April 1,2018, Mr. Heinz Hermanns gave a lecture on the theme of “100 million possibilities for short films” in the lecture hall. Mr. Heinz Hermans is the President of the Berlin International Short Film Festival and the founder of Interfilm. He has a unique understanding of film and television and has a high level of accomplishment in film and television creation. The event was also a re-enactment of the Berlin International Short Film Festival, which allowed the audience to enjoy a visual feast.
Before the screening, Mr. Hermanns briefly summarized an overview of the Berlin International Short Film Festival. He emphasized that the Berlin Short Film Festival is a carnival for all movie lovers. Fans from all over the world can watch movies, enjoy food and parties at the festival. Referring to recent projects, he introduced Interfilm's face-to-face patching process: one's face matches another person's face, one's eyes matches another's ear, two people have the same smile and programmatically changes accordingly to their facial expressions. Simple changes can be put together into a short film. Mr. Hermans was humorous and the lecture was well-received by the audience.
Next, the viewing of 16 short films of 16 styles was presented. It was a record of the Berlin Film Festival, including a simple shooting of the peak time at the subway station and an adventure of viewing abandoned luxury houses from an animal perspective. The story of two fries, which is like the story of Romeo and Juliet, is a bit funny but ironical. The experience of Nelly, a girl who has surgery for congenital atrial problems, is presented artistically of her long-term experience of surgery and suffering. Although due to cultural differences, not all the humorous ways of expression could be accepted by the audience. Mr. Hermanns also admitted that there are a few movies of Asian culture showcased in the film festival that were not very popular. However, it is a great pleasure to learn about other cultures through movies.
During the Q&A session, when asked about the characteristics of short film, Mr. Hermans said that short film is not a shortened long film, and there is no need to tell the full story of one and a half hours, nor should it be deliberately created purely for one scene —— short films also need to have a storyline, like the climax and paving of the novel. It can be analogized into the production of European poetry, which is casual. Long story is a long film and short story is a short film. Some viewers asked in details the difference between short films and online videos. He emphasized that short films are still movies. There must be a storyline or other subject matter of expression. When asked about the issue of profitability, he admitted that film production has huge demand for funds, and short films are no exception. The difference is that compared to long films, short films are less time-consuming and less profitable. Considering the time spent and the income earned, making short films is mostly due tointerest.
