TALKIN' 'BOUT MY "NEXT GENERATION"
TALKIN' 'BOUT MY "NEXT GENERATION"
Exterior. Night. An incandescent moon lights the sky as throngs of cinemagoers stream out of a packed Cannes movie theater, where they've just attended a highly-anticipated world premiere. We overhear bits of conversation. "Amazing narrative structure for a first film!" "A brilliant documentary, never thought of stewardesses like that." "The claymation was fantastic." "Who was that hunky actor?" "The light in the lake scenes was magical." "I never saw an entire film shot in the subway." "I never saw an entire film shot backwards."
Wait, there aren't any multiplexes in Cannes! But all these people can't be talking about the same film! There's a simple explanation: The crowd is leaving another packed showing of "Next Generation," a program of the year's best shorts by students at German film schools. On May 20th in Cannes, German Films will unveil the tenth edition of this selection.
FLASHBACK
1998: German Films (or the Export-Union of German Cinema, as it was then known) was seeking to diversify its activities, increase awareness of its role, and find new mandates and partners. Jochem Strate, former supervisory board chairman of German Films, whose son was attending the Munich Academy of Television and Film, had a brainwave. Why not involve Germany's various film schools in a project to showcase a selection of their productions in Cannes?
Many of Germany's best-known directors - Wim Wenders, Werner Herzog, Caroline Link and Tom Tykwer, to name only a few - all started out making shorts. And Next Generation offers status-hungry Cannes audiences bragging rights: "I was at the world premiere of X's first student film." They would see new stars being born. Not only that the extraordinary vitality, quality and originality of the Next Generation films and their creators are winning over new audiences everywhere.
That is Next Generation's drawing card, the best shorts by the most talented directors of the youngest generation. For instance, back in 2000 the program included the Munich Academy of Television and Film's Dobermann, by the tallest short film director in Next Generation history. Seven years later director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck was again towering over his peers, winning the OSCAR for Best Foreign Language Film for The Lives of Others.
Henckel von Donnersmarck said of his experience with Next Generation: "When Dobermann was selected by German Films to be part of the Next Generation reel in Cannes in 2000, I was almost as excited as I was when my nomination for the Academy Awards was announced seven years later. Apart from a thrilling and all-expenses-paid trip to Cannes, it was a great bonding experience with the other short film makers. I am still friends with many of them. We had invitations to all the German events and were suddenly taken seriously by the German industry leaders. After all, our films were being shown at Cannes! The turnout at our screening was very impressive, and I got to meet many of the people who would end up organizing and financing my first feature film only four years later."
Next Generation is the real thing, the diamond in the raw, the newest new German cinema and directors. To ensure a selection of the highest quality, the films are selected by a prestigious independent jury composed of two permanent members (Astrid Kuehl, managing director of the Short Film Agency and co-head of the International Short Film Festival Hamburg, and Heinz Badewitz, director of the Hof Film Days and head of the German Cinema program at the Berlin Film Festival), as well as a rotating third juror - this year Anke Sterneborg, a film journalist with Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
Film schools are invited to submit their year's best productions - 59 for 2007. Since the total running time is limited to about 90 minutes, and in order to ensure the broadest possible selection, individual films may not exceed 15 minutes.
The selection is also competitive, for the jury chooses one director who will be sponsored at Cannes by German Films and will represent the other directors from that year. In fact the lure of presenting one's film at a Cannes screening proves irresistible, so almost all the directors, as well as many producers and other members of their posse - actors, DoPs, friends and relatives - travel down, most of them at their own expense, by camping car, bus, train, even sleeping in tents in nearby camping parks, if that's all their budget will allow.
The rewards are ample. They present their films on stage to a packed audience and deafening applause. And then are fted like the stars they are by an international crowd at a beach party that German Films throws in their honor.
And their enthusiasm has been echoed by that of ever larger Cannes audiences. Astrid Kuehl has noted a huge interest in the selection by programmers from festivals around the world. And Heinz Badewitz, who hosts the series of German features shown in the Cannes Market, says buyers and journalists are also eager to discover the newest talents Germany has to offer. Regulars wouldn't dream of missing a year, having learned to "expect the unexpected." The only constants are quality and imagination.
