10th anniversary of the Hamburg Short Film Agency

The KurzFilmAgentur Hamburg e.V. (Hamburg Short Film Agency) was founded in October 1992. Although ten years isn't really very long, the Hamburg agency has already been able to achieve a great deal in that short period of time, targeting its varied activities toward changing the short film landscape in Germany, and doing so in a sustainable way, to use today's buzzword!

 

Just a short time ago, filmmakers in Germany were left to their own devices in distributing their short films. Assistance was, and still is, readily available for the non-commercial market. But the establishment of the Hamburg Short Film Agency marked the first time that agents entered the commercial short film market expressly to set up a network of contacts with distributors, television companies and other buyers. And the Hamburg Short Film Distribution (KurzFilmVerleih) was the first specialised distributor for short films, which otherwise would probably never have found their way into the cinema.

 

Today the Short Film Distribution boasts a distribution stock of around 300 films from both Germany and abroad, which were able to reach more than 700,000 cinema viewers during the past year alone. The affiliated Short Film Sales division (KurzFilmVertrieb) works more or less behind the scenes, selling screening rights for about 150 short films, with a growing rate of success. Distribution also includes maintaining an extensive film database. Best known internationally and to the general public, however, is probably the yearly event organised by the association - the International Short Film Festival Hamburg, which took place in 2002 for the 18th time.

 

 

Looking back ... and forward

 

The Hamburg Short Film Agency emerged out of a typical early 80's organisation consisting of a loose alliance of independent filmmakers, most of them shooting in Super-8mm. Under the somewhat confusing, or perhaps deliberately vague name "LAG Film Hamburg", i.e. "Landesarbeitsgemeinschaft Film" (State Working Group on Film), in analogy to the state associations of the publicly funded "Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft für Jugendfilmarbeit und Medienerziehung" (Federal Working Group on Youth Film and Media Education), the group put on short film evenings in Hamburg's "Metropolis", a Kommunales Kino. Out of these short film evenings there rapidly developed the "No-Budget-Festival" for non-commercial short film. The programmatic commitment to 'no budget' was destined to become a bone of contention, however, soon giving way to a 'low-budget compromise' and then, in the face of growing professionalism, ultimately becoming obsolete. On 5 October 1992 the Hamburg Short Film Agency was founded - according to its constitution, for the purpose of improving screening and exploitation opportunities for short films of all kinds. The organisation's self-proclaimed model was the French "Agence du Court Métrage" in Paris.

Starting in 1993 the Short Film Agency was able to go about its work with the help of (a few) paid staff members, thanks to the support of the Hamburg senate. Markus Schaefer took on the post of managing director and, up until 1997, remained the most important motor and promoter in the agency, and a constant source of new ideas and projects. In 1994 the association founded the commercial Short Film Distribution - surely the group's most successful project to date.

 

At least for outsiders, but perhaps for the active insiders as well, it was not always clear where this journey would lead and which of the many projects that were launched would not only be pursued in the long term, but would also ultimately become reality. One of the questions left open, for example, was whether or not the Hamburg Short Film Agency could evolve into a nationwide organisation, along the lines of the French model, and how this could be brought into harmony with local interests on the one hand (the festival) and with the association's own business interests (short film distribution and sales) on the other hand. Of course, the way in which activities develop and unfold was, and always is, a question of the available human and financial resources. And in this regard, Hamburg has never had an easy time of it. Often the agency was forced to invent incredibly complex formal constructions in order to comply with the guidelines and requirements of funding institutions, and these constructions then threatened to take on a life of their own. The localised policy-making typical for Germany's federal structure was not always conducive to the health of the association's activities, and indirectly made its mark on the group's future course.

 

To cite just one example, which today can be seen as a relatively minor episode in the history of the Short Film Agency: in the 90's in Munich an enterprising distribution company called YILDIZ FILM came onto the stage with the aim of distributing international, but especially German, short films. One year after the founding of Hamburg Short Film Distribution, YILDIZ elicited start-up financing from the Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg in Potsdam-Babelsberg to help it set up YILDIZ Film Distribution. In order to avoid becoming direct competitors, the two organisations resolved to cooperate. In 1996 the two groups launched a joint project under the name "Der KurzFilmVerleih" (The Short Film Distribution). However, the planned merger was ultimately thwarted by the local egocentricity of the funding institutions; for example, by questions as to the ownership status of films purchased with funds originating in Hamburg.

