For many years now, as the summer term draws to a close, a CALL FOR ENTRIES has appeared here, inviting students from film schools across Hesse to submit their films to the Hessian University Film Festival (HHFT). Unfortunately, this summer we have to issue a CALL FOR HELP instead:
THE HESSIAN UNIVERSITY FILM FESTIVAL IS IN DANGER!
After 16 years, the HHFT is facing closure. The hFMA (Hessian Film and Media Academy) announced at the beginning of June this year that the application for funding for the HHFT, submitted in March, had been rejected. For the students from Kassel, who have been organising the HHFT since 2010 with a changing line-up, this decision came as a surprise: from the very beginning, the hFMA, as the main sponsor, had covered 85 per cent to 90 per cent of the total costs each year.
Without this support, it is impossible to go ahead with the event. Hence this CALL FOR HELP: Of course, we’d be delighted if someone were to dig deep into their pockets and simply cover the shortfall – but we know full well that things like that only happen in ‘films’. That’s why we have another request for those of you who have previously attended the HHFT as guests, or who are working hard on new films to present there:
Please give us your feedback!
- What did you like about previous editions of the HHFT?
- Why would you miss it if it were to stop taking place?
- How did you benefit from it, either for your film project or as a visitor?
- What can we do even better to ensure that, hopefully, it can continue for many years to come?
Simply send your feedback by email to: hhft☞ Please insert an @ at this point ☜mail☞ Please insert a period at this pointde – or, if you prefer, directly to the hFMA.
And if you’d like to submit your films for the HHFT 2026: do check back on this page at the end of July, as we haven’t given up hope just yet! Perhaps there’ll be a CALL FOR ENTRIES 2026 posted here after all!
The team at the Hessian University Film Festival (HHFT) looks forward to receiving plenty of feedback and would like to thank you in advance for your support!
An overview of the history of the Hessian University Film Festival (HHFT) and further information about the event can be found here.