Emma Bading wins short film award

On October 25, 2024, the Jury Short Film Award of the City of Hof was presented to Berlin director Emma Bading at the Scala cinema in Hof.

Auf dem Bild sind neun Personen zu sehen, die auf vor einer Kinoleinwand stehen. Eine junge Frau hält einen Preis in der Hand, die anderen klatschen. — Group photo with the festival management, the city of Hof, the two directors and the jury

Auf dem Bild sind zwei Frauen und ein Mann zu sehen. Eine der Frauen hält einen Preis in der Hand und spricht in ein Mikrofon. — In the picture (from left): Mayor Eva Döhla, director Emma Bading, Thorsten Schaumann, festival director

Hof Film Festival: Jury Short Film Prize of the City of Hof awarded

Emma Bading is the winner of the Jury Short Film Award of the City of Hof. Her 19-minute sci-fi short film "Shut up and suffer" impressed the jury with its original yet critical approach to the topic of abortion. The prize is endowed with 2,500 euros and consists of a porcelain object by artist Marlene Kretschmar, which was created using the lithophane technique and shows the word "short" in various languages.

Mayor Eva Döhla: "It is important to the city of Hof to give short films the space they deserve. Alongside feature-length films, these small masterpieces are often underestimated because they are shown at festivals but rarely in the normal cinema program or even on television."

In "Shut up and suffer", the non-terrestrial beings Ryk and Nono are transported to Earth and get caught up in the complexity of German abortion laws when they attempt to terminate a pregnancy. According to the jury, the film uses surreal images to address the bureaucratic obstacles, which become increasingly absurd in the film, "as an exaggerated and at times bitterly funny genre game". The jury particularly praised the creative realization and the hyper-realistic portrayal, which conveys the serious topic with particular humour and abstraction.

Emma Bading was moved by the award. As well as thanking her team, in her acceptance speech she criticized the current provisions of Paragraph 218, which regulates abortions in Germany. Alongside her, the 6-minute film "Fish and cheese" by Sina Guntermann was praised. Guntermann's film shows a short-lived teenage friendship between two girls. The film was singled out by the jury for its "unconventional, ragingly beautiful images" and "palpable pleasure in staging".

The City of Hof Short Film Awards were launched in 2021 and comprise two categories: the Jury Award and the Audience Award. The Audience Award will be presented after the "video-on-demand phase", during which all festival visitors can cast their votes digitally. The winning film "Shut up and suffer" can be viewed online at https://stream.hofer-filmtage.com/movies/uberall-gibt-es-ein-hausen together with the film "Überall gibt es ein Hausen" until November 4, 2024.