On September 5th, the 9th International FILM WITHOUT BORDERS Festival successfully completed.

Brandenburgs Minister of Science and Research and Culture Dr. Manja Schüle, described the film festival in her opening speech as„A cleverly curated festival with films of socio-political relevance and a sophisticated youth program – there is no second one quite like it in Brandenburg.“FILM WITHOUT BORDERS also show, that culture in Brandenburg stands for optimism, courage, solidarity, and longing.

In brilliant late-summer weather, numerous visitors experienced intense films by the picturesque Lake Scharmützel. In addition to the Kulturkneune at Gut Eibenhof and the open-air cinema, the Cinema Bad Saarow was also included as a venue for the first time. The screenings were almost completely sold out, with a total of more than 2,000 tickets. The youth program was also very popular among the students from Brandenburg.

The traditional Sunday talk on this year's festival theme Longing with guests Christian Schwochow (director), Prof. Dr. Alexandra M. Freund (longing researcher), and Carolin Behr (co-founder of the Volt party) drew many visitors to the cultural barn of Gut Eibenhof.

Among the numerous prominent guests in attendance were Margarethe von Trotta (Guest of Honor 2019), Minister of Culture Dr. Manja Schüle, Minister Axel Vogel (Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, and Climate Protection, Brandenburg), actors Tom Schilling and Ronald Zehrfeld (who is also the festival’s patron), actresses Haley Louise Jones and Lorna Ishema, Oliver Reese, Artistic Director of the Berliner Ensemble, Panni Szurdi, representative of #SZFE, screenwriters Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Thomas Wendrich, and Jan Schomburg; Rand Beiruty, 2021 „Haus am See“ fellow; actor Cecil von Renner; directors Frauke Sandig and Annekatrin Hendel; documentary and nature filmmaker Jan Haft; and many others.

Thanks to the Knights Hospitaller set up Corona test station, on-site testing was possible.

The FILM OHNE GRENZEN team thanks all contributors, supporters, sponsors, and the audience – and looks forward to seeing you again in 2022!!

Photo: Boris Trenkel/FILM OHNE GRENZEN 2021