About us

Short film is still the most important source of film renewal, the experimental field on which future film languages are formed. Today, the diversity of forms, themes and approaches is greater than ever. Feature film or essay, installation, thesis film or artist's film, music video, animation, documentary and all conceivable hybrid forms are emerging all over the world and increasingly online on numerous platforms.

The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen has been moving in this field of tension for over 60 years; it is a catalyst and showcase for current developments, a forum for often controversial discussions, a discoverer of new trends and talents and, last but not least, one of the most important short film institutions worldwide. Oberhausen is the oldest short film festival in the world and the largest festival in North Rhine-Westphalia, with around 7,000 films submitted each year, approximately 500 films in the festival programme and over 1,100 accredited professional visitors annually.

Countless filmmakers and artists, from Roman Polanski to Cate Shortland, from George Lucas to Eija-Liisa Ahtila, have presented their first works here. Important political and aesthetic developments were initiated by the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, such as the Oberhausen Manifesto, perhaps the most important group document of German film.

For years, the Festival has also enjoyed an excellent reputation in the art scene, which has discovered short films and videos for itself. The equal treatment of video in the competitions since the late 1980s, the ongoing preoccupation with commercial and industrial film and the introduction of MuVi, the world's first festival prize for music videos from Germany, at the end of the 1990s or its own film submission platform are considered absolutely trend-setting and innovative.

In 2020, due to the Corona pandemic, Oberhausen conducted the festival completely online for the first time. With over 2,500 festival passes sold and users in almost 100 countries, the new format proved to be a surprise success.

"Historically, Oberhausen is the most important short film festival in the world." Alexander Horwath

"Since I’m self-taught, the short film was for me what film school is to young directors today." Werner Herzog

"I smoked my first cigarette here. For years, I saw every single film at the Westdeutsche Kurzfilmtage, looking forward to those days in Oberhausen every year. These events were important for me, for my decision to become a filmmaker." Wim Wenders

"I'll never forget how Charles Petit, Karl Bartos and I wrote our award statements, pounding the computer keys with six hands in the middle of the night. There were a few gems among the award winners." Pipilotti Rist

"The short film over the course of the 20th century has evolved in so many different directions that it's really hard to think of it as a unified medium anymore. That's why I love the Oberhausen Festival - it celebrates the kind of radical evolution that short film has gone through in the blink of an eye. (...)  54 years is a long time in the film world! It's amazing to me that Oberhausen has been able to chart its course in the turbulent waters of our information age with such dedication to the new spirit of film that it shows each year. Kudos!!" Paul D. Miller aka Dj Spooky that Subliminal Kid

Film Festival Code of Sustainability of the Short Film Conference as PDF