Eight years ago, eDIT Festival was born with a focus on storytelling in the digital age. It has grown in size and scope, and this year was renamed “eDIT Filmmaker’s Festival.” All images © eDIT 2005.

Frankfurt am Main, the sixth largest city in Germany, is a center for international commerce and transportation. It boasts the second largest airport in Europe, one of its busiest train stations — and it also hosts one of the fastest growing filmmaking festivals in Europe.

The eDIT Festival — which was held for the eighth consecutive year from Oct. 8-11 — is a project of the Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts, the regional initiative hessen-media, the Hessian Institute of Private-Sector Broadcasting (LPR Hessen) and the city of Frankfurt am Main under the patronage of Udo Corts, Hessian minister of science and the arts. Prime Minister Roland Koch estimates that there are some 80,000 working in media in the state, and one of the festival’s goals is to “develop the sector and make it fit for the future.”

It was here, eight years ago, that the eDIT Festival was born with a focus on storytelling in the digital age; it steadily grew in size and scope, and this year it was renamed “eDIT Filmmaker’s Festival.”

“The art and science of creating moving images have continued to change and grow providing today’s filmmakers with new tools which have altered the filmmaking landscape,” explained festival directors Sebastian Popp, Rolf Kramer and Tom Atkin. “And so our new name, The Filmmaker’s Festival, is designed to reflect both the new artistry and digital technology of storytelling, while at the same time acknowledging and discussing traditional production elements that have always served as the foundation of filmmaking.”

eDIT is also staged in conjunction with the Visual Effects Society (VES), thanks to a strong working relationship that VES founder Atkin established roughly five years ago with Popp and Kramer. “Visual effects are still a primary focus of the festival,” Atkin said. “But we are dealing with storytelling… so we are covering the collaborative process with a focus on visual effects.”

Today eDIT is poised to become a leading industry event not only in Europe, but also in the global market. This year, the event enjoyed an increased participation of almost 50% compared to last year. In addition to the 2,300 professional visitors, there were 350 guests from the media industry, politics and business, along with roughly 130 international speakers and 120 journalists. An estimated 800 attended the Festival Honors gala.

The Festival’s new name reflects both the new artistry and digital technology of storytelling, while acknowledging traditional production elements.

Meanwhile, eDIT:eDucation, the information market for newcomers to the industry, attracted many young people. The track drew around 350 visitors, and a further 100 took part in the practical workshops that were integrated into the program for the first time.

“We have the impression that in its eighth year eDIT has reached its goal,” Popp suggested. “We had two aims: on the one hand we wanted to attract more — and above all more international — participants, and, on the other, to reach out to a wider target group from the entire film industry, in addition to the visual effects and post-production specialists. I’m very pleased that we have succeeded in both.”

eDIT 8. filled three-days with screenings, presentations, panel discussions and special events that reached topics, including feature film, television, advertising, short films and computer game development and production. The program was divided into sections, including film & storytelling, creation & arts, production & technology, advertising & trends, TV & broadcasting, and business & politics. The majority of the sessions were held in English, but translation headsets were available, meaning that German or English-speaking attendees could participate.