MAKING WAVES & BREAKING GROUND
German short directors are making waves. After presenting At the Lake in the 2002 edition of Next Generation, Ulrike von Ribbeck (German Film and Television Academy Berlin - dffb) was invited back to Cannes the following year to the official program as one of the Cinfondation short film directors. In 2004 her short Charlotte screened at both the Perspectives German Cinema section in Berlin and the Directors' Fortnight in Cannes.
Other success stories abound: Ulrike Grote (Hamburg Media School, NG 2004) garnered a Student OSCAR in 2005 and an OSCAR nomination in 2006 for her follow-up film The Runaway. In 2003 Florian Baxmeyer (a fellow Hamburg Media School graduate, NG 2002) earned a Student OSCAR and an OSCAR nomination for The Red Jacket in 2004. Shown in Next Generation in 2002, Rocks, directed by Chris Stenner, Arvid Uibel and Heidi Wittlinger (Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg) went on to receive an OSCAR nomination the following year.
German film schools get high marks from the industry, too. Heinz Badewitz says the films are getting better and better, and points to the Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg in Ludwigsburg, the first in Germany to offer studies in computer animation, which has provided director Roland Emmerich with many of his best collaborators in Hollywood. And at film schools, free from market pressures, directors may enjoy far greater freedom to express their vision than they will when they turn pro. Next Generation also serves as a promo reel for the schools and for the quality of their programs, as attested by the annual crop of international honors their students' harvest.
In looking back over the ten years of Next Generation, Christian Dorsch, managing director of German Films, stresses the benefits for all concerned: "With Next Generation we are investing in the future. And the program allows us to establish contacts with filmmakers we'll soon be working with. The students get an immersion into the reality of the movie business. We provide the students with festival accreditation, which allows them to participate fully in the festival. They can see the latest and best films from around the world. Plus, it is easy for them to meet producers and funding board representa-tives, many of whom will have attended the screening in Cannes, and discuss future projects."
Anke Zindler, of Munich's Just Publicity PR company, agrees: "In Cannes students have their first 'real life' opportunity - at one of the most exciting international platforms - to learn how to present and market their films, to deal with the public and press - vital for reaching and winning over audiences at home and especially abroad."
Jochem Strate says there are two mythical cities all filmmakers dream about: L.A. and Cannes. And since German Films has always offered film professionals its expertise and a highly developed support system in Cannes, it was a natural choice as a launch-pad for Next Generation. The German Films staff at the German pavilion provides advice and organizational resources. In the experience of Mariette Rissenbeek, publicity manager for German Films, the more the students invest in taking advantage of their stay, the more they get out of it.
According to Heinz Badewitz, the charms of the seaside resort, the sun, food, and beautiful setting are more than just perks - they encourage filmmakers to persevere. Their films are shown alongside those of the greatest directors, and the electric atmosphere is conducive to discussion, to chance encounters and meetings of minds. Almost everyone who is anyone in German film converges on Cannes, and they're far more available there than back home. Martin Scheuring, who coordinates Next Generation at German Films, often hears how the screenings pay off for the students, since it helps them to be taken seriously by established directors and producers. And it works both ways: the impressive array of shorts creates interest in German feature films, too.
Next Generation in Cannes has also been the forum for ground-break-ing discussions between the filmmakers and two federal ministers. In 2002 they met with Julian Nida-Ruemelin, then State Minister for Culture and the Media, and in 2003 with his successor, Dr. Christina Weiss. "Film students are driven by passion, ambition and vision - and often too by difficult economic realities," says Susanne Reinker, former PR manager at German Films who originally initiated the meet-ings between the Next Generation participants and the developers of film policy. "They have the most vivid dreams and the most critical, not to say radical views of the film industry. The 2002 meeting was the first time students had a chance to speak directly with a minister, to express what they cared about, what they need, the steps they'd like to see implemented. And the ministers obviously recognized in the students essential partners in developing a national film policy."
