2024 Edition of Filmfest Hamburg Breaks Records

Attendance and Attendance Figures

The 2024 edition of Filmfest Hamburg was the biggest in the German festival’s 32-year history, posting approximately 59,000 admissions to screenings, up from last year’s record-breaking total of 52,700.

This included the preceding open-air Binnenalster Filmfest, which ran from September 19-22.

The 10 days of the festival closed with the gala screening of Pedro Almodovar’s The Room Next Door on October 5.

Festival Highlights

Festival director Malika Rabahallah praised the success of the event, saying, “So many of my dreams for this first year have come true. It feels truly magical. It was overwhelming to see so many renowned directors, actors, and filmmakers in Hamburg, all enjoying the special festival atmosphere with us.”

Rabahallah also highlighted the success of the ‘Free-for-all Day’ initiative, which took place on October 3. The event saw over 90% capacity for the 35 free screenings in the five festival cinemas and a further nine venues around the city.

Awards and Prizes

The closing screening was preceded by the awards ceremony, which saw Giovanni Tortorici’s debut feature Diciannove win the €5,000 NDR Young Talent award. A special mention was given to Constance Tsang’s Blue Sun Palace.

A second €5,000 award was presented to Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language by the jury of the CICAE Arthouse Cinema award. The award is backed by Hamburg’s local film fund MOIN for the marketing of the German release of the film in January 2025 by distributor Rapid Eye Movies.

The Critics’ Choice Award went to Ramon Zürcher’s The Sparrow In The Chimney, while the Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s prize for socially-engaged cinema was won by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie for feature documentary Sugarcane.

The audience award was won by Roxana Samadi’s documentary Souls Unshackled – Let Us Be In A Hurry To Be Human.

The MICHEL Children and Youth Film Festival’s jury of seven children and young people aged between 12 and 16 presented its €10,000 award to Norwegian director Eirik Sæter Stordahl’s debut Lars is LOL about bullying, friendship and peer pressure, with a special mention going to It’s Okay! by South Korea’s Kim Hye-young.

Guests and Events

The 2024 edition of the Filmfest hosted more than 300 guests from 29 countries, including directors Nora Fingscheidt, Matthew Rankin, Michel Hazanavicius, Chiara Fleischhacker, Jacques Audiard, Thomas Vinterberg, Fleur Fortuné as well as actors Diane Kruger, Iryna Ostrovska, Anatole Taubmann, Vishka Aseyesh, Lamin Leroy Gibba, and Maiwène Barthelemy, among others.

Highlights during the Filmfest’s 10 days included the German premiere of Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Secret Fig, the world premieres of two debut features – Chiara Fleischhacker’s Vena and Carly M. Borgstrom’s Spirit In The Blood -, and the screening of all six episodes of the TV series Black Fruit casting an idiosyncratic spotlight on the lives of Black and queer people in Hamburg.

Conclusion

The 2024 edition of Filmfest Hamburg was a resounding success, with record-breaking attendance and a wide range of innovative events and awards. The festival’s commitment to showcasing a diverse range of films and supporting emerging talent continues to make it a standout event in the international film calendar.

FAQs

Q: What was the attendance figure for the 2024 edition of Filmfest Hamburg?
A: Approximately 59,000 admissions were recorded during the 10-day festival.

Q: What was the most successful initiative at the festival?
A: The ‘Free-for-all Day’ initiative on October 3, which saw over 90% capacity for the 35 free screenings in the five festival cinemas and a further nine venues around the city.

Q: Who won the €5,000 NDR Young Talent award?
A: Giovanni Tortorici’s debut feature Diciannove won the award.

Q: What was the name of the film that won the audience award?
A: Roxana Samadi’s documentary Souls Unshackled – Let Us Be In A Hurry To Be Human won the audience award.

Q: Who hosted the festival?
A: The festival was hosted by Malika Rabahallah, the festival director.