The world is divided; we hear this every day: into ‘us’ and ‘them’, into ‘here’ and ‘over there’, into too many ‘sides’ and not enough bridges. Yet those who look carefully will realise that ‘divided’ does not only have to mean ‘separated’. At a time when division is being sold to us as a solution and wars are plunging entire regions into a state of endless limbo, the 42nd edition of the INTERFILM Festival invites us to interpret the border differently: as a shared coastline, as a place of transitions, new beginnings and encounters.
Under the title ‘Shared Shores’, we leave partiality behind, venture to the other side and embrace the literal meaning: sharing can divide, and sharing can unite. Perhaps that is precisely where its power lies, for those who share recognise that there is more than one side to the story.
Our programs follow the ebb and flow of resistance and remembrance. They tell the stories of those who are marginalised and those who dare to look beyond the margins. How does solidarity grow between estranged places and people? And how do we find connection not despite, but because of our differences?
INTERFILM’s short films are more than works of art; they are an invitation to explore ambivalence and contradictions. Let us dare to look beyond our own shores to realise that every coastline has its own horizon, and let us meet where what divides us ends and what unites us begins!
Who we are and what we stand for
Founded in 1982 in the squats of Kreuzberg, INTERFILM is the oldest and largest short film festival in the capital that attracts international filmmakers and local film fans alike to the cinemas every year. The festival, which qualifies for the Academy Awards, has long been renowned beyond German and European borders. INTERFILM and its sister festival KUKI – the Young Short Film Festival Berlin – show more than 350 short films every year in more than 50 programmes, workshops and events.
Both festivals see themselves as audience festivals with a focus on narrative film and have set themselves the goal of accurately reflecting current political and social events and creating a space for strong films with progressive content.
Representation, reflection and empowerment are at the centre of programmes that
deal with themes of post-colonial heritage, social participation, global injustice, sexual and gender self-determination and anti-capitalist positions. In short: INTERFILM & KUKI focus on the central potential of short film, its ability to reflect the red-hot zeitgeist. The selected short films and the colourful, loud, loving audience show that this does not have to mean dreary discourse events under the aegis of old white men.
Since 2020, the artistic direction of the festival has been taken over by a festival curatorium. A step that firmly anchors the diversity and polyphony of the short film medium in the artistic orientation and curatorial practice of the festival, and a concept that should also take the multifaceted nature of short film into account in the organisational structure of the festival. Living up to this claim is not always easy, but discussion is productive, and monoculture is never sustainable. The signs of the times are complex, and this must also be reflected in the way we work.
The Festival Curatorium is formed by Alexander Stein, Andrea Schwemmer, Cord
Dueppe, Fredi Klutas, Matthias Groll, Monica Koshka-Stein, Moritz Lehr and Sarah Dombrink.
Visit www.interfilm.de/en/interfilm-festival-2026/ for the full program and ticketing.
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