The third edition of the LITFILMS Literature Film Festival Münster took place from 20 to 29 September 2024, this year under the motto “Change of perspective.”
Successful conclusion to the LITFILMS Festival – “When It Melts” by Veerle Baetens wins International Competition
The LITFILMS Festival Münster came to an end on Sunday evening with a grand closing event including an awards ceremony. With a diverse programme that redefined the boundaries between literature and film and offered the audience ten days of gripping films and inspiring literary-filmic encounters, the festival was once again able to consolidate its position as a cultural highlight in the region.
The Belgian Veerle Baetens was honoured as the winner of the International Literary Adaptation Competition with her impressive feature film When It Melts, based on the novel of the same name by Lize Spit.
The jury statement:
“When It Melts is an accurate strike. A shock to our viewing habits. An attack on what we consider innocent and unbiased in the concept and ideal of childhood and youth. Sexualised violence among children – that is, by children against children – is one of the many taboos in our society. The victims suffer all the more from their own speechlessness, from the impossibility of addressing these offences. Offences that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. When It Melts is a film that opens up the spectrum of representability in a gentle, non-intrusive way. It shows the strength and courage of those affected, but also their irreparable psychological damage…”
Veerle Baetens, who accepted the prize in person, was duly honoured for her directorial debut at the award ceremony in Münster’s Schloßtheater and received prize money of 5,000 euros, sponsored by the Münster Foundation of Sparda-Bank West.
All photos: THOMAS MOHN
Directly to LITFILMS.DE
The International Literary Adoption Competition, in which six films competed, was judged in 2024 by an independent jury consisting of author Caroline Rosales, dramaturge Kyra Scheurer and author André Boße.
Following the award ceremony, the evening was dedicated to the topic of “Cinema as a place of longing”. Under the title In the Palace of Dreams – On the Barred Seat with Jelinek, Berger & Co., the evening provided literary analyses of the cinema. Texts by greats such as Elfriede Jelinek, John Berger and Frank Göhre were presented, inviting the audience to immerse themselves in the magic of cinema and the personal memories of the writers.
LITIFILMS, which began on 20 September, attracted numerous well-known personalities from the film and literature scene to Münster. Guests such as Dominik Graf, Hanns Zischler, Anna Brüggemann, Michael Kumpfmüller, Caroline Rosales and Laura Tonke shaped the programme with exciting lectures, film screenings, talks and readings.
All photos: THOMAS MOHN
LITFILMS is the only festival in Germany dedicated to the complex field of tension between film and literature and offers both art forms a platform in a variety of ways.
LITFILMS is organised by the Filmwerkstatt Münster and funded by the Kunststiftung NRW, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the City of Münster and the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL).
