The Oldenburg International Film Festival, sometimes called the European Sundance, has covered the international film scene in all aspects since 1994. It is held in Oldenburg, Germany.
History
Films such as Park Chan-wookâÂÂs The Handmaiden, Takeshi KitanoâÂÂs Kids Return, David CronenbergâÂÂs Spider, Kevin SpaceyâÂÂs Albino Alligator, Steven SoderberghâÂÂs Out of Sight, Larry ClarkâÂÂs Ken Park, Luke and Andrew WilsonâÂÂs The Wendell Baker Story, and The Fountain by Darren Aronofsky or indie hits like Larry FessendenâÂÂs Habit, Cory McAbeeâÂÂs The American Astronaut, Michael PolishâÂÂs Northfork, Paul ProvenzaâÂÂs The Aristocrats, Susan Buice and Arin CrumleyâÂÂs Four Eyed Monsters or The Guatemalan Handshake by Todd Rohal, received their German premiere in Oldenburg.
Tributes and retrospectives
Tributes (by year)
Retrospectives
Awards
German Independence Award: Best Film (Audience Award)
- 1998: Richard Schenkman â Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five â USA, 1998
- 1999: Noah Stern â The Invisibles â USA, 1999
- 2001: Buket AlakuÃ
 â Anam â Germany, 2001
- 2002: Scott Thomas â Anacardium (Deranged)) â USA, 2001
- 2003: Michael Polish â Northfork â USA, 2003
- 2004: Dennis Iliadis â Hardcore â Greece, 2003
- 2005: Marcos Siega â Pretty Persuasion â USA, 2005
- 2006: Scott Dacko â The Insurgents â USA, 2006
- 2007: Jan Hinrik Drevs â Underdogs â Germany, 2006/2007
- 2008: Emily Atef â ' (Das Fremde in mir) â Germany, 2008
- 2009: Judi Krant â Made in China â USA, 2009
- 2010: Paul Gordon â The Happy Poet â USA 2010
- 2011: K. Lorrel Manning â Happy New Year â USA, 2011
- 2012: Jan-Ole Gerster â A Coffee in Berlin (Oh Boy) â Germany, 2012
- 2013: David Perrault â Our Heroes Died Tonight (Nos heros sont morts ce soir) â France, 2013
- 2014: Michal Samir â Hany â Czech Republic, 2014
- 2015: Tom Sommerlatte â ' (Im Sommer wohnt er unten) â Germany/France, 2015
- 2016: Emre Konuk â The Apprentice (ÃÂirak) â Turkey, 2016
- 2017: Kubilay Sarikaya and Sedat Kirtan â Familiye â Germany, 2017
- 2018: Mikhal Raskhodnikov â Vremennye trudnosti â Russia, 2018
- 2019: Adam VillaSeñor and Reza Ghassemi â In Full Bloom â USA/JAPAN, 2020
- 2020: Miles Hargrove â Miracle Fishing â USA
- 2021: Scott Monahan â Anchorage â USA
- 2022: John Connors â The Black Guelph â Ireland
- 2023: AyÃ
Âe Polat â In the Blind Spot â Germany
- 2024: Max Train â James â Canada
- 2025: OndÃ
Âej ProvaznÃÂk â Broken Voices â Czech Republic, Slovakia
German Independence Award: Best German Film
The Best German Film award is juried by an international panel of fiveâÂÂfilmmakers, actors, artists, writers, producersâÂÂof which at least three members come from other countries than Germany. The films are shown in original version with English subtitles. Jury members have been, e.g., in 2011: Matteo Lovadina, Radley Metzger, Ildi Toth Davy, Soopum Sohn, and Matthew Modine. The 2012 festival saw an all-woman jury, consisting of Tamar Simon Hoffs, Gabrielle Miller, Lana Morgan, Debbie Rochon, and Mira Sorvino.
