Dear film fans,
On October 18, 2024, Lord Mayor Christian Schuchardt awarded the team of the Filminitiative Wuerzburg e.V. with the Cultural Medal of the City of Wuerzburg . This award is aimed at individuals and institutions who have “rendered outstanding services to the cultural life” of the city on a voluntary basis, in the public interest or in a promotional capacity.
The citation for the award states: “The Filminitiative Wuerzburg e.V., founded in 1974 by film-loving students, has established a firm place for itself in the Lower Franconian festival landscape with the International Film Festival and has gained an excellent reputation throughout Germany. With great commitment and passion, more than 70 volunteers work successfully to organize and develop a festival at the highest professional level.”
The medal was accepted by Arnold Schatzler, who was involved in the first festival in 1974 and is still a member of the film initiative today. Since its inception, the Wuerzburg International Film Festival has been organized exclusively by volunteers. Dr. Gunther Schunk, Chairman of the Board of the Vogel Foundation Dr. Eckernkamp and one of the sponsors of the International Film Festival, said in his laudatory speech: “For fifty years, a team of volunteers has been working hard to ensure that there is a colourful, selected, topical, diverse and always a little quirky programme every year.”
The Film Initiative team comprises around 70 members, many of whom work throughout the year on planning the film programme and organizing the festival. During the film festival itself, which takes place every year on the last weekend in January, around 100 helpers are on duty, many of them for four days in a row and almost around the clock. In total, around 1,000 people have probably been involved in this project to bring international cinema productions to Wuerzburg since 1974. On average, around 10,000 film fans have visited the film festival every year in recent years.
Dr. Gunther Schunk once again: “We would like to thank the current trio of board members! Combined with a tribute to the previous generation of volunteers, without whom the 50 festivals would not have existed. And there is probably hardly a film festival in Germany that can manage such a large number of visitors in four days on a purely voluntary basis.”
The Cultural Medal of the City of Wuerzburg comes with prize money of 500 euros, earmarked for non-profit cultural activities, institutions or associations. In addition, the Vogel-Stiftung Dr. Eckernkamp made an additional donation of 2,000 euros as a sign of recognition and as a boost for the next 50 years of the International Film Weekend. Dr. Schunk explains: “The film initiative is important for our life in Wuerzburg. Because it constantly permeates the lives of all those who want to experience the true cinematic moment. It offers a high degree of new perspectives. Filmini is definitely not an extension of the mainstream. And that’s a good thing! Because social transformation poses questions that need new answers.”
