About us

The renowned Braunschweig International Film Festival is unique, as the association behind it—Internationales Filmfest Braunschweig e. V.—is not a conventional organizing body. The association, its six-member board (led by a co-chairmanship), and the two full-time festival directors work together to shape the festival program, providing mutual support throughout the implementation process (learn more under Team).

Founded in 1987 by twenty university students from the Braunschweig film program, the association now has over 50 members, whose diversity reflects the fabric of the city of Braunschweig itself.

Each film series at the festival has a dedicated screening group, led by a spokesperson who structures the selection process in coordination with the artistic director. Throughout the year, group members screen hundreds of feature films and documentaries of all kinds—long and short, live-action and animated, German and international. During group meetings, members discuss the films they have watched, identify their favorites, and thereby contribute to the curation of the program. Once the artistic director has finalized the overall lineup, members write the program notes for the various film series. Furthermore, during the festival week, members provide introductions for every film screening.

Through this approach, the Filmfest Braunschweig has evolved over the past 40 years into the Braunschweig International Film Festival—the oldest film festival in Lower Saxony and a true audience-focused event, attracting around 23,000 visitors each year. If you are interested in the festival or the work of the association, please feel free to get in touch!

The Internationales Filmfest Braunschweig e. V. association