- 2004: Andreas Struck â Sugar Orange â Germany, 2004
- 2005: Catharina Deus â About a Girl (Die Boxerin) â Germany, 2005
- 2006: Birgit Grosskopf â Princess (Prinzessin) â Germany, 2006
- 2007: Jakob Moritz Erwa â All the Invisible Things (Heile Welt) â Austria, 2006
- 2008: Emily Atef â The Stranger in Me (Das Fremde in mir) â Germany, 2008
- 2009: Thomas Sieben â Distance â Germany, 2009
- 2010: â Picco â Germany, 2010
- 2011: Linus de Paoli â Dr. Ketel â Germany, 2010
- 2012: Jan-Ole Gerster â A Coffee in Berlin (Oh Boy) â Germany, 2012
- 2013: Tom Lass â Kaptn Oskar â Germany, 2013
- not awarded since 2014 due to budget cuts
German Independence Award: Best Short Film
- 2007: Marcos Valin, David Alonso â Atención al cliente (Customer Service) â Spain, 2007
- 2008: Liz Adams â Side Effect â USA, 2008
- 2009: Hassan Said â Mute â USA, 2009 (Best foreign-language short film)
- 2009: Tom Bewilogua â SCISSU â Germany, 2009 (Best German-language short film)
- 2010: Jeremy Bradley, Reuben Sack â Salvation Insurance â USA, 2010
- 2011: Markus Engel â Der letzte Gast (The Last Guest) â Austria, 2011
- 2012: Meghna Gupta, Gigi Berardi â Unravel â United Kingdom / India, 2012
- 2013: Patrick Baumeister â Preis â Germany, 2013
- 2014: Kevin Meul â Cadet â Belgium, 2014
- 2015: Martijn de Jong â Free â Netherlands, 2014
- 2016: Ruken Tekes â The Circle (Hevêrk) â Turkey, 2016
- 2017: Thierry Bessling, Loïc Tanson â Sur le fil â Luxembourg, 2017
- 2018: Jeremy Comte â Fauve â Canada, 2018
- 2019: Kahina Le Querrec â Blue Hour â France, 2019
- 2020: Igor Nevedrov â The Coat â Russia, 2020
- 2021: Lucas Camps â Wall#4 â Netherlands, 2021
- 2022: Samuel Bereuther â Jockstrap Jesus â Germany, 2022
- 2023: MarÃÂa Monreal â When Grass Grows â Spain, 2022
- 2024: Diego Gaxiola â Nostalgia of a (Still) Alive Heart â Mexico, 2024
- 2025: Jorge Florez Arcila â The Flower of Fear â Columbia, 2025
German Independence Honorary Award
- 2013: Mania Akbari, Bobcat Goldthwait
- 2014: Philippe Mora
- 2015: George Armitage, Joanna Cassidy
- 2016: Nicolas Cage, Christophe Honoré, Amanda Plummer
- 2017: Edward R. Pressman, Lou Diamond Phillips
- 2018: Bruce Robinson, Keith Carradine
- 2019: Burkhard Driest
- 2020: William Friedkin
- 2021: Ovidio G. Assonitis, Mattie Do
- 2022: Peter Hyams, John Hyams, Andrea Rau
- 2023: Isild Le Besco, Jen Gatien
- 2024: Dominik Graf, Na Gyi, Paing Phyo Thu
- 2025: James William Guercio, Scott Glenn, Don Keith Opper
Hans Ohlms Award for Best First Feature Film
Since 2023, the Hans Ohlms Award for Best First Feature Film is awarded in conjunction with the Hans Ohlms Foundation.
- 2023: Takayuki Hayashi â From Dawn Till Noon On The Sea â Japan
- 2024: Michael J. Long â Baby Brother â UK
- 2025: Alejandro Castro Arias â Harakiri, I Miss You â Spain
Otto Sprenger Award
- 2007: Ben Reding, Dominik Reding â For The Unknown Dog (Für den unbekannten Hund) â Germany, 2005
- 2008: Emily Atef â The Stranger in Me (Das Fremde in mir) â Germany, 2008
Seymour Cassel Award: Outstanding Performance
This actorâÂÂs prize is awarded for performances in films nominated for the Best German Film award.
- 2012: Tom Schilling for his role as Niko Fischer in A Coffee in Berlin (Oh Boy) â Germany, 2012
- 2013: Martina Schöne-Radunski for her role as Alex in Kaptn Oskar â Germany, 2013
- 2014: for her role as Ruby in ' (Von jetzt an kein Zurück) â Germany, 2014
- 2015:
- Sarah Silverman for her role as Laney in I Smile Back â USA, 2015
- Nikola RakoÃÂeviàfor his role as Slav in Travelator â Serbia, 2014
- 2016:
- Noémie Merlant for her role as Claire in Twisting Fate (àtous les vents du ciel) â France, 2016
- André M. Hennicke for his role as Udo in Strawberry Bubblegums â Germany, 2016
- 2017:
- Lindsay Burdge for her performance in Thirst Street â USA, France 2017
- Gregory Kasyan for his role as Mills in Quest â USA, 2017
- 2018:
- Victoria Carmen Sonne for her role as Sascha in Holiday â Denmark, 2018
- Gabriela Ramos for her role as Lili in Is that you? â UK, 2018
- 2019:
- Patrycja Planik for her performance in Lillian â Austria, 2019
- Zachary Ray Sherman in Cuck â USA, 2019
- 2020:
- Paz de la Huerta for her performance in Puppy Love â USA, 2020
- Daniel Aráoz in The Longest Night by Rob Lambert â Argentina, 2020
- 2021:
- Eaindra Kyaw Zin for her performance in What happened to the Wolf â Myanmar, 2021
- Dakota Loesch in Anchorage â USA, 2021
- 2022:
- Cyndie Lundy for her performance in Parsley â Dominican Republic, 2022
- Graham Earley in The Black Guelph â Ireland, 2022
- 2023:
- Alexandrea Meyer for her performance in Beautiful Friend â USA, 2023
- Jon Jacobs in Passenger C â USA, 2023
- 2024:
- Aki Kigoshi for her performance in A Wasted Night â Japan, 2024
- Tim Blake Nelson for his performance in Bang Bang â USA, 2024
- 2025:
- Sabrina Amali for her performance in Maysoon â Germany, Greece 2025
- John Connors for his performance in Crazy Love â Ireland, 2025
References
External links