Filmfest Bremen awarding British director Stephen Frears with laudator Hugh Grant

The opening of 10th edition of Filmfest Bremen on the 19.03 in my hometown Bremen was a big success. The red carpet was out for a dammed good reason: Stephen Frears and Hugh Grant were in town. 

The grand British director was receiving the "Golden pug-Goldener Mops". Now pugs are known for being sociable and gentle companion dogs. The American Kennel Club describes the breed's personality as "even-tempered and charming". Charme was also the motto of the evening, charming were they all on the stage of Theatre at Goetheplatz, the venue of the opening ceremony of Filmfest Bremen. Felix Krömer, the MC of the evening from Radio Bremen, smart and witty, he masterfully introduced the director, showing and commenting extracts of his films, and later interacted with both laudator and laureate. Not that we the audience knew who the laudator will be, suspence and high expectations from the start of the evening. And then Hugh Grant appeared on stage entertaining the audience with insider jokes about his collaboration with Frears in such a charming and very British way. A great succes for Bremen due to the efforts and connections of film producer and festival director Matthias Greving from Kinescope Film and the commitment of its creative director Ilona Rieke from the Filmbureau Bremen, the local film promotion bureau. Local and global, comedy and avant-garde cinema, these are the focus of the film festival. While one section is entirely dedicated to local productions connected to Bremen, others are German or even international premiers. Foreign films are premiering in Bremen and not Hamburg, Berlin or Munich. This is probably the biggest achievment of the festival, to establish Bremen as an film festival venue on the film festival circuit. And so I met Uruguayan film director Laura Gonzalez, her film  "Milonga" was  screened as a German film premiere. Chilean actress Paulina Garcia who I met in 2013 at the backstageof the Berlinale award ceremony, while she was giving interviews after receiving the "Silver Bear" as best actress for her performance in  "Gloria" and I was the interpreter of Romanian film director Calin Peter Netzer awarded with his producer Ada Solomon with the "Golden Bear" for "Child's Pose" who I interviewed has a chance to free herself from an oppressive past when she meets a man with whom she re-discovers her passion for tango. But before she can move on she has to accept some uncomfortable truths.from abroad are attending Filmfest Bremen

And so I met in Bremen film director Michael Chauvistré based in Aachen who was invited by Greving for the opening, they know eachother from the Bundesverband Regie