INTERFILM is the international network for the dialogue between church and film. It promotes the appreciation of cinema’s artistic, spiritual and social significance in the church and calls attention to the relevance of church, theology and religion for cinema. INTERFILM is looking beyond the screen.

INTERFILM was founded in 1955 by delegates of protestant film associations in Europe. Actually it embraces mainly Protestant but also Orthodox, Anglican and Jewish members, individuals as well as institutions.

Today, INTERFILM mainly organises juries at international film festivals. The first INTERFILM jury assembled at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in 1963, where it awarded the Otto Dibelius Film Award of the Protestant Church Berlin-Brandenburg, to a film from the International Competition. From 1971 onwards, a further prize was given to a film from the Programme of the International Forum for New Cinema. In 1963, an INTERFILM Jury was also present at the IFF Mannheim; in 1964 at the International Short Film Festival, Oberhausen, and in 1969 at the Cannes Film Festival. A cooperation with the German Catholic Film Department and the International Catholic Film Organisation (then OCIC, since 2002 SIGNIS) developed and INTERFILM's festival presence now consists mainly of juries drawn from both organisations. INTERFILM juries are still present at the Film Festival Max Ophüls Award, Saarbrücken (since 1985), the Nordic Film Days, Luebeck (since 1996), and the Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica in Venice (since 2011). Within the framework of the Interfilm Academy it is also present at the Film Festival in Munich with the One Future Award.

Ecumenical juries are now in attendance in Locarno (since 1973), Cannes (1974), Montreal (1979), Moscow (1989, with interruptions), Leipzig (1990), Berlin (1992), St. Petersburg (1994, with interruptions), Karlovy Vary (1994), Mannheim-Heidelberg (1995), Cottbus (1999), Kiev (1999, with interruptions), Oberhausen (2000), Zlin (2000), Fribourg (2001), Bratislava (2001-2010), Riga (2004-2011), Yerevan (2007), Warsaw (2010), and Miskolc (2011). An interreligious jury of INTERFILM and SIGNIS, including a Jewish and a Muslim member, is present at the festival "Visions du Réel" in Nyon since 2005.

On the occasion of INTERFILM's 50th anniversary Julia Helmke, member of the Steering Committee of INTERFILM, has written a brief outline of INTERFILM's history. Please download this text as pdf file:
50 years INTERFILM