Oldenburg International Film Festival
The Oldenburg International Film Festival has covered the international movie scene in all aspects since 1994. It is situated in Oldenburg, Germany. Its open-minded approach leads to an inspiring mix of great premieres, surprising discoveries and original independent productions. Off-beat innovation and ideas against the grain are some features of the festival. Among the guests of honor were Alex Cox, Frank Oz, James B. Harris, Tim Hunter, Belgian cult director Harry Kümel, Jim McBride, Philippe de Broca, Andrzej Żuławski, Ken Russell and Jerry Schatzberg who have all attended the festival for the retrospectives of  their work. Icíar Bollaín, Seymour Cassel, Asia Argento, Stacy Cochran, Richard Stanley, Ben Gazzara, Larry Clark, Tim Blake Nelson as well as Luke and Andrew Wilson have attended the festival for tributes in their honor. Internationally acclaimed films, such as Park Chan-wook’s "The Handmaiden", Takeshi Kitano’s "Kids Return", David Cronenberg’s "Spider", Kevin Spacey’s "Albino Alligator", Steven Soderbergh’s "Out of Sight", Larry Clark’s "Ken Park", Luke and Andrew Wilson’s "The Wendell Baker Story", and "The Fountain" by Darren Aronofsky or indie hits like Larry Fessenden’s "Habit", Cory McAbee’s "The American Astronaut , Michael Polish’s Northfork", Paul Provenza’s "The Aristocrats", Susan Buice and Arin Crumley’s "Four Eyed Monsters" or "The Guatemalan Handshake" by Todd Rohal, received their celebrated German premiere in Oldenburg. Awards. German Independence Award: Best German Film. The "Best German Film" award is juried by an international panel of five—filmmakers, actors, artists, writers, producers—of which at least three members come from other countries than Germany. The films are shown in original version with English subtitles. Jury members have been, e.g., in 2011: Matteo Lovadina, Radley Metzger, Ildi Toth Davy, Soopum Sohn, and Matthew Modine. The 2012  festival saw an all-woman jury, consisting of Tamar Simon Hoffs, Gabrielle Miller, Lana Morgan, Debbie Rochon, and Mira Sorvino. Seymour Cassel Award: Outstanding Performance. This actor’s prize is awarded for performances in films nominated for the "Best German Film" award. Quotes. Because of the festival programme and its focus on independent filmmaking, press and industry professionals have dubbed the festival the “European/German Sundance”.