longings

What longings does

Sehsüchte International Student Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1972 and based at Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF in Potsdam, Germany. Originally established as "FDJ-Studententage" (FDJ Student Days) by the GDR's film and television university, it was renamed "Sehsüchte" in 1995 when Media Studies students took over the event. The 55th edition is scheduled for April 22-26, 2026, making it one of Europe's longest-running and largest festivals dedicated to student filmmaking. Each edition is organized entirely by a rotating team of approximately 50 student volunteers from that year's cohort, with no permanent paid staff evident in the data. The festival serves emerging international filmmakers as its primary audience, alongside industry professionals, children and teenagers, and film-school alumni.

The festival's programming spans a Main Programme competition, specialized sections for children (Future, ages 6+) and teenagers (ages 12+), a Virtual Reality/360° program, the Schreibsüchte script competition, the filmsis* feminist criticism residency, music video showcases, media art exhibitions, outdoor projection mapping, and the "Speed Dating — Meet The Industry" networking event. Distribution relies on standard web infrastructure (sehsuechte.de with PayPal ticketing), YouTube and Vimeo for content hosting, social media plugins, and a biweekly podcast ("Inside Sehsüchte") on Spotify for community engagement. There is no proprietary technology platform, and AI/ML capabilities are not part of the offering.

Revenue derives from a hybrid model combining low-priced ticketing (€5-€30 per tier with free accreditation for Brandenburg and Berlin university students) and a narrow set of regional public-sector sponsors and grants from Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB), Sparkasse Mittelmark, Landeshauptstadt Potsdam, and private foundations. The associated nonprofit Freunde des Studierenden Film Festivals Sehsüchte e.V. maintains the festival archive (editions 2008-2022) and organizes anniversary history exhibitions, anchoring alumni continuity across cohorts. The organization is not a commercial entity; financial details are not publicly disclosed.

Name

longings

Legal name

52. Sehsüchte Internationales Studierendenfilmfestival

Website

https://sehsuechte.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sehsüchte is an annual international student film festival founded in 1972 and organized by ~50 student volunteers from Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF in Potsdam, serving emerging filmmakers, industry professionals, and youth audiences through screenings, competitions, and networking events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film Festival Services

SIC

Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPADAKAD

Film Festivals & Festival Organizers

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Film & Video Production/Distribution/Exhibition (Cinemas, Film Festivals, Screenings)

Keywords

• Student film festival
• Short film competition
• Virtual reality cinema
• Music video showcase
• Script writing competition

Headquarters

HQ city

Potsdam

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from single tickets, day tickets, festival passes, and accreditations. Single tickets are 7 EUR (reduced 5 EUR), day tickets are 15 EUR (reduced 13 EUR), festival passes are 30 EUR (reduced 25 EUR). Students at Brandenburg and Berlin universities receive free accreditation.
2. Sponsorships and Grants: The festival receives funding from multiple partners including Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB), Sparkasse Mittelmark, Landeshauptstadt Potsdam, and various private sponsors and foundations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sehsüchte is an annual international student film festival founded in 1972 and hosted at Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF in Potsdam, Germany. It curates and screens short films in multiple competition and showcase sections — main programme, VR, Future (Kids/Teens), music video loop, exhibition, retrospective, and projection mapping — alongside a script competition (Schreibsüchte), a filmmaker residency (filmsis*), and industry networking events such as Speed Dating, panels, and workshops. The 55th edition is scheduled for April 22-26, 2026, with the festival operated by approximately 50 student volunteers.

Product overview

Sehsüchte is an international student film festival organization offering a comprehensive program of film exhibition, competition, and professional development events. The core product is the annual multi-day festival featuring the Main Programme competition, specialized sections (Future: Kids & Teens, Virtual Reality, Music Video Loop, Exhibition), the Schreibsüchte script competition, the filmsis* Residency for feminist film criticism, and networking events like Speed Dating. The festival sells tickets through multiple tiers (single, day, festival pass) and offers free accreditation for regional university students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Main Programme (Competition Shorts)

Quantifiable outcome

• One of Europe's largest student film festivals with 55 editions of continuous operation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe festival is hosted at Germany's oldest film university, which serves as the primary venue and organizational anchor. The university provides facilities, institutional support, and serves as the 'Mutterschiff' (mother ship) for the student-organized festival.
• StuRa Filmuniversität (Studierendenrat)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent council of the Film University hosts the International Get-Together networking event, supporting student involvement in the festival.
• Sooner (Film Platform)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the panel 'Who Decides What We Watch?' exploring curatorial processes across festivals, platforms and audiences.
• Queer Film Festival Utrecht (QFFU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation showcasing five films submitted in connection with QFFU's '10-minute challenge', dealing with sexuality, identity, self-realization, and prejudice.
• Waschhaus PotsdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain festival venue providing spaces for screenings (Kino 1, Kesselhaus), VR area in foyer, bar area, exhibition space (Kleiner Saal), outdoor projection mapping area, and closing party location.
• T-WerkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey venue for panels, workshops, coffee lounge, and additional screening spaces (Hauptbühne: Kino 3, Probebühne). Hosts Speed Dating and networking events.
• Filmmuseum PotsdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partner for main program screenings and winning films blocks, located in Potsdam.
• Hans Otto TheatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue for the Award Ceremony, providing the location for honoring festival winners with dance and choir performances.
• Freunde des Studierenden Film Festivals Sehsüchte e.V.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFriends association that maintains the Sehsüchte Archive containing all editions from 2008-2022 and organizes the History Exhibition for anniversary celebrations.
• filmosis* ResidencyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResidency program bringing feminist film criticism perspectives to the festival, producing critical texts analyzing festival films through feminist lens.
• Dar Al-Kalima University (Palestine)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerShowcase of six films by students from the university, presenting Palestinian stories of resilience, hope, and dignity.
• Tashkent Film SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerShowcase featuring three films and discussion about Uzbekistan's first independent film school curriculum and filmmaking.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival: World-leading short-film festival with a dedicated student competition and Lab programs; competes with Sehsüchte for student short-film submissions and emerging-talent attention.
• Cannes Cinéfondation: Global student-film competition run alongside the Cannes Film Festival, with submissions accepted from international film schools — directly comparable for the filmmaker-submission funnel, though at far greater global prestige.
• Berlinale Talents: Berlin International Film Festival's emerging-filmmaker platform, hosting workshops and networking during the Berlinale. Operates a much larger scale but serves the same German film-school / early-career segment as Sehsüchte.
• Filmfest München (Munich International Film Festival): Large general-audience Munich festival that runs a dedicated student/youth section and is geographically and culturally adjacent to Sehsüchte's Berlin-Brandenburg catchment.

Emerging players

• Student Academy Awards (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences): Academy-sponsored student film award program operating as a global submission funnel for emerging filmmakers — comparable audience (student/emerging) and talent-pipeline function, but as a non-festival competition.

Direct peers

• Internationales Studentenfilmfestival (ISFF) - various European peers: Pan-European cohort of student film festivals (e.g., Stuttgart, Cologne) operating comparable submission, screening, and industry-networking models to Sehsüchte at a similar regional scale.
• Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival: One of Germany's largest student film festivals, held annually in Mannheim/Heidelberg with comparable programming (screenings, panels, networking) targeting emerging filmmakers from German and international film schools.

Others

• Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF: Host institution and primary upstream pipeline for both organizers and submitted filmmakers, providing venues and institutional legitimacy — distinct entity but inextricably linked as the festival's anchor sponsor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sehsuechte
• Facebookfacebook.com/sehsuechte

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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