Up-and-coming International Film Festival Hannover

Up-and-coming International Film Festival Hannover

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Up-and-coming International Film Festival Hannover is a competition for filmmakers aged up to 27, from school pupils and students to first-time directors, held every two years in Hannover. Films run in two parallel competitions, German and International, with no limits on subject, genre or length, and the selection favours an original idea over technical polish. A jury from the film and television industry and film education sees the nominated films for the first time together with the audience and decides the awards at the end of the festival.

The festival dates back to 1982, when a private initiative in Hannover started it as a national film festival for school pupils; it has carried the name up-and-coming since its tenth edition in 1999. It is organised by Bundesweites Schülerfilm- und Videozentrum e.V. The dates of the 18th edition are 19–23 November 2025, at Künstlerhaus Hannover.

Country

Germany

Categories

Student

Awards and prizes

German Competition: the Deutscher Nachwuchsfilmpreis goes to three films equally, each with 2,000 euros in prize money and a producer mentorship; the Bundes-Schülerfilm-Preis (2,000 euros) honours an outstanding film by school students up to 19. Prize money in the German Competition is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). International Competition: the up-and-coming International Film Award goes to three films equally and comes with a place in the up-and-coming Masterclass Film. A live jury, newly appointed for each festival, decides the awards at the end of the festival.

Festival rules

Open to school pupils, young people and students up to the age of 27; the director's age at the completion of the film counts. Entrants may submit one or more films; subject and length are free. Directors from Germany enter the German Competition, filmmakers from abroad the International Competition. For the 2025 edition, films had to be completed after 1 January 2024. Submissions ran from 1 March to 15 July 2025 via filmfestivals4u.net or FilmFreeway, free of charge, with a viewing copy as an MP4 file. Films in languages other than English or German need English subtitles. A pre-selection team with experts from the film industry and film education selects the programme. For films nominated in the German Competition, at least one team member must attend the screening in Hannover.

Contacts

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