The 2002 meeting was the first time students had a chance to speak directly with a minister, to express what they cared about, what they need, the steps they'd like to see implemented. And the ministers obviously recognized in the students essential partners in developing a national film policy."
After its initial outing in 1998 and the enthusiastic reception, it was clear that, for Next Generation, "Einmal ist keinmal." (Once is never enough.) Cannes is only the kick-off for the program, which, since year two has been shown for the rest of the year at numerous festivals and German film weeks around the world, including Moscow, New York, Mexico, Buenos Aires, Paris, and London - to name but a few - often accompanied by a different director chosen to re-present her or his colleagues.
For German Films, Next Generation is a year-long commitment: the 2006 selection last screened in March this year at Wiesbaden, a little over a month before the 2007 program unspooled.
Laurence Kardish, senior curator at the New York Museum of Modern Art's film department, says, "Next Generation screens as part of 'Kino', our annual program of new German films. The series is very popular, and I'm both pleased and surprised that there is such great attendance for shorts by filmmakers who are not yet well-known but will, we hope, achieve some celebrity in the near future.
While the student filmmakers often attend screenings of other German films that haven't yet opened, I don't really see them very much. They take advantage of their stay in one of the world's great film cities to watch hard-to-see films - they're busy educating themselves."
INCREASING VISIBILITY & CREDIBILITY
Interestingly, the fact of being present in Cannes insures the students greater visibility back home. German audiences and media are eager to discover the new films and faces shown in Cannes. And since German festivals already dedicate a large part of their programming to local productions, shorts by unknowns run the risk of going unnoticed. Also, France is the cradle of a thriving short film culture, and its audiences are avid fans of German films.
Many festivals are recognizing the need to support young film students. It's surely no coincidence that in 1998, the year that German Films launched Next Generation, the Cannes film festival inaugurated a new section, Cin?fondation, which allows 20 film students from around the world to attend Cannes and show their films. The director of Cin?fondation, Georges Goldenstern, explains: "The festival wanted to create a specific forum for film students. It was important that they have a unique role, to help them stand out, and to allow the film professionals in Cannes, distributors, buyers, producers and journalists, to spot the work of filmmakers with a future. What's more, the pres-tige of Cannes gives credibility to the directors in their home countries."
Shorts are definitely enjoying a renaissance, for the Cannes Film Market too has come on board. In 2004 it created the Short Film Corner, a center to support producers, distributors and festival organizers, which screens, in addition to a multitude of other German and international shorts, the Next Generation films too. The German Short Film Association also hosts a Short Film Lounge every year in Cannes.
Let's leave the last word to Germany's newest star, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck: "Next Generation was a major stepping stone for me, and I hope it will be for many more filmmakers in the future."
Robert Gray, Kinograph / Words for Moving Images
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
A selection of some of the current projects of former Next Generation participants
Oliver Dommenget (Train Roulette, NG 1999, University of Hamburg): 2001 children's film Help, I'm a Boy! (Berlin festival)
Branwen Okpako (LoveLoveLiebe, NG 1999, German Film & Television Academy, Berlin): 2000 documentary Dirt for Dinner (prizes at Leipzig, Saarbruecken, Ouagadougou, etc.), 2003 Valley of the Innocent (Toronto and Berlin festivals), currently in post-production on the documentary The Pilot and the Passenger
Zueli Aladag (Listen, NG 2000, Academy of Media Arts Cologne): feature Elefantenherz (2002), television films include the highly acclaimed Wut (2006)
Christian Ditter (Enchanted, NG 2000, Munich Academy of Television and Film): 2006 feature French for Beginners (produced by Christoph Menardi, who also produced the NG 2002 entry, Early Bird)
Holger Ernst (Little Fish, NG 2001, Academy of Art Kassel): 2004 short Rain is Falling in competition in Venice, numerous prizes and festival invitations; and 2006 feature The House Is Burning as a Special Screening in Cannes
