Better World Film Festival

Can films change the world? Yes, they can. That is what we strongly believe. Therefore we invite all filmmakers to offer their solutions for a better world. We want to learn from you filmmakers. That makes our film festival different from all the others. Why? We look for films that show solutions to make the world better. And there are many of us that never get the chance to be part of a forward looking festival. Therefore we celebrate all of you brave and courageous filmmakers out there. We accept all genres. All length. All production years. THERE ARE COINCIDENCES AND THERE ARE INTENTIONS. WHY THE „BETTER WORLD FILM FESTIVAL“ IN MURNAU AM STAFFELSEE IN GERMANY? When DF Neufert and Stefanie Spermann decided in 2019 to organize the Better World Film Festival (BWFF) in the Seidl Villa in Murnau, it was Stefanie's mother who pointed out the town's connection to one of the world's most important film directors. Both of them were relatively baffled by this obvious reference. The famous director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau was actually called Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe and came from Bielefeld. After a longer stay in Murnau he named himself after this provincial town in Bavaria with the movie-like mountain scenery. Possibly also because the famous avant-garde artists' colony there - Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Arnold Schönberg, August Macke - corresponded to his own artistic credo. He is considered the inventor of the 'subjective camera' and changed the viewing habits of the public with his then revolutionary montage technique. The introduction of Murnau's 'subjective camera' found its successors in today's selfie cult. His films like 'Nosferatu', 'Sunrise', 'The Last Man' and 'Taboo' are classics of film history. Places can develop a sucking energy, an astonishing magic and they can let intentions arise from coincidences. So it is perhaps not surprising that the 1st Better World Film Festival was taking place in Murnau's Murnau. The idea of a BETTER WORLD FILM FESTIVAL arose from the consideration that the many doomsday scenarios, the daily disaster reports, the fake news that confuses the mind and heart, the addiction of TV stations and film producers to murder and manslaughter, the proposals for a better world had to be countered. FILMMAKERS SHOW SOLUTIONS Our request to you: Make the BETTER WORLD FILM FESTIVAL your heart's desire. Submit the films of yours that advocate solutions. Solutions that could change the world. They may have lain in your archives for years. They can fall out of all time grids. They can be funny, old-fashioned, clever, eccentric and deeply serious. They can be documentary, economic, scientific, artistic and of course a love story. Just let them get your audience. It's part of our job as filmmakers. As we said: Solutions! In short: We want to show that filmmakers all over the world develop their own ideas about the future of our planet and put them into film. Please register at FilmFreeway. Please choose the country under which the film should be registered. This is usually the production country, the film location or the director's country of origin. This is necessary because the Jury will have that as the only category: the country! THE WINNERS ARE... The prize that is awarded for this is very much in the spirit of Murnau, named after his film: "Sunrise". Everyone who achieves the necessary number of points for the festival week will receive the exhilarating trophy. The swinging trophy! This also distinguishes us from conventional and inscrutable film festivals. With us there is no 1st, 2nd or 3rd prize. Everyone is an equal winner. Here too we want to give the world a little nudge. YOUNG SUNRISE For pupils and students and films for a young audience there is the "young Sunrise" with the same criteria. Don 't worry if you are not sure if your film fits this criteria. The Jury will do the choices. Young or old. Never mind. Our festival is for solution approaches and solution messages. Because since Murnau, moving images have lost none of their power even not for for young people either. Why not use films for a better world? That may sound idealistic and it is. Without the many idealists in the world, the planet would long ago only be inhabitable with gas masks. Idealism comes from ideas. Finding them and bundling them in a festival is the intention of our BETTER WORLD FILM FESTIVAL (BWFF). Hence the call to filmmakers, film historians and all those interested in film: Present your films, which you think could serve this goal, publicly. Use BETTER WORLD FILM FESTIVAL to show that there is indeed an alternative to today's media tyranny, which hardly notices your work and certainly does not appreciate it. Because there are wonderful films, only nobody can see them. We want to change that. Also Murnau had to make this experience and he also has this in common with many of us: He financed against Hollywood with his private fortune, went nearly bankrupt and nevertheless continued. What did he do? He bought a sailing yacht and shot 'Taboo' in the South Seas and had another success. This time as a courageous and independent director. He's a role model for us here as well. Murnau, the indipendent! Just before the premiere he died in a car accident. Coincidence? On purpose? Perhaps also an indication of how short and unpredictable life is. And so let's not waste any more time. ANYONE CAN JURY This festival wants to leave the well-worn and authoritarian tracks of international film festivals, wants a democratic, transparent and forward-looking approach of the audience for a medium that today more than ever has become an uncontrollable force for impact throughout the world. This is why we have decided to take the spectacular step of making an Internet jury possible. This means that anyone can become a member of the BWFF jury. We want the audience to choose the best of the best. As filmmakers we have experienced ourselves how opaque and dominated by lobbyists the international juries work. We are sure that you are the better jury. The audience has always been and still is a jury after every visit to the cinema. Even if it is only private. At BWFF you are allowed to be the official jury. So, take the chance and become a jury member and do so from home or wherever you are. With a simple point system, sorted by country. There are no more criteria. THE VENUE & THE REASON WHY The films with the most scored solutions will be shown in 2022 in Berlin. In any case, the selection made by the democratic and transparent Internet jury has the intention to change the world for the better. So through the BETTER WORLD FILM FESTIVAL we can and want to prove that films can also contribute to finding solutions for the survival of the planet and global empathy. Why do we do this to ourselves? Quite simply. We want a rational and beautiful world. LIFE IS A LOTTERY Everyone who participates in the BWFF via FilmFreeway, be it as a filmmaker or as a jury, automatically takes part in the big final lottery. On the final day of the festival the winner will be publicly announced in front of all party guests. This is optional. The two prizes are wonderful and very special: Bamboo bicycles from Ghana. These solid, stable, elegant and environmentally correct bikes are a real pleasure to look at and ride. Look at the lottery page and for more informations: www.better-world-film-festival.org We love to have you with us and good luck for your daily life wishes Your BETTER WORLD FILM FESTIVAL