Visionär Film Festival Berlin - Mainz

Visionär is a platform to discover and support aesthetically and formally outstanding works by new film directors. The festival defines itself as an interdisciplinary, transnational platform for the networking and exchange of artists and professionals from the fields of visual art, film, and music. Visionär’s vision is to promote international and local young talent and contribute to the intercultural dialogue by visually representing different socio-political issues and the diverse cultures living in Germany. We are convinced that the directors we show will provide the audience with new perspectives/visions on today’s society and thus contribute to important social debates. Visionär respects and believes in gender equality and inclusion in the selection process. In an industry that doesn’t always make it easy for women, in a world where it is still necessary to enforce “pro-quota film” in order to secure their presence, Visionär takes great pride in contributing to the support of women. The film program always pays special attention to the less represented countries and cinematographies, but also to BIPOC and LGBTQI+ issues and directors. Visionär aims to give them visibility and create a platform for encounters and dialogue. Visionär took place in Berlin for the last four years and in Mainz since 2019. The 5th edition in Berlin will take place in November 2021, the 3rd edition in Mainz in October 2021. Festival’s sections: → Competition: a selection of 9 first or second feature films that have attracted attention at prestigious festivals around the world, but have not yet been screened in Berlin. → Short Berlin Encounters: we show short films by young Berlin directors through an Open Call. We will show a selection of 20 short films in total. We want to strengthen the local scene and also to enforce the vision of Berlin as a vibrant cultural city – in which artists from different disciplines come together. → Homage: we honor an internationally established director with the screening of his/her debut film: this homage to his/her beginnings should encourage the young filmmakers to trust their talent and to critically oppose the economic constraints of the film industry. → Kino Sonico: an experimental silent film evening, a multimedia event dedicated to re-interpret and re-discover silent films from the past century through contemporary experimental music. → Panorama – Country/Topic in Focus: a short film selection presenting a region, or a deep insight on a topic. Besides the presentation of the films, young directors, professionals, and the audience are invited to participate in panel discussions. Visionär provides an Audience Prize and Jury Prize, consisting of industry professionals.