How it all started
The Underdog Film Festival is an open festival, not just aimed at film professionals, but at an audience that brings people from all walks of life together. Premiering in June 2023, the programme included 40 films from 13 different nations.
Our shortest film was 2 minutes long, our longest just under 30 minutes. The audience got to choose between German and international content, fictional or factual content as well as watching films as part of our screenings or in the privacy of our peep show programme. Additionally, there were a few brave individuals who got their tattoos done in one of the peep shows, including a member of our jury!
... and what 2024 holds in store for you
In 2024 we will stick to our original plan of hosting the event in early spring. And this includes not only short film competitions, but also a small selection of feature length films. Add some fun extras with a regional flair as well as a clinic for aspiring filmmakers and we're good to go. You can find out more about the specifics and how to sign up via our programme page.
The next event will take place on 16th and 17th March 2024 and will once again be hosted by Culture Shocks in Wolfsburg, this time offering several small screens, so you can be sure not to miss a screening.
Additionally, there will be two free workshops run on the 24th and 25th of February, kindly hosted by the Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences just across the street from our venue. You would have to sign up in afvance ans spots are limited to 12 people per workshop. Participants have the option to produce a clip as part of the workshop and enter it onto the "42 films challenge" by 9th of March. The audience will pick winner in this micro competition.
Our jury was tasked with shortlisting the nominees for our competitions from the longlisted films and will announce the winning films selected by our audience on 16th March during the annual awards ceremony. Category wins such as "Best Camera" and "Best Director" will be determinded based on the jury's initial ratings.
During the 2023 festival weekend two resident artists were offering tattoo services in the mornings, whilst people could enjoy the peep show programme. For 2024 we have expanded on this and artists will be availabe during regular screening hours. However, as we have fewer work spaces and consequently only limited slots available, it helps to reach out in advance.
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Films were screened as part of our screenings on the big screen and in the privacy of our peep show programme. 2024 will see the tattoo parlour converted into an epic cinema of minature proportions, meaning we will use several individual rooms as screens and offer reruns of screenings, so people can take a film break and still not miss all the exciting content. And this gives everyone an opportunity to use the beautiful foyer for relaxation and a bit of networking.
Click Me2023 to 2024
The first ever annual Underdog Film Festival took place in one of Wolfsburg's most unique location and hosted films from all over the globe, welcoming a lovely audience to experience this cozy live event over the course of a weekend in June. Combining, live screenings with our daily peepshow booth prorgamme as well as a number of interesting panels, spectators and filmmakers alike were able to shape this event and make it a memorable experience for everyone who decided to drop by. Like any new event, however, our event has also evolved. We have tried to make things a little less complicated and a little more transparent. And with submissions from over 52 countries, shortlisting those films was quite a heartbreaking task for the members of our 2024 jury. We are quite hopeful to be able to grow our festival some more in the coming years, so we can provide more screening opportunities for some genuinly worthwhile content. This does, however, also depend on our audience. So drop by, have a look and have a chat with those filmmakers in attendance about what makes you want to stick around for more!