Carsten Strauch (The Pocket Organ, NG 2001, Academy of Art and Design Offenbach): 2007 theatrical feature Die Aufschneider
Franziska Stuenkel (Make a Wish, NG 2001, University of Applied Sciences & Arts): 2006 theatrical feature Vineta
Ulrike von Ribbeck (At the Lake, NG 2002, German Film & Television Academy, Berlin): 2003 with the same film at Cinfondation in Cannes, 2004 with Charlotte in Berlin and Cannes (Directors' Fortnight), 2007 feature Frueher oder spaeter
Florian Baxmeyer (Benny X, NG 2002, Hamburg Media School): 2003 Student OSCAR and 2004 OSCAR nomination for The Red Jacket, 2004 two-part TV mini-series Das Blut der Templer, 2007 theatrical feature Die drei Fragezeichen
Ulrike Grote (One Way Ticket, NG 2004, Hamburg Media School): 2005 Student OSCAR and 2006 OSCAR nomination for The Runaway
Ann-Kristin Wecker Reyels (Dim, NG 2005, "Konrad Wolf" Academy of Film and Television Potsdam): 2007 theatrical feature Hounds (Berlinale Forum, FIPRESCI Award)
Sonja Heiss (Christina Without, NG 2005, Munich Academy of Television and Film): 2007 with Hotel Very Welcome, (which also stars former NG colleague Carsten Strauch and received a Special Mention at the Berlin festival)
Marc Brummund (Home, NG 2006, Hamburg Media School): 2007 short Land gewinnen, Special Mention at the Berlin festival
MEMORIES
Vera Lalyko (Window with a View, NG 2002)
At the last minute, my school, the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, offered to pay my way to Cannes. I got a cheap flight to Marseille and from there traveled by train to Cannes. I spent the first few nights in a neighboring town. The Next Generation directors were supposed to meet on Saturday, but I didn't have my festival accreditation so I couldn't get to the German pavilion. It was raining and quite cool, so I couldn't pass the time by strolling along the Croisette. The only thing I could think of was to go to a normal movie theater that wasn't part of the festival, where I watched Star Wars II with a group of kids (a matinee screening!). Despite my faulty French, it was a lot of fun: "Que la force soit avec vous!" Afterwards the Next Generation group met to prepare for our meeting with Minister Julian Nida-Ruemelin in a hotel lobby, where I met my fellow filmmakers.
We met with the minister the next day and I remember that Professor Nida-Ruemelin explained to us changes to the federal film funding laws. We talked to him about our situation as young filmmakers. After the official discussions I had a chance to talk with him about short films and animation films. He was open to the idea of introducing a separate category for Best Animation Short at the German Film Awards.
Then it was time to present our films. At the party afterwards I had many interesting conversations with other student directors and producers. I met Nana Rebhan, who was studying film production in Berlin, which led to our working together. She helped me to produce my next animation film, Promenade.
German Films had given us DVDs with all the shorts. On our way home from the party, walking along the beach, who should I see coming toward us but Jim Jarmusch, whose films I really like. I spontaneously gave him our DVD. Who knows, perhaps he even watched it.
I have such fond memories of our participation in Cannes. For us animation filmmakers, the glitter of Cannes and pressures of the film world will always seem like a mysterious world.
Tanja Brzakovic (Wedding Day, NG 2002)
Next Generation and especially our stay in Cannes was really amazing - it was one of the greatest experiences of my professional life. Hopefully there will be more of them in the future!
Seven of us (from two shorts in the program) drove down to Cannes. I was that year's guest director, so German Films put me up in an apartment. But several other students had no place to stay, so they moved in with me. It was a lot of fun. (I hope I won't get into trouble now - no harm was done!) It was a tremendous experience, we saw a lot, did a lot, and met a lot of interesting people.
Marco Gilles (producer, Knight Games, NG 2003)
For me personally it was a great experience, being supported by German Films, attending for the first time the prestigious Cannes festival, and being invited to all kinds of events and meetings. The international recognition that our short film gained because of Next Generation was a great help in being invited to other festivals. Even now, many years later, I'm still in close touch with several of the filmmakers who were also in my year. Today, Daniel Mann (who co-produced Knight Games with me) and I have our own production company, where we're developing feature films and television projects.
