Dear audience, dear exground team,

For weeks, I have been looking forward to the 38th edition of exground filmfest, as the festival team has again managed to bring jewels from major film festivals in Berlin, Cannes and Venice back to Wiesbaden. In addition, attendees can see the best of over 2,100 submissions: unconventional feature films, gripping documentaries, but also films that address current political debates. In short: a high-quality program of around 200 short and feature-length films. I am especially looking forward to the thematic focus “Courageously Utopian”. The best film in this series will be chosen by the audience, and the prize money is sponsored by the festival’s mobility partner, stadtmobil. I am equally delighted that the Amnesty International Wiesbaden Film Award is entering its second year. This prize is awarded to the best film on human rights.

The exground youth days are celebrating their 21stedition and once again focussing on the diverse lives of young people around the world. This year, the journey takes us to La Réunion, Belgium, Slovenia, France, North Macedonia, Ireland – and to a residential group for underage refugees in North Rhine-Westphalia. However, participative elements also play an important role: for instance, young people can submit their individual or group projects to the Wiesbaden Youth Film Competition. As part of a youth jury, they also have the opportunity to watch the films in the International Youth Film Competition and discuss them under the guidance of a media educator. Thus, the exground youth days represent an important contribution to strengthening young people’s media literacy.

The State Capital of Wiesbaden is proud to have funded and supported the festival from its founding as a reliable partner. In addition, it sponsors prize money in the German Short Film Competition and the youth film section.

I wish all of the guests a stimulating time and the festival team a successful exground filmfest 38.

Dr. Hendrik Schmehl City Councillor for Cultural Affairs of the State Capital of Wiesbaden