10 · 04 · 09

Lars Gass, director of Oberhausen Festival, gives advice to young Mexican filmmakers.

Lorena Villa Parkman

According to Lars Gass, director of Oberhausen Festival, that’s the reason why it's very important to know as much as possible about each festival’s expectations. “It´s not so much that there are good or bad films, but that they are not sent to the appropriate festivals,” he said, during Café with Oberhausen, an event where he spoke casually with young filmmakers participating in FICM´s short film competition.

“It's difficult for Mexican films that don´t look like Mexican films to succeed in international competitions,” Gass explained, adding that this is why students must know where to submit their works. “In Obberhausen we don't have ghettos for the genres, an animation short film might be presented along with fiction or documentaries.”

He stressed the importance of participating in many competitions so filmmakers can hear different points of view and learn from unbiased third party criticism.

Gass asked about the experiences of each of the filmmakers when trying to submit their short films to different festivals. A couple said their projects had been accepted in international competitions, but never in Mexican festivals. Morelia will be the first time their films are shown in Mexico.

Daniela Michel, director of FICM, who was also present during this event, added that Morelia Film Festival liked to take risks and that this year the submission of short films went up 25 percent. “We can now see more experimental short films, not only about death, but comedies, gay shorts, and so on,“ she said. “We try very hard to encourage young filmmakers to be in touch with international film experts. That´s why we organize these events and why we include international jurors in the competition.”

Finally, Gass said that he would gladly receive copies of Mexican short films shown at FICM so they could be considered for the Oberhausen Festival´s selection.