 

Today YILDIZ no longer exists, while the Hamburg Short Film Distribution has managed to survive. With its involvement in distribution, sales and the festival, the Hamburg Short Film Agency now has a firm footing in various sectors, having developed the diverse forms of organisation required. It is, however, still bound up with its home location and the tasks that it has historically taken on there. To a certain extent, this has always been and still is a handicap, because the Hamburg Short Film Agency has always worked on an international scale as well, with top priority given to representing the interests of the short film and functioning as its 'mouthpiece' in matters of national film policy. This position has not always been appreciated, with some even insinuating special interests on the part of those involved. The need for a nationwide agency with an 'authorised mandate' to represent short film has only recently been fulfilled, with the establishment of the AG Kurzfilm. Here, the Hamburg agency played a decisive role, contributing its valuable and diverse experience to assist in structuring the new organisation.

 

 

The Short Film Distribution - a model success

 

The greatest challenge for the Hamburg Short Film Agency has been bringing short films into the cinema. The most difficult aspect here was to find a practicable solution for shaping distribution agreements with the cinemas. A mode of scheduling and accounting had to be found that met the demands of the cinema operators, the feature film distributor, and, last but not least, the short film producer. In order to accomplish this, the Short Film Agency spent many years drafting and trying out various models.

 

In order to offer short works as supporting films to be screened before the main feature, various strategies were undertaken. One of these is to closely couple the short film with a feature film. This is only successful, however, when it does not entail additional costs for the film theatres. This in turn means that the model only works if the main film is relatively short and the short films go with the main film in terms of theme. To further pursue this idea, the liaison office "Kurzfilm & Verleiher" ("Short Film and Distributor") was formed in 1996, financed by the Federal Chancellery for Media and Cultural Affairs and Hamburger's culture authority, and placed under the purview of the Hamburg Short Film Agency. The task of the liaison office is to recommend to the feature film distributor short films that have received official ratings and have themes suitable for screening alongside the feature film in question.

 

In order to cover the costs of distributing short films as supporting films, the Short Film Agency introduced a new model in spring 1997, which it had already tested in the local Hamburg Zeise cinemas. According to this model, cinema visitors would purchase an additional short film ticket for 1 DM. The revenues would then be split 30:70 between the Short Film Agency and the film theatres. However, this model for "uncoupling" the supporting film from the cinema's gross earnings was greeted with fierce opposition from the "Verband der Filmverleiher VdF" (Association of Film Distributors) - even when the feature film distributor was offered 30% of the extra revenues from the price mark-up. The alternative financing model by means of a "short film mark" was therefore put on ice, where it remains today.

 

The short film distribution model that has proven most successful to date, in use since 1994, is the short film subscription. For an annual fee of maximum 1,000 euros, the Short Film Agency offers the film theatres the opportunity to choose one film per week from its stock. Cinemas with more discriminating programmes are offered special conditions. For example, the distribution service offers repertory theatres and Kommunale Kinos a subscription discount. For these cinemas the short film subscription has proven to be quite a flexible and reasonable way to supplement their programme with suitable short films. However, the subscription system does impose pressure on the distribution service to constantly acquire a sufficient number of new short films with wide-ranging content, while the income from the system does not even cover the day-to-day costs of working with the existing film stock. This means that the distribution service must rely on subsidies to sustain the short film subscription system.

It can nonetheless be viewed as a triumph that in the year 2001 51 film theatres took advantage of this offer, so that from subscriptions alone, short film bookings peaked at no less than 140 per month!

 

Only film theatres with yearly ticket sales up to 78,000 are eligible to participate in the subscription system. For cinemas with larger audiences, other models are available. They can either pay a lump sum weekly fee (85 euros) or purchase reduced-rate, transferable season tickets for 10, 25 or 52 screenings. According to the Short Film Agency, this model has motivated many new customers to once again screen short films in their theatres.

 

Another strategy for bringing short films into the cinemas is to hire out short film reels. Eight thematically organized short film compilations are now on offer by the Short Film Agency. Hiring out feature-length programmes gives the distribution service the advantage of being able to demand market conditions, such as those common for feature films - a minimum guarantee or percentage proportion of earnings - meaning the distributor gets a share of the actual box-office take. Unfortunately, the booking situation for short film reels is not very favourable at the moment: in the distribution statistics, film reel hire is at the bottom end of the scale.

Still, considerable success has been achieved in conducting short film reel campaigns in cooperation with selected partners: for example, the tour "Deutscher Kurzfilmpreis unterwegs" ("German Short Film Award on Tour"). This tour introduces films nominated for the German Short Film Award. It was organised and carried out by the Short Film Distribution in partnership with the Federal Chancellery for Media and Cultural Affairs and featured extensive advertising and accompanying activities. During 2001 the Short Film Award reel was shown in 122 cinemas. The next tour, "Deutscher Kurzfilmpreis 2002", will soon start on its way (see FAIT DIVERS section).

