Pre-Jurys of FILMFEST DRESDEN

For some of our special awards, pre-juries nominate films from the competitions with a special thematic focus. These nominated films are then presented in special screenings during the festival and the respective jury determines the winning film. This applies to the three film awards Golden Horseman Film Sound, LUCA Film Award for Gender Diversity and "fully political" - Short Film Award for Democratic Culture.

IVAN OLARTE

Iván Olarte is a Colombian sound artist and producer of ambient music for films and soundtracks. He is also an independent filmmaker, author and researcher of the connection between sound and image.

JAKOB MINKENBERG

Jakob Minkenberg (24) is studying jazz and pop composition at the HfM Dresden College of Music. For him, films are, like books, plays and music, art forms that can trigger a huge range of effects and emotions. He is fascinated by this spectrum extending from relaxation to reflection and mental processing to provocation or arousal. He discovered short films for himself a few years ago and since then they have been a permanent part of his film repertoire, precisely because of the different ways in which the little time that is available is handled on film there.

MALTE GUNST

is studying media and design at Bauhaus University in Weimar. What is this? Ha, good question. It’s something he does not know himself exactly. But what he does know is that this study course has catapulted him into film scores. He has always been highly interested in sound and acoustics, playing music and been enthusiastic about exciting soundscapes. He had not had much to do with film so far, until Weimar. He gained his first opportunity here to co-edit the sound on set, as well as his first opportunity to accord films their own unique soundscape during postproduction. Because ultimately it is the sound that first brings the true magic in a film to life.

JULIEN DESCHAMPS

My interest in art and culture spans all areas and styles. Being both a video-maker and a musician, I have a natural sensitivity to the sound aspect of films, and not only from a musical perspective. Since discovering the filmography of David Lynch, a master who revolutionised the approach to sound in cinema, I accord a lot of attention to this dimension, which is often ignored yet has a subtle and immutable impact on everyone.

FELICITAS WENZEL

came to sound primarily from film. After an artistically influenced childhood, but without television, she wanted to discover the part that was unknown to her and enrolled in film events during her art history studies. Since then, she has never wanted to be without the medium that unites all areas of art. Fresh from her bachelor's degree, she is currently working as a freelance curator and art historian.

RACHEL OKER

Rachel is 31 years old and works as a freelance sound designer in Berlin. She graduated from the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg film school in 2023 with a qualification in film sound design and has worked in film sound post-production and as a sound editor since then. From acting as sound supervisor on feature films through to short animated videos for Adult Swim, she works with a colourful array of formats. Among others, she designed the dialogue edit for the film EDGE OF NIGHT, which was screened in Venice and at TIFF 2024, in addition to working on TV series such as DOPPELHAUSHÄLFTE (ZDF neo) or DIE STINOS (Joyn/Pro7). She also went on to create the sound design for the animated film PEAR GARDEN by Shadab Shayegan. Moreover, she can be found on sets as a sound engineer, such as on the KiKa children’s TV production WAS DU NICHT SIEHST by Thuy Trang Nguyen. For Rachel, film sound and sound design are more than just a job, they are a passion and a huge part of her life and daily routines. For this reason, she always has a mini recording device with her in case she comes across an interesting sound. She is surprised over and again at how subliminally yet profoundly you can work with sound in film.

ASTRID TAUTZ

Astrid Tautz lives and works in Leipzig and Dresden. As education advisor with the Gender Competence Centre Saxony, the political scientist and cultural studies expert is committed to increasing awareness for, motivating, strengthening and networking people to actively advocate for gender equality. Her enthusiasm for films was shaped by the Dok Leipzig International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film. She appreciates the power of images to move us, the space they provide to acknowledge pain, as well as the diversity of the nuances and the utopias that occasionally emerge.

THERESA ZÄNGLER

was awarded her BA International Relations from Erfurt University and her MA Political Science from Leipzig University. In this regard, her areas of research and interest included feminist theories, anti-feminism, gender orders, reproductive and sexual self-determination, as well as political representation. She regularly addresses these topics in her work as a freelance author. Since 2024, she has been employed as an education advisor with the LAG Queer Network Saxony, with responsibility for raising awareness, networking and project work. One of her main concerns is to bring the realities of life for queer and FLINTA* people into the centre of political and social debates.

THOMAS HÖNEL

Born in 1967, he is the press and public relations specialist for the LAG Jungen- und Männerarbeit Sachsen e. V. boys and men’s advocacy association in Saxony, as well as being a men’s coach and spiritual mentor from Dresden. He trained as a lettering and graphic artist, was involved in the GDR citizens’ and human rights movement, as well as being a mail-art artist and co-editor of Samisdat. He was a house squatter and founded sociocultural projects and associations. In 1997, he founded an agency for corporate design. He is a calligrapher and visualiser. He is committed to progressive masculinity and gender-reflective men’s work. He accords a constructive and critical look at images of men and represents these positions in campaigns and workshops.

MAIKE VON HARTEN

works at the Montagscafé at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden – an open space with a changing cultural programme for Dresden residents with and without a migration background. She is also part of the FLINTA* tech collective Kabelbrand, which supports rallies, demonstrations and events.

LEO LENTZ

Diversity and equality have always been integral to my professional and private commitments. I am a volunteer at the Wir AG sociocultural centre in Neustadt, a space for political, cultural and neighbourhood projects. A place where ideas can be created, discussed and implemented. Films have the potential to address social issues and convey perspectives that are often overlooked otherwise – and this is exactly what makes working on the pre-jury so exciting for me.

LAURA SCHULZE

is curious about various topics and interested in political issues. She is impressed by the opportunities provided by cinematic expression for dealing with sociopolitical issues. For a while, she was project coordinator at FILMFEST DRESDEN, where she was responsible for the etc. – events.trainings.connections. section, among others. She is now devoting herself to the green sector.

FANNY VILDEBRAND

Born 1972 in Halle/Saale, grew up in East Germany and socialised politically by German reunification. Took communication/media and theatre studies in Leipzig, followed by 16 years in Dresden working in cultural PR and lecturing, as well as being a Filmfest Dresden groupie. Defected since 2016 to Upper Lusatia, working with the Neisse Film Festival and Kulturfabrik Meda/Mittelherwigsdorf, which also runs a small cinema. Since 2022 Kulturfabrik Meda has become one of 13 “Places of Democracy in Saxony”, invited to join the pre-jury for the “Fully Political” Award.

MARTA GRESZTA

I have worked at FILMFEST DRESDEN since 2024 and am responsible for the film coordination and cooperation areas. I studied art, for which reason I focus especially on the artistic qualities of the films. The topic of migration in a broader context is also highly important for me, because I myself have chosen to live in a place other than my homeland.

I am pleased the festival is screening films that engage with politics. This recurring aspect has become prominent in the arts and should not be forgotten, especially in today’s turbulent political era.