NEXT GENERATION, TAKE TWO!
Five directors and one producer have been invited twice to Next Generation: Vera Lalyko, Susanne Buddenberg, Felix Goennert, Romeo Gruenfelder, Chris Stenner, Arvid Uibel and Raoul Reinert. And Astrid Rieger, whose Apple on a Tree is screening in Next Generation 2007, starred in last year's Promenade d'aprs-midi.
Next Generation 1998 - 2007
Next Generation 1998
EIN EINFACHER AUFTRAG (AN ORDINARY MISSION)
by Raymond Boy, 11 min, KHM Koeln
FAKE! by Sebastian Peterson, 12 min, HFF Potsdam
FISCHFLECKEN (FISH STAINS) by Michael Salzbrenner, 6 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
FIVEFORTYFIVE by Christoph Roehl, 10 min, dffb
FRUEHLING (SPRING) by Silke Parzich, 4.5 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
DAS GELBE TRIKOT (THE YELLOW JERSEY) by Samira Radsi, 7 min, Hamburger Filmwerkstatt
LATE AT NIGHT by Stefanie Jordan, Stefanie Saghri, Claudia Zoller, 4 min, HFF Potsdam
NIGHTHAWKS by Dmitri Popov, 15 min, HFF Muenchen
EIN PERFEKTER MORD (A PERFECT MURDER)
by Frank-Peter Lenze, 6 min, Hamburger Filmwerkstatt
DER SIEG (STEP TOWARDS VICTORY) by Robert Krause,
8 min, HFF Muenchen
Next Generation 1999
BASTA PASTA by Nicol's Hammerschlag, 6 min, dffb
LES DEUX CLEFS (THE TWO KEYS) by Sabine Burg, 10 min, KHM Koeln
EMMIS GEBURTSTAG (EMMI'S BIRTHDAY) by Tonguc Baykurt, 7.5 min, Hamburger Filmwerkstatt
FLYING PAUL by Svend Stein-Angel, 1.5 min, HFF Muenchen
THE GONER by Peter Kaboth, 4 min, HFF Potsdam
HANDLE WITH CARE by Susanne Buddenberg, Lorenz Trees, 3 min, HFF Potsdam
LOVELOVELIEBE by Branwen Okpako, 10 min, dffb
MASKS by Piotr Karwas, 5 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
PLATONISCHE LIEBE (PLATONIC LOVE) by Philip Kadelbach, 10 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
ROAD TO PALERMO by Marcel-Kyrill Gardelli, 8 min, HFF Muenchen
SIND SIE LUIGI? (ARE YOU LUIGI?) by Stephan Brueggenthies, 7 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
DIE SUPERSCHURKEN (SUPER JERKS) by Vera Lalyko, 4 min, KHM Koeln
ZUGROULETT (TRAIN ROULETTE) by Oliver Dommenget,
6 min, Hamburger Filmwerkstatt
Next Generation 2000
BIN WEG - LISA (I HAVE GONE - LISA) by Matthias Kutschmann, 8 min, HFF Muenchen
BSSS by Felix Goennert, 2 min, HFF Potsdam
DOBERMANN by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 4 min, HFF Muenchen
HARARA by Andy Kaiser, 9.5 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
HARTES BROT (STICKY DOUGH) by Nathalie Percillier,
7.5 min, dffb
HOER DEIN LEBEN (LISTEN) by Zueli Aladag, 7 min,
KHM Koeln
LETTERS by Matthias Wittmann, 9 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
MANN IM MOND (MAN IN THE MOON) by Chris Stenner, Arvid Uibel, 7 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
TROMPE L'ÎIL by Ingo Panke, 4.5 min, HFF Potsdam
VERZAUBERT (ENCHANTED) by Christian Ditter, 9 min,
HFF Muenchen
Special Presentation:
Student OSCAR 1999 / OSCAR-nomination 2000
