The Berlinale Shorts Competition presents world and international premieres which compete for the Golden and Silver Bears and the Audi Short Film Award, endowed with 20,000 Euro. The winner of the Golden Bear for Best Short Film is eligible for next year’s short film Oscar. The Berlinale Shorts program reflects the unique qualities the short format offers: radical and free, this art form tackles aesthetic, socially relevant and political topics, serving as a seismograph when critically dealing with present day issues, as well as providing cinematic authors of tomorrow a stage upon which to present themselves. Every year, this section brings film classics to life, reflecting on contemporary questions and practices, and in so doing framing them in a larger cultural context. Berlinale Shorts has always been interested in fictional narratives beyond the well-trodden paths. In keeping with the credo of the “Ulmer Dramaturgy” miniatures of the 1960s, it’s all about creating tension in cinema without resorting to the run-of-the-mill narrative form, claiming the active role in society every artist deserves to call their own. The Way of the World – Play Your Part.

Maike Mia Höhne
Programmer of Berlinale Shorts