IKFF Snippets #3
by Marinell Haegelin

DID YOU KNOW: Following the 2017 festival, A Wall is a Screen toured over thirty countries with 250 short films? In 2003, two IKFF technical directors had the idea of screening short films onto streets and walls anywhere for audiences everywhere. Now it’s a bastion of the short films international circuit. It was first known as The Technicians Open-air.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The 34th Internationales Kurz(Short)Film Festival (IKFF) will run from June 5 to 11, 2018. The Three Minute Quickie theme is, “Scandal” with an April 1 deadline… no fooling. Running concurrently, the 20th Mo&Friese KinderKurzFilmFestival’s (Children’s ShortFilmFestival) short films topic is “Fantasia.”

WORD FROM ON TOP: According to co-director Sven Schwarz, IKFF has been scouting quite a few Festivalzentrum locations, but to date nothing is set in stone. They are emphatic about trying their darnedest to keep IKFF in central Altona. AND, Sven’s assured this journalist she’ll get a scoop before the 2018 short film festival begins.

The IKFF team runs like a well-oiled clock. Embarrassingly, I forgot to RSVP for the Opening Ceremonies until the morning of the day and… I’d invited a colleague to join me. Still, when I picked-up our tickets Ronja N.’s typically friendly greeting included assuring me she added our names to the list when my e-mail arrived. I was impressed, aren’t you?

Rumor has it Hamburg Kulturbehörde’s (cultural authority) answer to IKFF’s alarm about paying staff because of funding cuts was, “Hire fewer people.”

Good program presenters at festivals are important for audiences and attending filmmakers. Internationaler Wettbewerb (Competition) 3 was in Hanna S.’s competent, personable hands. No surprise as Hanna provided for guests at the Opening Ceremonies, where we chatted as she helped me.