NEWS & VIEWS

Of course, this »Preview in Berlin« is hardly the same as attending the forthcoming Dresden International Festival for Animation and Short Films, slated 13 - 18 April 2004. But thanks to the boon of new electronic technology, a couple hundred invited guests could nonetheless savor a few highlights of the 16th Filmfest Dresden. The site for the preview was the Landesvertretung des Freistaates Sachsen in Berlin-Mitte around the corner from the Rotes Rathaus. The host for the evening, festival director Robin Mallick, also happens to be the General Secretary of the European Coordination of Film Festivals, with 220 member festivals under his hat. And he’s a multilingual impresario, who knows how to juggle media entertainment with film art. Following a hearty welcome by Ministerialdirigent Michael Wilhelm, spirits were lighten with Saxon beer, wine, and dry German Sekt before the crowd adjourned to a sitting-room for the hour-long preview of shorts and cartoons booked for the coming event.

Filmfest Dresden, noted for its Special Screenings, is offering a great deal this year for critics and public. Among the attractions are a Bruno Bozzetto Italian animation retro, Short Films by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali (titled »Surreale Cinemagination«), GDR Disco-Films (tagged »MTV of the East«), Short Films of Four Famous Feature Film Directors (Peter Greenaway, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Lars von Trier, and Wolfgang Petersen), German Animation Films produced during the Nazi Period, and a jubilee celebration of 50 Years of Short Films produced at the »Konrad Wolf« Film Academy (HFF) in Potsdam-Babelsberg.

This year’s festival sponsors and partners include the Dresden Cultural Ministry, Kabel Deutschland, Sächsische Zeitung, German Institute for Animation Film, Saxon Association of Filmmakers, and Institut Francais de Dresde, among others. Award-winning filmmaker Sebastian Winkels ­ whose HFF diploma film 7 Brüder (7 Brothers) was one of the documentary hits of the past season ­ previewed his Falling Grace, a work-in-progress shot in English. State Minister Stanislaw Tillich heralded the benefits of filming in Land Sachsen. And Udo Reiter, Intendant of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), proved to be a friendly target for chatter over an evening repast topped off with more Sachsen beer and smooth-flowing Sekt. If this be a foretaste of things to come, then welcome to the 16th Filmfest Dresden! More info: www.filmfest-dresden.de

Ron Holloway