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Hilmar Hoffmann zum 90. Herzliche Glückwünsche!
By Dorothea Holloway | August 27, 2015
Auch im Namen von Ron möchte ich Hilmar Hoffmann herzliche Grüße entrichten. Im Berliner Tagesspiegel habe ich gestern »Visionär und Pragmatiker« von Peter von Becker gelesen, bewegend und kenntnisreich. Dazu möchte ich aus unserem Buch O. is for Oberhausen – Weg zum Nachbarn (Oberhausen, 1979) zitieren. Die Widmung lautet: »For Hilmar, Will, and Wolfgang, who had the vision and the courage.«
About two decades ago, this industrial city on the Ruhr became known as the »Mecca« of the Short Film. Who exactly coined the term is not known, but British critic Derek Hill was one of the first to export it. That was the beginning of the 1960s. The festival had, partially, taken over the animation category abandoned by Cannes, in conjunction with documentaries, experimental films, and other shorts to complete a weeklong program. A new Stadthalle and recognition by FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) gave Oberhausen official world status. It was a festival, particularly, for film lovers. The »Weg zum Nachbarn« became a busy two-way street. Western buyers from New York and London came to view Eastern product. West German television bought East European shorts and ran them at regular intervals, primarily on Eva Hoffmann’s Second Channel program, »The International Short Film.« Polish Film Weeks in West Germany grew out of the gatherings; friendlier relations developed between artists from East and West; and young West German filmmakers turned, perceptively, from French models to Czech and Polish directors for inspiration. The French Ambassador arrived, one day, from Bonn; later, the Soviet Ambassador made his appearance; and the next occasion saw the American Ambassador take a bow, to open the new Stadthalle. That was in 1963. The festival was now an institution.
Topics: German Film, International Reports, Misc. | Comments Off on Hilmar Hoffmann zum 90. Herzliche Glückwünsche!
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