HARD:LINE FACES THE CORONA MONSTER
The annual HARD:LINE International Film Festival will be bringing extreme cinema from around the world to Regensburg in 2020. Horror films, thrillers and science fiction will wrap their shadowy hands around Ostentor Kino as well as living rooms of fans in Germany from the 23rd until the 27th of September. Due to the danger of a possible second wave of infections, our team has decided to take the unusual step of being the first Regensburg based film festival to also offer the festival program as an internet stream.
“Corona is a real threat that must be taken seriously. As a festival, we are responsible for the safety of our guests”
Florian Scheuerer, Festival Director
The team around festival director Florian Scheuerer has been working since February on the planning of the event. The festival gathers over 3000 people on the eastern side of Regensburg and results in simultaneous groups of up to 1000 people on the festival grounds. The festival is therefore classified as a larger event. Such an event would be forbidden until the 31st of August and thereafter only possible on the conditions that specific preventative measures are carried out. In reaction to this, the festival organizers have weighed various options and, in coordination with sponsors, supporters and partners, have found a possible solution.
“This year, a film festival like ours is only possible with massive restrictions that should nevertheless impact film lovers as little as possible.”
Florian Scheuerer, Festival Director
A foundational limitation is that each screening is limited to only 50 people. Due to contact-tracing requirements, these seats will only be available to those with festival passes. An hour between each screening is also required to allow for adequate ventilation. The festival is therefore reducing its program to 10 feature films and 2 blocks of short films. The remaining seats in the theater will then be distributed virtually. Copyright protection will be maintained by the use of an internationally recognized platform that operates to the highest and most demanding standards. In cooperation with Festival Scope and Shift 72, every film will be made available to ticket holders to stream for the 24 hours following the theater screening. A maximum of 100 virtual tickets for each film will be made available. Aftershow parties and special festival guests will unfortunately have to wait until next year.
“Even with Corona starting a new era for cultural events resulting in us having to run our festival much differently this year, HARD:LINE will remain a cinematic experience.”
Florian Scheuerer, Festival Director
As a hybrid festival HARD:LINE is going in new directions and, even in 2020, wants to give all film lovers the possibility to enjoy extreme cinema. This year may be different, but festivals have the responsibility to gather people together in a theater to enjoy film in the best possible manner; as a shared experience. This experience is doubly important for cinema’s fringe genres of horror, thriller and sci-fi. The festival team sees it as its duty to present a festival that serves both sides of the cinema equation, namely the film viewer and the film maker. The team is ready to do what can be done in the face of this corona monster. And after it has been defeated, film lovers can laugh about it together in the cinema.