Press Clipping from the festival:

In its best works, Oberhausen once more disproves the old prejudice that size matters. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany, 10 May 2001

From one special to the next you wanted for nothing and temporarily forgot that films can also last hours. Der Standard, Austria, 9 May 2001

It’s most definitely a place to make new discoveries, a trait strengthened by wide-ranging guest-curated thematic seasons. Time Out, UK, 16 May 2001

Once more, the special program alone was worth the journey to the Ruhr region. “Out of Time” investigated the most basic and at the same time most hidden quality of cinema – the treatment of time. Die Welt, Germany, 10 May 2001

The Oberhausen Festival in particular, with its excess – too much that is strange, too much at a time – provides an opportunity to become aware of something wonderful: cinema as joyous confusion, as eternal construction site and possibility. Junge Welt, Germany, 19/20 May 2001

In the sometimes completely overcrowded festival cinemas Lichtburg, Gloria and Sunset, the Short Film Festival with its around 450 international works offered extreme experiences of time during its six days. Jungle World, Germany, 16 May 2001

The catalogue of the Oberhausen Film Market is almost the size of the Berlin phone book: a treasure trove for producers out for discoveries, for trend scouts and television editors. Der Tagesspiegel, Germany, 10 May 2001

… we need the short film for the self-reflection of the media, as a seismograph and early warning system. Der Tagesspiegel, Germany, 10 May 2001

There is indeed at no other festival such an intense debate about the tasks, purpose and opportunities of art as at Oberhausen. Nowhere else do we find so many positive challenges to one’s own cinematic reception. Multimedia, Austria, 27 May 2001

Form as form has ceased to matter, at least in the Oberhausen selection from the approximately 3,600 submitted films; plot, punchline, even message are back in demand. Filmdienst, Germany, June 2001

Oberhausen – on its 47th edition – is the most important experimental short film festival in the world. Filmwaves, UK, Issue 15, 2001

The International Short Film Festival is always worth a visit. Intro, Germany, October 2001

Oberhausen could be an inspiring seminar for filmmakers and film producers. But that might spoil the pleasant atmosphere. Film & Televisie, Belgium, July 2001

For years, my main point of interest in Oberhausen were not so much the international and German competition programs, but the “bonuses” – retrospectives of excellent experimental filmmakers that are rarely shown anywhere else. Mastering the art of not missing anything is a prerequisite at Oberhausen. Between the extensive screening programs that last from morning to night, parties where filmmakers or musicians who have often come from far away, such as DJ SPOOKY, supply the music, sweeten your life. Revelation, Germany, No. 17, 2001