A new Film Festival in Southern Germany

From July 27th – August 4th 2010, The Five Lakes Film Festival (Fünf Seen Film Festival, FSFF) invites filmmakers and film fans to the cities of Starnberg, Seefeld, Herrsching and Wörthsee, four beautifully located cities on the upper-bavarian lakes between Munich and the Alps.

The FFSF is a Festival designed for the audience, in an intimate atmosphere with the focus on new German Film. In the picturesque bavarian region „Fünfseenland“ between the lakes Ammersee and Starnberger See, that inspired Filmmakers like Visconti and Achternbusch, film fans and visitors have the opportunity to immerse themselves for one week in the world of motion pictures.

The Festival attempts to bring together different groups and topics and to provide a forum, not only for filmmakers but especially to inspire the dialog between audience, film, art and culture.

With the slogan „profound – undiscovered – sparkling“ the FSFF 2009 shows nearly 100 short and feature films. Our focus is on the cinema and all its qualities - especially the picture and the history.

In terms of content the Festival can be put to comparison with the big German Filmfestivals. We offer a competition of the Young cinema from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, recent German and international films from filmfestivals around the world, short films and documentaries, children’s and youth films, and a retrospective. In the upcoming edition of the festival in 2010, this retrospective will be dedicated to Armin Müller-Stahl, the worldwide known German actor, in 2009 it was dedicated to Oscar-winning director Volker Schlöndorff, in 2008 we welcomed cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. Additionally, we will show film previews of upcoming pictures on our open air screen.

One focus of the program is on films from German-speaking countries as well as from the regions bordering the „Fünfseenland“ (Bavaria, Austria, South Tyrol, Switzerland). All the decisions of the jury are measured against these aspects and awards are presented to support the artists in their professional development. Up until now, prize money in the competition amounts to € 10.000. The films are awarded by several well-chosen specialized juries. Other than that, the audience decides on the best short film.

The vivid character of FSFF is mainly due to the open and broadly interested audience. Therefore, filmmakers like Michael Ballhaus, Tom Tykwer, Volker Schlöndorff, Armin Müller-Stahl, Mikhail Kalatozishvili, Rosa von Praunheim, Peter Schamoni, Markus H. Rosenmüller, Götz Spielmann, Hans Steinbichler, and many others already followed the invitation to the Festival.

The Five Lakes Film Festival exists since 2007 and is held annually in July/August in the towns of Starnberg, Seefeld and Herrsching and the surrounding municipalities.