Dunja Misic

OFF – Denmark’s eldest and only Oscar- & EFA-qualifying film festival is now ready to announce the official selection for this years’ festival! A record-breaking total of 4077 short films found their way to OFF, and the festival’s pre- and selection juries has been working hard to find the 123 films that make up this year’s selection.

Selected for this year’s competition are 123 wild, provocative, ravishing, wistful and sharp short films, submitted from almost every corner of the world – from Senegal to Estonia, from Pakistan to Chile. A total number of 40 countries are represented in the competition programme this year, and we’re looking forward to welcoming each and every one of them at our festival in August 2022.

OFF is thrilled that 26% more films were submitted this year than in 2021, and we are glad that filmmakers from all over the world have their eyes on OFF – Odense International Film Festival. There is no denying that OFF recived a lot of positive attention when Aneil Karia’s short film “The Long Goodbye”, which won the Oscarqualifying Grand Prix at OFF21, won an Academy Award for ”Best Live Action Short”.

Personal relations. New beginnings. Worldwide changes. Whimsical animated lines and imaginative documentaries. The competition program’s 123 selected short films come from far and wide, both visually and in terms of content.

Read more about the 123 selected films here

See the full list of the official selection here

Here we go!
For the 47^th time the submission for OFF – Odense International Film Festival has opened! Now is the time for Danish and international filmmakers, aspiring as well as established, to submit the short films, they hope can make it to the official selection of OFF22.

Firstly, by submitting you film, you will secure a slot before the eyes of the OFF pre-jury. In the spring of 2022 the pre-jury will send a few hundred short films to the OFF selection jury, who will then watch and evaluate the films before deciding which short works of art will be a part of the official selection of OFF22.

Submission
Short films in all genres with a maximum duration of 30 minutes are eligible for submission. The production has to be completed in 2021 or 2022. Submission deadline is the 1st of April 2022, but there is an early bird-discount for films submitted before the 1st of January, 2022. Read about submission, deadlines and technical specifikations and upload your film HERE.

See you at OFF22! 

MAIN COMPETITION

• OFF Grand Prix – HCA Award:  The Long Goodbye, by Aneil Karia (UK). This award is Oscar-qualifying.
• Storyteller Award: We’re Not Animals, by Noé Debré (FR).
• Artist Award: You’re Dead Helen, by Michiel Blanchart (FR,BE).
• OFF Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards 2020: The Long Goodbye, by Aneil Karia (UK). This award is a nimonation for  European Film Awards 2022.

DANISH COMPETITION

• Best Danish Short Film: Amourteur, by Sylvia Le Fanu (DK). This award is Oscar-qualifying.
• FilmFyn Talent Award: When The Moon Was Gibbous, by Erika Grace Strada (DK).

ANIMATION COMPETITION

• Børge Ring Award: The Expected, by Carolina Sandvik (SE). This award is Oscar-qualifying.
• Animation Talent Award: Favorite Daughter by Susi Haaning (DK).

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

• Best Short Documentary: A View from Above, by Dylan Werkman (NL). This award is Oscar-qualifying.
• The Soapbox Award: Three Songs for Benazir, by Elizabeth og Gulistan Mirzaei (AF).

YOUTH COMPETITION

• Youth Award: Natsværmer, BY Anders Walter (DK).

PITCH ME BABY

• Pitch Me Baby Main Prize: Andreas Roland Jensen for Bon Voyage.
• Pitch Me Baby Special Mention: Hooman Aznavy for Ulve i Fåreklæder 

WHY PLASTIC? SHORT FILMS COMPETITION

• 1st prize: PlasticC, by Sachin Vs (IND)
• 2nd prize: Plastic Ecosystem, by Stefie Gan (USA)
• 3rd prize: PALASTIK, by Asghar Besharati (IR)

AUDIENCE AWARD

• Natsværmer, BY Anders Walter (DK).

NOMINEES FOR THE  DANISH ROBERT AWARD 2022

• Amourteur, by Sylvia Le Fanu
• BUFF COPS, by  Camilla Kaufmann
• Det er så yndigt, by Svend Colding
• Inherent, by Nicolai G. H. Johansen
• Vilde Sind, by Hannah Elbke

A new, strong partnership between the Danish THE WHY Foundation and OFF – Odense International Film Festival focuses on the global, worldwide plastic problems with a call for a special competition for OFF21. 

