Dear visitors and esteemed filmmakers of the 28th OpenEyes Film Festival,
We would like to sincerely thank all of you for your tireless support and enthusiastic participation in this year’s film festival. Despite our hiatus last year, the change in location, and the rainy weather, you have all once again made the festival an unforgettable event. Your presence not only celebrated the work of the talented filmmakers but also demonstrated how vital and vibrant film culture still is.
A special thanks, of course, goes to the filmmakers themselves, who formed the heart of our festival with their exceptional works. Their creativity, innovation, and passion drive us year after year to organize the film festival, making it a source of inspiration for all film enthusiasts.
A heartfelt thank you to all those behind the scenes. Together, we have made the 28th OpenEyes Film Festival what it was.
We hope you enjoyed this festival edition as much as we did. Your support means a lot to us and motivates us to host even better festivals in the future. We look forward to seeing you all again at our 29th OpenEyes Film Festival next year. Let’s continue to celebrate the magic of cinema together!
Thank you and see you soon!
Your OpenEyes Team.
by Mattias Bossek
A look back at the 28th OpenEyes Film Festival:
With the best of spirits and a hearty dose of enthusiasm, we defied the rainy weather this year and celebrated an extraordinary film festival.
The new venue, Waggonhalle Marburg, lent the festival a fresh atmosphere and provided us with an outstanding new venue to showcase the unique short films. But it wasn’t just the films that brought the festival grounds to life. Thanks to the creative students of Philipps-University Marburg who supported us in all aspects of the festival organization, the Waggonhalle grounds shone in a new light, turning the festival into a true visual experience.
This year’s film festival took place under the festival theme “Transition,” which served as a common thread throughout the entire event. The showcased short films encouraged reflection on changes, transitions, and metamorphoses. Festival attendees also had the opportunity to experiment with these cinematic techniques, whether by editing their own short film in the Film Cabinet’s “Short Film Workshop” or collaborating with artificial intelligence in our “Transition Cube” to create three intriguing short films, which you can watch here.
In total, 69 impressive short films were presented in nine different film blocks, showcasing the diversity of filmmaking, spanning from animation to documentary, fiction, experimental film, and music videos. Each of the four competition categories had its dedicated film block, which was screened in the theater over the weekend. Meanwhile, the open-air cinema featured films from all categories, transforming the evenings into magical moments under the starry sky, except for the rainy Sunday, which favored the indoor theater as well.
However, the most notable highlights of the entire festival weekend were the stimulating conversations with filmmakers, providing a glimpse behind the scenes and the opportunity to learn about their thoughts and motivations.
With gratitude, we conclude the 28th OpenEyes Film Festival. The enthusiasm and support of our attendees and filmmakers made the festival an extraordinary event. We eagerly look forward to future editions where we will once again celebrate the world of short films.
28th OEFF 2023 Aftermovie
by Georgii Astakhov
This year, the Film Cabinet (formerly ‘Garage Cinema’ | ‘Garagenkino’) hosted a mini-festival within the main festival. Here, undiscovered talents had the opportunity to showcase their films on the big screen – an opportunity that many did not want to miss. Films could be submitted separately or brought spontaneously on the evening. From a sci-fi film that was produced over three years to impromptu recordings made on the day of submission, and breathtaking documentaries about a young man from Marburg’s diving adventures in the Galapagos Islands, this year had it all. Particularly moving was the video material from Urintsova, who recently organized the “Ukraine on the Lahn” festival and, with her words about the attack on Ukraine, prompted deeper reflection in the subsequent discussion.
We are delighted to announce that the OpenEyes Film Festival will return next year with its 29th edition from July 25th to July 28th, 2024!
Following the fantastic collaboration with the team at Waggonhalle Marburg and the dedicated support of the Rotkehlchens staff, which enabled us to bring this year’s film festival to life, and the overwhelmingly positive feedback from our audience, we are also pleased to announce that our film festival will once again take place on the beautiful grounds of Waggonhalle Marburg next year.
So, stay tuned for what we have in store for you next year because one thing is certain: the full potential of our festival has by no means been reached!
We’ve already gathered numerous new ideas and taken your suggestions to heart to provide you with an even better film festival in the future!
Stay tuned for more exciting announcements and the continuation of our journey next year!