KLEINGELD (SMALL CHANGE) by Marc-Andreas Bochert,
15 min, HFF Potsdam
Next Generation 2001
DANS L'ATELIER DU SCULPTEUR by Richard Bad, 2 min, KHM Koeln
ENDSTATION: PARADIES (TERMINAL: PARADISE)
by Jan Thuering, 7 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
FUER DICH MEIN HERZ (FOR YOU MY SWEETHEART)
by Johannes von Gwinner, 10 min, HFF Potsdam
KLEINE FISCHE (LITTLE FISH) by Holger Ernst, 9 min, Kunsthochschule Kassel
MARIE MUSS RENNEN (MARY MUST RUN) by Konrad Sattler, 5 min, HFF Muenchen
OBERSTUBE (THE UPPER STOREY) by Sebastian Winkels,
6 min, HFF Potsdam
OHNE TITEL (WITHOUT TITLE) by Romeo Gruenfelder,
10 min, HfbK Hamburg
DER PILOT (THE PILOT) by Oliver Seiter, 6 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
QUAK by Wolfgang Dinslage, 7 min, Hamburger Filmwerkstatt
DAS TASCHENORGAN (THE POCKET ORGAN)
by Carsten Strauch, 10 min, Hochschule fuer Gestaltung Offenbach
WUENSCH DIR WAS (MAKE A WISH) by Franziska Stuenkel, 7 min, Fachhochschule Hannover
Special Presentation: OSCAR-winner 2001
QUIERO SER by Florian Gallenberger, 34 min, HFF Muenchen
Next Generation 2002
AM SEE (AT THE LAKE) by Ulrike von Ribbeck, 10 min, dffb
BENNY X by Florian Baxmeyer, 9 min, Hamburger Filmwerkstatt
FENSTER MIT AUSSICHT (WINDOW WITH A VIEW)
by Vera Lalyko, 9 min, KHM Koeln
HOCHZEITSTAG (WEDDING DAY) by Tanja Brzakovic,
10 min, Hamburger Filmwerkstatt
MORGENSTUND (EARLY BIRD) by David Emmenlauer,
10 min, HFF Muenchen
DAS RAD (ROCKS) by Chris Stenner, Arvid Uibel, Heidi Wittlinger, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
RED GOURMET PELLZIK by Andreas Samland, 10 min, dffb
UNDERCOVER by Susanne Buddenberg, 6 min, HFF Potsdam
Special Presentation: OSCAR-nomination 2002
GREGORS GROESSTE ERFINDUNG (GREGOR'S
GREATEST INVENTION) by Johannes Kiefer, 11 min
Next Generation 2003
THE DAY WINSTON NGAKAMBE CAME TO KIEL
by Jasper Ahrens, 9 min, HFF Potsdam
FETISCH (FETISH) by Richard Lehun, 7 min, dffb
GACK GACK (CLUCK CLUCK) by Olaf Encke, 6 min, HFF Potsdam
GUERRA ALLE PIETRE (WAR ON STONES) by Andreas Teuchert, 11 min, dffb
HOCHBETRIEB (NUTS AND BOLTS) by Andreas Krein,
6 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
KUNSTGRIFF (TRICKY FINGERS) by André F. Nebe, 6 min, Hamburger Filmwerkstatt
LETZTE BAHN (LAST TRAIN) by Tom Uhlenbruck, 10 min, KHM Koeln
RITTERSCHLAG (KNIGHT GAMES) by Sven Martin, 6 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
SOFA by Hyekung Jung, 3 min, Kunsthochschule Kassel
SPRING by Oliver Held, 7 min, KHM Koeln
Special Presentation: OSCAR-nomination 2003
DAS RAD (ROCKS) by Chris Stenner, Arvid Uibel, Heidi Wittlinger, 8 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
Next Generation 2004
ANNAOTTOANNA by Clemens Pichler, 9.5 min, HFF Muenchen
ANNIE & BOO by Johannes Weiland, 15 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
BUSINESS AS USUAL by Tom Zenker, 5 min, dffb
HIMMELFAHRT (ONE WAY TICKET) by Ulrike Grote,
