filmfest

     
 

Welcome to exground filmfest 25!

"Exground on screen – appetite for films beyond cinema and TV. A new series of events for, by and in Wiesbaden. Appetite for seeing and discovering. Films and videos of diverse styles, directions and ambitions. Underground meets art, good taste meets trash, technical proficiency meets actionism. Time for something new in the spa metropolis. The state of u-art: in the most diverse programs all important filmmakers get a say, who have formed New York underground- and independent film over the past five, six years – Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch, Nick Zedd, Michael Wolfe, Lung Leg, Cassandra Stark, Tommy Turner, Joe Coleman and all the others. The most important works from the US and Europe."

These were the first sentences in the program of the very first exground filmfest (back then still exground on screen), which took place April, 19–22, 1990. In 1989, six cineasts – three of them still on board today – founded the association Wiesbadener Kinofestival e. V., aimed at organizing a film festival for avantgarde- and underground productions in Wiesbaden. In the beginning two times a year on four days in one location. And we kept it up, albeit financially tough times and radical changes in the film- and cinema-landscape. The term "art-house" didn’t exist back then. The age of digital cinema was still far away. Since 1990 more than 250,000 people have attended the exground filmfest events. Directors, who would later on receive the German Film Award like Oskar Roehler and Academy Award-winner Les Bernstien presented their films in Wiesbaden. Many films of internationally renowned directors and actresses/actors had their German or European premiere in Wiesbaden, among them Quentin Tarantino, Peter Jackson, Wong Kar-Wai, Tim Burton and Tommy Lee Jones.

In 2012, we screen in, as for some years now, three permanent locations – and on top of that offer different events in other places like KunstHaus and Schlachthof. By now the festival for ten days screens films from all over the world, among them numerous discoveries as well as underground- and independent productions. We celebrate our 25th jubilee with a series of Festival Highlights.

A few more figures to illustrate the work of the past months: this year we received more than 3,000 film entries from 80 countries, from Albania to Zimbabwe – 20 % more than in 2011. All these films have to be watched in endless hours.

We selected 250 productions from 37 countries for this year’s festival program, among them 17 world premieres, 2 international premieres, 8 European premieres and 47 German premieres. All of them have to be ordered and scheduled, also texts need to be written, material like photos, trailers, posters and press-kits need to be requested. The copies have to be ordered, all films get checked prior to screening and need to be in the right place at the right time. Guests get invited and attended to while here. Press and visitors get information on the festival – in a program-guide, in the bilingual festival catalogue, on our website and – for the first time – also on the exground-app. The festival will be visible on numerous posters in Wiesbaden and the Rhein-Main area, in and on busses of the ESWE transport association, with the festival trailer in cinemas in the Rhein-Main region and, our news this year, on wrappings in bookstores, organic food stores and others.

In order to get all this done, we need a large and (still) unpaid team, supported by external colleagues, trainees and during the festival by more than 100 helpers. Our thanks go to all those, who contribute to making exground filmfest 25 possible!

Our heartfelt thanks also goes to all supporters, sponsors, partners and friends of the festival, whose financial support enabled us to organize exground filmfest 25 in the first place.


 

 
  Top Kontakt