ON THE RISE

ON THE RISE is the name of the IFFMH's international competition. Here, first and second works by exceptional directors compete for the official festival prizes.

The section presents a selection of the most exciting works by filmmakers at the beginning of their careers: the programme is diverse and open to different perspectives, genres and styles. The works can be ambivalent or straightforward, work with set pieces from genre cinema, be realistic or fantastical, pay homage to classic auteur films or explore hybrid forms. What they all have in common is that they give us a glimpse today of the cinema of tomorrow.

The International Competition with its 16 fictional feature-length films is the core of the festival and continues the rich tradition of the IFFMH as a stage for outstanding directorial talent. Former newcomers from Mannheim-Heidelberg include François Truffaut, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, Angela Schanelec, Atom Egoyan, Thomas Vinterberg, Derek Cianfrance, Hong Sang-soo and Guillaume Nicloux.

The films in this Competition compete for six awards, given by four juries and you, the audience.