Review 2016

Résumé 2016

With 11 prize giving’s, many prominent guests, some entertaining speeches and musical performances, the closing night on 7 May 2016 definitely was a great highlight of the successful 26th festival year.

In his speech during the award presentation, the prime minister Erwin Sellering and patron of the FILMKUNSTFEST MV, acclaimed the Filmland Mecklenburg-Vorpommern for our wide-ranging support for film productions and film festivals in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Despite Ascension Day and beautiful summer weather, there were round about 17,000 Visitors at the festival, which is almost as much as in the anniversary year 2015 with 18,000 visitors. Overall, there were 131 films shown and more than 147 individual events on 6 days to be attended.

“The first days of summer are usually quite a challenge for cinema curators. But as the Schweriner audience seems to be really fond of watching films, they didn’t let us down- a clear proof of love to the festival and its attractive program”, assumes Volker Kufahl, the artistic director and Manager of the event organizer FILMLAND MV.

Furthermore, the international programs, like Focus Belgium and Focus Baltic Sea were very successful. But still, the most visited film this year was the documentary „Rabbi Wolff“, directed Britta Wauer , with the protagonist William Wolff, which was presented just at the opening night of the FILMKUNSTFEST MV on the 3^rd of May. The amazing spirit of this film was spread during the whole festival, with some further highlights like the cheered silent film concert „Die Austernprinzessin“/ “The Oyster princess” (direction: Ernst Lubitsch, 1919) by the Flat Earth Society from Ghent/Belgium. As the tradition proves, the NDR presentations as well as the short film night were highly frequented.

Every evening, the informative Late-Night-Talks with „Cinema-King“ Knut Elstermann and film guests, such as Luise Heyer und Odine Johne, ensured that, even after midnight, the Festivalcafé Platon was full of people. Especially the four political discussions, in cooperation with the Center of Political Education and certain political foundations, received considerable interest.