But first, another ambitious programme is coming to the cinemas. Under the title "Oskars in Shorts" the Short Film Distribution has put together a feature-length programme of selected nominated and award-winning short films from the last 4 Oscar Awards, including films from 7 different countries. The films on the reel were chosen from the categories "Short Film - Animation" and "Short Film - Live Action", for each of which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards one Oscar® each year.

 

On the whole, through its varied range of services, the Short Film Distribution has been able to build up a solid customer base of 250 cinemas. It supplied films to around 400 theatres in German-speaking countries in 2001, and, since January 2000, a grand total of 1.3 million viewers have seen short films distributed by the Short Film Agency!

 

The Short Film Agency's recipe for success includes not only skilful distribution strategies for short film: last but not least, it's just as important to mention the agency's expertise in providing sound advice. The distribution staff are anything but cold and calculating deliverers of interchangeable film goods, they are instead experienced insiders on the short film scene. Whoever has the occasion to ring them up to talk - formerly with Jörg Wagner and Axel Behrens - and today with Axel and Michael Erfurt, finds himself in the hands of competent advisors, who not only know their films, but who approach their work with a passion.

 

 

The films

 

German productions account for a 41% share of the Short Film Agency's distribution programme. A further 37% come from other European countries, and the remaining 22% from countries outside Europe. The distribution's main focus is on short and animated films under 10 minutes in length. About half of these "short" short films run under 5 minutes. This is a concession to the needs of those cinemas that show the films as warm-ups to feature films, but do not want to forfeit too much richly-paid advertising time. Lately, however, the Agency has been noticing that «cinemas with short film experience increasingly book longer short feature films, despite correspondingly less time for advertising. Instead, the focus seems to be more on a harmonious link between short film and feature film.»

 

Documentaries are rare in the distribution programme. Nor are experimental films well represented. There are at least 3 prints available in 35mm format of almost all titles. The foreign films are usually subtitled.

 

According to the Short Film Agency «the new films (...) are acquired primarily during examination screenings at the International Short Film Festival Hamburg, in which distribution staff participate on a voluntary basis ... Distribution staff also regularly attend screenings at important national and international festivals, including the Festival du Court Métrage in Clermont-Ferrand/France, the Tampere International Short Film Festival in Finland and the International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen.»

 

The "Top Eleven" films distributed, assessed relative to distribution period are:

1. "Staplerfahrer Klaus - der erste Arbeitstag", Jörg Wagner & Stefan Prehn (D)

2. "Quest", Tyron Montgomery/Thomas Stellmach (D)

3. "Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht", Peter Thorwarth (D)

4. "Le réveil (Der Wecker)", Marc-Henri Wajnberg (B)

5. "The Bloody Olive", Vincent Bal (B)

6. "Ein einfacher Auftrag", Raymond Boy (D)

7. "Gagarin", Alexij Kharitidi (RUS)

8. "Prickly Heat", Ray Boseley (AUS)

9. "Pin Up", Mats Olof Olsson (S)

10. "Das Ei", Hans Georg Andres (D)

11. "Skademeldingen (Schadensmeldung)", Guttorm Petterson (N)

 

The film most often hired out to date is "Skademeldingen" (lent 338 times since 9/94). The most successful film in terms of distribution and sales at the present time is the controversial "Staplerfahrer Klaus", which is often requested by training programmes for forklift drivers and by work safety experts, but also, remarks the Short Film Agency's managing director, Astrid Kühl, «has been cited as a reason behind the massacre in Erfurt».

 

 

In planning ...

 

Back in 1997 an announcement stated: «The Short Film Agency has a drawer that is overflowing with ideas. But the realisation of these ideas depends on opportunities for financing and co-operation with others.» This still applies today, and thus Astrid Kühl continues almost seamlessly in her foreword to the commemorative volume issued on the occasion of the 10th anniversary, celebrated in 2002, «Of course we are proud of having been able to achieve a great deal toward freeing the short film from its niche. Nevertheless, much remains to be done! Above all, the film business must recognise the potential of the short film and inspire confidence in up-and-coming filmmakers at an early stage. But here the short film should not be viewed merely as a 'tiresome' preliminary stage leading up to commercial feature-length film. There are much greater possibilities for short film to evolve - whether as artists' video, DV production or cinematic short - funded or not, as an independent format with a high potential for creativity, surprising, refreshing, serious or comic and visually striking. Paving the way for some of these short film works to reach an audience will remain our top priority.»

 

We wish the Short Film Agency continued success, and congratulate it on all that has been accomplished thus far!

 

Reinhard W. Wolf

 

 

Further information and articles on the agency's 10th year of existence can be found under Short Film Agency Hamburg e.V.