History

In April 2024 Sehsüchte celebrates its 53rd edition and therefore has a history rich in tradition.

The foundation for the Sehsüchte Film Festival was laid as early as 1972, when the University for Film and Television of the GDR organized the “FDJ-Student Days” for the first time and presented its own works, later expanding to include other “friendly” countries.

Subsequently, the Studententage grew to become the Eastern Bloc’s largest student film festival. In 1995 the Media Studies students took on the Festival and renamed it Sehsüchte. Since then, each edition is newly formed under a team composed of that year’s class. This has enabled Sehsüchte to develop into a renowned platform for the next generation of international film talent.

The Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, Germany’s oldest film school, has acted as festival location and mothership for many years; not just as an educational institution, but as an inclusive forum for students from around the world. The integration of Sehsüchte into the university context, and the close network of film students and the industry, sponsors, artists and academics remains unique to this day.

With each new Sehsüchte edition, the organizers also change, giving the festival a new signature. Under mottos like “Metamorphosis”, “Excess” or “Radiance” a large number of different trailers, designs, posters and more has accumulated over the years.

Sehsüchte Trailer 2018

If you want to explore the history of the festival even further, you can visit the website of the association “Freunde des Studierenden Film Festivals Sehsüchte e.V.” for the Sehsüchte archive with all editions from 2008-2022.

In addition, the “Anniversary” tab takes you to the history exhibition on the Sehsüchte festivals of recent years. In this digital exhibition, on the occasion of the anniversary in 2021, 50 years of Sehsüchte were processed.