Versatile ::: international ::: topical ::: innovative ::: that's the festival programme at Filmfest Dresden. Every year in April, the best short films from around the world can be marvelled in the cinemas of Dresden.

Since its early days, the International and the National Competitions have represented the centrepiece of the festival programme. In their 10 separate screening programmes, roughly 70 films from up to 20 countries world-wide flicker across the silver screen. Each year over 2,500 fiction and animated films from more than 80 countries are submitted for nominations to the competitions. The films submitted may not be more than two years old and no longer than 30 minutes. At the end of each festival the juries pick the best films in the various categories and award a total of eight Golden Horsemen and prize money amounting to approximately €60,000.

In addition to the competitions, the festival also has an extensive selection of special programmes focusing on a wide range of subjects and countries, as well as retrospectives and children's films. This also includes a series dedicated to a specific area each year with several film programmes dealing comprehensively with it. Up to 200 films are screened annually in the special programmes.

The special events with panel discussions, talks, workshops, exhibitions and receptions supplement the film programmes and are aimed at both accredited media professionals and interested members of the public. The festival lounge which is open each evening together with the concerts and parties provide opportunities for amusement and diversion as well as to exchange opinions and information.

In addition to the festival itself which is held annually in April, the post-festival tour in April and May and the open-air tour each summer have established themselves as important mainstays for Filmfest Dresden. These events permit prize winning shorts to also reach larger audiences beyond the festival itself. Numerous additional programme cooperative events also pursue this aim, such as the "Short and Juicy" short film series held six times each year in the Kleines Haus des Staatsschauspiels Dresden venue, as well as international presentations in the USA, France, the Czech Republic, Russia, China, Australia and Canada.