He had just recently met with festival colleagues in Munich. Rainer Huebsch was one of them, the long-standing festival organizer on location and second chairman of the Cine-Center. For health reasons, he had to resign from his duties. But then there he was again for the preparations of the 50th Hof International Film Festival. This so very important forum for German film had to go on – that was unanimous. The artistic direction for the anniversary edition was led by a curatorium, consisting of Linda Söffker, head of the Berlinale’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino section, Alfred Holighaus, president of the SPIO, and Thorsten Schaumann, who had worked at Bavaria Film and most recently at Sky Germany, responsible for Licensing, Acquisitions and Marketing. One year later, Schaumann assumed the sole direction of the festival. But first things first, the 50th edition had to be organized.

“The show must go on.”

… said Rainer Huebsch at the opening, quoting Heinz Badewitz who made it habit of saying the same when organizational difficulties arose. The show in October 2016 began very promising with the film THE BLOOM OF YESTERDAY, a romantic comedy on the edge of the abyss, directed by Chris Kraus. There was a small festival retrospective with films by such directors as Vlado Kristl and Maren Ade, but of course new discoveries as always, to which festival veterans like Herzog, who travelled to the festival from the USA on his own costs, and Wenders contributed. Herzog participated in a panel discussion in a new location, the Hoftex hall, a discussion about “looking back to the future.” Highlights in the international program included films by Jim Jarmusch (PATERSON) and Ken Loach (I, DANIEL BLAKE), the Film Prize of the City of Hof went to the young actress Aylin Tezel, and for first time, the festival itself awarded a prize: the Heinz Badewitz Prize, to honor up-and-coming directors. The prize itself is a object from the Design Academy in Selb.