regional short films in the categories of Animation, Documentary, Fiction, and Experimental.

The competition for Film Music & Sound Design seeks out the most promising sound artists. In addition, the Extended Reality competition features current projects from the fields of XR and 360-degree storyte

This renowned film festival has existed since 1977. Its truly unmistakable atmosphere has given the festival a reputation that extends far beyond Germany: Due to its bewitching screening location in the midst of a wood and its almost carnival-like atmosphere, the press has often described the festival as the "Woodstock of short films". Throughout the years, however, the aspiration to present a diverse programme has remained constant –  one in which films from off the beaten path of mainstream cinema have a place and films of all genres and production styles can stand on equal footing. As well as the traditional open-air screenings in the Braunshardter Tännchen pine wood, since 1999 a roomy circus tent has been added as an extra screening location (in addition to the local art-house cinema) for the daytime programme.

The Provinziale festival has developed three branches: Short feature films, animated and documentary films. We consider them equal, although we require less topical commitment with the first two. We have had a long process of reflecting where the link between those programmatic branches would be and whether it was a problem. Finally, we found that they had one thing in common, apart from that we like the idea of showing films that would not otherwise find their way onto the screens of Eberswalde: We insist on deciding ourselves what to focus on, in political and aesthetic terms. Our selection is an offer for talk to the audience, frequently meant to be continued and extended

A group of young filmmakers, media technicians, architects and art historians met in 1987 in Stuttgart with the goal of supplying a platform to the independent film and media culture. That same year, the Stuttgarter Filmwinter was initiated ­ and today it is still the centrepiece of Wand 5's commitment. In addition to organising the festival, the Wand 5 Association has also begun presenting special events, retrospectives and film tours. The Stuttgarter Filmwinter is one of the most important forums for experimental film and video and media art in Europe. The festival is subdivided into the areas of film and video, network culture, media installations, performances and children's program.