Dear audience, dear exground team,

Opening up new ways of seeing and getting to the bottom of things – it is this approach, in-depth but embracing experimentation, that makes exground a very special film festival. This year we can look forward again to a wide variety of film programming, as around 200 short and feature-length films spirit us away to distant lands, while not shying away from unsettling subject matter. I am particularly excited for a new section whose thematic focus will shift on a yearly basis – this year is dedicated to “flight and expulsion”. The best film in this section will be honoured with the “Amnesty International Wiesbaden Film Award”.

This year, the exground youth days are celebrating their 20th anniversary. Which means this section where young people consciously play the lead roles (both on screen and off) is no longer a “teenager” itself. Still, the youth days continue to let young people speak for themselves, enabling us to experience youth in all its diversity. Once again, a local youth jury will have the opportunity to view the feature-length and short films in the International Youth Film Competition, discuss them under the guidance of a media educator and thus strengthen their media skills. In 2024, the visual journey takes us to Argentina, Bolivia, Lithuania, Belgium, the Netherlands and a small village in the Himalayas, but also to a strict evangelical family in Germany.

The State Capital of Wiesbaden has accompanied and supported exground filmfest since its founding – starting with small grants and then, for many years now, with substantial contributions in the form of institutional funding. It also sponsors prize money for the German Short Film Competition and the youth film section.

I wish all guests stimulating hours in a classic cinema atmosphere and the festival team a successful exground filmfest 37.

Dr. Hendrik Schmehl

City Councillor for Cultural Affairs of the State Capital of Wiesbaden