FFHH Snippets
by the KinoCritics

Why are there no obese film journalists? Everyone I saw at the festival press showings was average weight or skinny. Sitting in the cinema for hours with no exercise should cause one to gain weight. Perhaps “we” are not so fat, because also we have no time to eat. I lost four pounds during the 10-day festival – hope to keep it off. (BT)

What is the difference between films I saw at the Filmfest Hamburg 1997 and now in 2020? Tattoos! These days every film had at least one character with a tattoo; sometimes tattoos were everywhere. Does that represent today’s population? (BT)

Okay, it’s financially difficult for cinemas to be forced to limit seats to no more than 30% per showing. A full house is always a full house. However, I am sorry to say, that I enjoyed having free seats left and right, where I could drop off my bags, coat/jacket and umbrella. I enjoyed having a free view in front of me. In CinemaxX I could even put my feet up on the seat in front of me – don’t tell anyone. (BT)

Running into Albert Wiederspiel and his gang was one of my highlights. Not because they are in charge of the festival and are well-known around Hamburg but because it gave me the opportunity to thank them for putting on this festival. It was one of the few film festivals that took place this year and despite all the restrictions, I enjoyed every minute of it. Working hard to obtain films both for online screening and cinemas, having online interviews with directors and live panel discussions was just a part of their accomplishments this year. (SRS)

For many years I have had trouble getting my tickets for films due to strange glitches in the system. Although there was a delay at the beginning, I found it easy to book all my tickets at Reservix which included the discussion. It was a strange year but despite that, we all manage to see many films. (SRS)

Colleagues, coffee houses and chance meetings are usually the film festival atmosphere-this year masks, space and pre-arrange distance meetings among a very sparse crowd. The panel discussion opened my eyes how hard it was for film productions to complete a film. It was interesting to see how many films were actually finished in 2020. I applaud all those production teams that got it together to finish it before lockdown. (SRS)

For many years I have had trouble getting my tickets for films due to strange problems in the system. Although there was a delay at the beginning, I found it easy to book all my tickets at Reservix which included the discussion.

Talking to a wide range of accredited journalists/industry attendees, the Filmfest Hamburg (FF HH) "film library" concept was applauded, although the films weren’t. Everyone had three films (with few variances) in their “library;” all concurred the films were O.K. but already included in the Accredited-viewing list. (MH)

Reservix, shame on you! Scheduled to be up-and-running at 11:00 on 23.09., so accredited attendees could book seats for Accredited-viewing screenings, instead, Reservix didn't have their show on the road until after 15:00. And, initially not all the film titles were listed. Even though, to be safe FF HH double-checked everything at their end the day before. (MH)

Most of the 52 films for accredited journalists and industry were shown at CinemaxX, Dammtor. A few screenings were also press screenings open to local journalists. Throughout, the festival teams efficiently guided, and helped seat attendees, and make sure everyone was physically distanced. Kudos to Anna who often steered me to my seat, and a couple times in the dark after a film had started, so was a godsend. (MH)

COVID-19’s government requirements re physical distancing, etcetera actually made arranging one’s screening schedule easier. Instead of being able to have a “back-up” film in case one’s first choice was awful, only one ticket per time slot was bookable. (MH)