German fest director believes ‘shorts’ deserve as much attention as full-length movies

Heinz Hermanns

Heinz Hermanns, festival director of the interfilm Berlin, visited the Philippines recently to present short films and conduct workshops under the auspices of the Goethe Institut and Cinemanila.

Hermann’s annual event, founded in 1982, is one of the biggest short film festivals in the world, attracting 7,000 entries from over 122 countries.

Four Filipino films were included in the last interfilm short film fest last November—Nico Hernandez’s “Tatang,” Mikhail Red’s “Inosensya,” Nick Santiago’s “Isang Litrong Liwanag” and Henry Frejas’ “Hanapbuhay.”

Manila is the first stop for Hermanns, who is currently on a six-country Southeast Asian teaching tour. After the Philippines, he’ll be flying to Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand.

Hermanns, a first-time visitor to the country, made sure that Manila was part of his itinerary. “We had a focus on Southeast Asian cinema in our festival,” he explained. “Based on the lineup, the Philippines seemed the most interesting. The quality of filmmaking here is the highest, compared to other countries in the region.”

His observations were confirmed, he said, after interactions with Filipino students, cineastes and filmmakers. “I met with indie directors on my first night here,” he recounted. “I was astonished. It gave me the impression that the local indie scene is very active.”

And persistent. “Over two decades ago, Raymond Red screened his Super-8 film at the interfilm. Last year, his son Mikhail competed with his digital short. ”

Hermanns conducted workshops to inform students and filmmakers about the work of a festival programmer.

“I wanted to show them the other side,” he said. “Filmmakers should familiarize themselves with how programmers select films.”

He noted that there are specific rules that lead to a successful short film. He remarked candidly: “Almost all short films are too long… 18 minutes is a good length for a short film, though it really depends on the story you are telling.”

In other festivals, he related, 45- to 70-minute films are still considered shorts. “In my opinion, if it’s beyond 20 minutes, it’s already a medium-length film.”

To give Filipino audiences a fine sampling, he presented a collection of shorts shown in past editions of the interfilm fest, at the U-View Fully Booked in Bonifacio Global City.

“There were films from France, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Portugal, Turkey. There were funny, tragic and experimental shorts. Most of these films don’t rely on dialogue and can be understood across cultures.”

A filmmaker’s story-telling skills, he said, are put to the ultimate test in the shorts arena—where brevity is often a virtue.

He wants the youth to realize that short films are not inferior to their full-length counterparts. “Shorts are not a stepping stone to full-length films. It’s a vital art form in itself. Shorts can be entertaining and engaging as well.”

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