13 min, Hamburger Filmwerkstatt
HIMMELFILM by Jiska Rickels, Sanne Kurz, 15 min, HFF Muenchen
ICH UND DAS UNIVERSUM (ME, MYSELF AND THE
UNIVERSE) by Hajo Schomerus, 14 min, Fachhochschule Dortmund
JUERGEN IN SEINEM PASSAT (DRIVING VOLKSWAGEN) by Sebastian Poerschke, 7 min, KHM Koeln
LUCIA by Felix Goennert, 9 min, HFF Potsdam
NEON EYES by Thomas Gerhold, Markus Wambsganss, 8 min, Bauhaus Universitaet Weimar
Next Generation 2005
DIE AMERIKANISCHE BOTSCHAFT (THE AMERICAN EMBASSY) by David Sieveking, 10 min, dffb
CHRISTINA OHNE KAUFMANN (CHRISTINA WITHOUT) by Sonja Heiss, 15 min, HFF Muenchen
DIM by Ann-Kristin Wecker (Reyels), 15 min, HFF Potsdam
ENDSPIEL (THE FINAL) by Mara Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 12 min, HFF Muenchen
I TOOK THE RED PILL by Ramesh Pallikara, 4 min, Hochschule Anhalt/Dessau
JAM SESSION by Izabela Plucinska, 9.5 min, HFF Potsdam
KERNSEIF (CURD SOAP) by Alexander Kiesl, Sebastian Stolle, 3.5 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
DAS KIND (THE CHILD) by Steffen Blechschmidt, 7.5 min, Hochschule Anhalt/Dessau
LåL by Dirk Schaefer, 16 min, KHM Koeln
RALLYE by Romeo Gruenfelder, 2.5 min, HfbK Hamburg
DER TOURIST (THE TOURIST) by Lancelot von Naso, 7 min, HFF Muenchen
Next Generation 2006
AUF DEM FELD (IN THE FIELD) by Philipp Wolf, 9.5 min, dffb
BAZAR by Markus Sehr, Mathias Kraemer, 3 min, ifs koeln
DELIVERY by Till Nowak, 9 min, Fachhochschule Mainz
DER GEIST VON ST. PAULI (ST. PAULI FOREVER) by Michael Sommer, 7.5 min, Hamburg Media School
HEIM (HOME) by Marc Brummund, 6 min, Hamburg Media School
ICH RETTE DAS MULTIVERSUM (I'LL SAVE THE
MULTIVERSE) by Ulf Groote, 11 min, HfbK Hamburg
KALTE HAUT (COLD SKIN) by Sebastian Kutzli, 15 min, HFF Muenchen
MY DATE FROM HELL by Tim Weimann, Tom Bracht,
14 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
OUR MAN IN NIRVANA by Jan Koester, 11 min, HFF Potsdam
PROMENADE D'APRéS MIDI by Claire Walka, 2.5 min, Hochschule fuer Gestaltung Offenbach
Next Generation 2007
ANALOG BROTHER by Falk Peplinski, 7.5 min, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
APPLE ON A TREE by Astrid Rieger, Zeljko Vidovic, 5 min, Hochschule fuer Gestaltung Offenbach
DOPPELZIMMER (DOUBLE ROOM) by Erim Giresunlu,
13.5 min, KHM Koeln
FAIR TRADE by Michael Dreher, 15 min, HFF Muenchen
DIE GUTE LAGE (IN A GOOD POSITION) by Nancy Brandt, 13.5 min, HFF Muenchen
INFINITE JUSTICE by Karl Tebbe, 2 min, FH Dortmund
L.H.O. by Jan Zabeil, Kristof Kannegiesser, 3 min, HFF Potsdam
OUTSOURCING by Markus Dietrich, 6 min, Bauhaus Universitaet Weimar
SPROESSLING by Anne Breymann, 8.5 min, Kunsthochschule Kassel
TRUCK STOP GRILL by Daniel Seideneder, 5.5 min, FH Mainz
VIDEO 3000 by Joerg Edelmann, Joern Grosshans, Jochen Haussecker, Marc Schleiss, 5 min, Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart
WHIRR by Timo Katz, 2.5 min, FH Bielefeld
WUNDERLICH PRIVAT by Aline Chukwuedo, 9 min, dffb