OFF and THE WHY invite filmmakers from all over the world to give their take and perspective on the issues – how big are they, what can be done, what is already being done and everything else, one might have in mind.
The new WHY PLASTIC? Short Films competition will have 10 selected films, which will be screened at OFF21 where the winner will be announced along with the other winners at OFF.

• Max length: 2 minutes
• Submission deadline: 1^st of June 2021
• Completion date: 2020 or 2021
• Films in this competition must focus on the topic of plastic within the following themes:
  • PLASTIC SOLUTION
  • PLASTIC IN NUMBERS
  • PLASTIC IS EVERYWHERE
  • THE HISTORY OF PLASTIC
  • THE SIZE OF PLASTIC
  • PEOPLE AND PLASTIC
• Free submission through FilmFreeway 
• Prizes: 1st prize: Prize of €2500, 2nd prize: Prize of €1250, 3rd prize: Prize of €500
• The films are to be part of the global impact campaign “WHY PLASTIC?”, starting in October 2021. More information about this campaign HERE. 
• Read more about the rules and terms about submission HERE.

THE WHY Foundation is a charitable organization that supports sustainable development by securing free access to reliable information for millions of people around the world. We produce and distribute documentaries & multimedia content about human rights, democracy, justice and equality.
Read more about THE WHY Foundation on www.thewhy.dk

We are once again very proud of the program for the festival – OFF20 will amaze you, shock you, thrill you and all in all move you!

We have embraced the obsticales and challanges the difficult, worldwide situation has brought, and we can’t wait to show you the results of our creative thinking. As usual we will have a physical festival in the heart of Odense, where filmlovers from all over can enjoy brilliant short films, talks and new experiences.

Because of the global pandemic our venues must only be filled to half capacity, and to avoid ques and overbooked venues a ticket costs 20 DKK pr. ticket.

We promise you, that this year is no different in terms of great experiences – in fact we have a whole new experience, we are proud to present: Our very own streamingservice, OFFstream.dk!

For 89 DKK you can buy online access to all films in competition from 24 of August until spetember 6th. The platform launches in the beginning of august and covers Denmark.

Vi can’t wait to see you here in Odense or at OFFstream.dk – take a look at our spectacular program HERE

129 amazing short films from all over the world have been selected for this years OFF20!

See the full list of films here

See the full competition programme here

Submission for this year’s competition programme has ended.
Notification date is May 26th. Please note that selection results will be sent from filmfreeway.com at 3pm Pacific Time and will therefore arrive in your inboxes around the world at different times during the 26th and the 27th.

In collaboration with Kunstmuseum Brandts in Odense OFF – Odense International Film Festival creates an installation of short films which focuses on belonging. (Danish: “Et Hjem i Verden”)

Belonging

Where do you belong – a place, a family, a community? A sense of belonging is more than locations and relationships, it is also about feeling at home in a movement, a culture or an environment. The film installation “Belonging” adds a new dimension to the current exhibition “Works of Art” at Kunstmuseum Brandts where it challenges our fundamental ideas of belonging in the world.

Festival Director Birgitte Weinberger is excited about the collaboration with the art museum from Odense and the opportunity to expand the thematic surrounding the exhibit. She believes the sense of belonging belongs to all of us:

“Where do we come from, where do we feel at home – and why? Both the exhibition “Works of Art” and the short film installation “Belonging” touches upon a topic that we all consciously and unconsciously face regularly. And a topic that takes up a large part of a person’s identity. I hope, the audience will take home with them, that belonging is more than soft hills, community centers and wedding anniversaries. A home can also be a community, a family or a special case from the other side of the world.”

Soft hills, repetitive potatoes dishes and cityscapes are in fact represented in the five short films the installation is composed of. But the audience will also see 100-year-old rites of passage, culture clashes and a totalitarian state swallowing itself. The five films in the installation will be played in loop and they are as follows:

“Fantasy” (Finland / 2017 / 10 minutes)

“The End of Time” (Cuba / 2017 / minutes)

“Our Fathers’ Sons” (Denmark / 2015 / 7 minutes)

“The Rabbit Hunt” (USA / 2018 / 7 minutes)

“The Reflection of Power” (France / 2015 / 10 minutes)

More information

The installation will be launched with an opening party – designed in collaboration with students from Design School Kolding – on Thursday the 21^st of November 2019 at 17.00 at Kunstmusem Brandts. At the opening there will be speeches, cool drinks and crispy popcorn. Learn more about the event HERE

The Installation “Belonging” can be enjoyed during the regular opening hours of the museum and runs until spring 2020.