International Short Film Week Regensburg

Germany's Oldest Short Film Festival

Since 1994, the International Short Film Week Regensburg has brought together filmmakers, industry professionals, and a broad audience in the Upper Palatinate university city on the Danube. This makes it Germany's oldest short film festival – and one of the most renowned. The Arbeitskreis Film Regensburg e.V. organises the Short Film Week every year in the first or second week of March, supported by the FilmFernsehFonds Bayern (FFF).

The Programme Architecture

Over 50 programmes featuring around 250 short films are spread across eleven festival days. The programme structure includes:

• International Competition – the festival's most important short film contest
• German Competition – a selection from current German short film productions
• Bavarian Competition – focusing on Bavarian filmmakers
• Country Focuses – changing, with thematic programmes from historical, contemporary, and indigenous perspectives
• Retrospectives of individual directors
• Special Formats such as vinyl films with live DJ accompaniment and analogue specials on Scopitones (1960s music film machines)
• A total of up to ten prizes are awarded

Venues in the World Heritage Old Town

The Short Film Week uses several cinemas and cultural spaces in Regensburg's historic Old Town – including the Filmgalerie Leerer Beutel as the central venue, the Ostentor Kino, the Wintergarten, and the Filmtheater W1. Regensburg's Old Town has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2006 – a spectacular backdrop for an international film festival.

More Than Competition – An Industry Platform

Beyond film screenings, the Short Film Week is an industry meeting point: Directors personally present their films, Q&A sessions, workshops for emerging talents, and informal discussions at the opening, awards ceremony, and the traditional Zündfunk party make the festival a networking event. FFF Bayern and other sponsors support the programme with talent development and industry panels.

Regensburg as a Film City

Besides Munich, Regensburg is Bavaria's second major film city. The university, art college, and an active independent film scene provide the event with local audiences and filmmakers. The city on the Danube, with around 150,000 inhabitants, is large enough for a festival of this scale – and small enough for the industry to naturally meet in the Old Town.