Located in the north-western corner of Germany close to the UNESCO Wadden Sea World Heritage at the North Sea, the International Filmfest Emden-Norderney is a true festival for the public with an enthusiastic audience for true-to life and story-driven films.
The festival’s main focus is on current films from north-western Europe with an extra section for "New British & Irish cinema" accompanied by acclaimed International highlights, portraits, short films as well as children's and family's films. A large part of the films in competition is made up of German premieres, with the festival providing German subtitles for numerous films.
More than 100 films are being presented on 7 screens, 2 of them on "our" festival island Norderney. Prize money totalling over € 55,000 will be awarded over the course of the festival, the winners of 6 competitions are being chosen by audience's vote.
Over the years the IFF Emden-Norderney has not only become a show case for productions from the UK, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and German-speaking countries, it has also developed into a well-adopted, heartwarming festival and has acquired an exceptionally good reputation among visitors and the industry.
24.000 visitors attended the festival in 2017 and according to our guests the uniqueness of the festival is mainly due to its warm, very personal atmosphere and a particular closeness between film makers and their enthusiastic audiences.
The International Filmfest Emden-Norderney was founded in 1990 and takes place every year in June.
+++ PLEASE READ THE RULES & GUIDELINES BEFORE SUBMITTING. +++
SCORE Bernhard Wicki Award - our International main competition.
€ 15.000 – competition for extraordinary fictional feature films from north-western European and German-speaking countries. The award goes to the top three films with the highest audience rating in the competition (1st € 10,000, 2nd € 3,000, 3rd € 2,000). The prize money is being provided by the Score Tankstellen- und Mineralöl GmbH Emden.
DGB Filmpreis / German Trade Union Award.
€ 7.000 – competition for fictional or documentary feature-length films from north-western European and German-speaking countries displaying an exceptional level of social commitment. The winner is chosen by the audience. The prize money is being provided by the DGB, Bezirk Niedersachsen-Bremen-Sachsen-Anhalt.
NDR Filmpreis für den Nachwuchs / NDR Newcomer Award.
€ 5.000 – competition for an exceptionel first or second fictional feature film by a director from a German speaking country. The winner is chosen by the audience. The prize money is being provided by the Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Landesfunkhaus Niedersachsen.
AOK Filmpreis / AOK Film Award.
€ 5.000 – competition for fictional or documentary feature-length films from north-western European and German-speaking countries that creatively deal with a health-related subject. The winner is chosen by the audience. The prize money is being provided by the AOK - Die Gesundheitskasse für Niedersachsen.
Ostfriesischer Kurzfilmpreis der VGH / East Frisian Short Film Award.
€ 4.000 – International competition for short films of all genre with not more than 15 min. length. The competition is open to films with participation from north-western European and German-speaking countries only. The winner is chosen by the audience. The prize money is being provided by the VGH Versicherungen, Landesdirektion Ostfriesland.
Engelke-Kurzfilmpreis / Engelke Young Audience Short Film Award.
€ 2.500 – the short films in competition (max. 30 min.) are being nominated by a group of Emder students, apprentices and young adults with the aim of finding the best short film from a young audience's perspective. This competition is only open to films from German-speaking countries. The prize money is being provided by the Sparkasse Emden.
Creative Energy Award.
€ 5.000 – for an outstanding achievement in the production of a film in competition recognised by a jury. The award-winner is decided upon the German-language feature films in competition. The prize money is being provided by the Stadtwerke Emden.
Emder Schauspielpreis / Emden Actor's Award.
€ 5.000 – the recognition of an outstanding & distinguished actress/actor. The prize money is being provided by the Dirks Group. (no competition).
Ein Schreibtisch am Meer / A Writer's Desk by the Sea.
This special prize consists of a one-week stay at the "Inselloft", a luxury apartment on the island of Norderney with the intention to enable the development of a project in a unique working environment. The prize is being offered to a film maker attending the festival. (Yes, we want it, too! We are really sorry but unfortunately one cannot apply ...)
Emder Drehbuchpreis / Emden Screenplay Award.
€ 12.000 – applicable are German language screenplays for a feature film that is not older than from the previous year and has not yet been filmed. The winner of the Emden Screenplay Award will be decided on by a select jury of experts in close cooperation with the renowned Grimme-Institute. The prize money is being provided by the Seehafenspedition Jakob Weets.