On Friday, September 22, the Filmfestival Münster kicks off for the 20th time, and not only will actor Nicolas Garin personally present his new film Es brennt at the opening, but the festival will also screen the entire European Short Film Competition on the very first weekend.
“Well over 800 works from 35 European countries were submitted for the competition, more than ever before,” says Risna Olthuis, who co-directs the festival with Carsten Happe. A total of 32 short films – a colorful mix of animated films, documentaries and short feature films – between three and 30 minutes in length will be shown in six programs on September 23 and 24. The jury prize, worth 3,000 euros, and the audience prize, worth 1,000 euros, will be awarded at the official closing event on September 30 at the festival cinema, the Schloßtheater Münster.
The first Saturday of the festival will also be dedicated to the promotion of young filmmakers: the NRW Film Culture Network welcomes visitors to the Film Education Theme Day and will address the current situation of film education offerings in NRW and how even better networking and promotion can be implemented and initiated. Ina Brandes, Minister for Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia will be present with a video message.
One film that has already attracted a lot of attention in advance is the drama The Quiet Girl by director and screenwriter Colm Bairéad based on the short story The Third Light by Claire Keegan. The Quiet Girl is his feature film debut and also the first Irish-language film to be nominated for an Academy Award. The film is a “quiet sensation in the cinema year,” says festival director Carsten Happe. Set in Ireland in the early 1980s, the film’s narrative centers on 9-year-old Cáit, who is sent to spend the summer with a foster family. After a brief blossoming, the young girl discovers that even here, in silence, there is a pain that cannot be put into words.
The leading actress Thekla Reuten is expected in Münster for the German premiere of the family drama Narcosis. Martijn de Jong’s directorial debut was the Dutch entry for the Oscars this year. Thekla Reuten previously starred in The American alongside George Clooney and in In Bruges alongside Ralph Fiennes and Colin Farrell, among others. Narcosis screens at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Schloßtheater.
