2018 edition set for Nov. 19-25, with submissions open through June 24.
BERLIN -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has declared interfilm: International Short Film Festival Berlin, an Academy Award qualifying festival.
As of now, winning films in the categories Best Fiction and Best Animation in the International Competition of the interfilm festival will automatically be considered to compete for an Oscar in the categories Live Action Short and Animated Short Film.
The interfilm Festival thereby joins the ranks of Oscar-relevant festivals such as the Berlinale, Sundance, Clermont-Ferrand, Annecy, BAFTA, Montreal, Seattle and Tampere, just to name a few. Naturally, all further Academy Award criteria must be met.
“This is tremendous news, especially considering our immense passion for extraordinary animation and sharp fiction,” says festival director Heinz Hermanns.
And speaking of Oscar-nominated shorts: interfilm distribution will show the 2018 nominated live-action and animated shorts in two programs exclusively in German, Austrian and Swiss cinemas. The release date is March 1.
The 34th edition of the festival is Nov. 19-25. The call for entries opened Feb. 1 and the deadline is June 24.
Source: interfilm: International Short Film Festival Berlin
Tom McLean has been writing for years about animation from a secret base in Los Angeles.
