Open Call: Documentary Short Film Contribution for Spielraum – the 2025 Days of the Independent Performing Arts Community in Berlin

The second edition of Spielraum – the 2025 Days of the Independent Performing Arts Community in Berlin will take place from September 10 to 21, 2025. We are looking to commission a short film piece that documents the second edition of the Days of the Independent Performing Arts Community in Berlin.

Spielraum is created together with the community and coordinated by the Berlin Performing Arts Program. The schedule of programming will be made up of a wide variety of audience campaigns that will take place adjacent to as well as with the regular schedule of programming on stage. The focus will be placed on the locations of the independent performing arts community as places of encounter, exchange and societal transformation. You can find more information here: https://freie-szene-tage.de/en/

To kick things off, we are initially looking for project sketches for the film documentation of Spielraum. In a second step, we are planning to ask those who have submitted the selected projects to realize them in exchange for a corresponding fee. We are looking to end up with a short film that is created with complete artistic freedom which documents selected events within Spielraum and which can be realized by a small team within a small number of shooting days.

This open call is intended for members of Berlin’s independent performing arts community with professional experience in the field of film as well as to students of film with a Berlin context or applied fields of studies with experience and knowledge in the field of film.
 

What Are We Looking For?

A short film contribution that…

• …Can be used as a way to take a look back at Spielraum, especially with regard to its incorporation on the website of the Berlin Performing Arts Program as well as at events that are used to generally advertise and promote it
• …Documents a limited selection of events of the Days of the Independent Performing Arts Community in Berlin – probably the opening on September 10 as well as 2 to 3 audience events from the Spielraum schedule of programming
• …Is designed as a short documentary film created with complete artistic freedom
• …Has a length of a maximum of 10 minutes
• …Can be realized with a small number of shooting days by a small team or also by individual people (positions: director/sound, cinematography, editor, postproduction)
• …Can be primarily realized independently by the director and/or the film team with advisory support provided by the Berlin Performing Arts Program and which can be finalized by the end of the year 2025 
   

Who is the call intendet for?

• Members of Berlin’s independent performing arts community with professional experience in the field of film 
• Students of film with a Berlin context or applied fields of studies with experience and knowledge in the field of film
   

What Should Be Submitted?

• A brief project sketch (max. 1 page in A4 size, including visual materials, in German or in English) that includes the following:
• A working title for the planned film.
• A logline, meaning a pitch that is one or two sentences in length which summarizes the basic idea of the film briefly and succinctly.
• A short description of the idea for the film: what kind of narrative method and visual language does the film use? What is the interest of the film? For example, is it intended to pose specific questions? Does it took on, for example, special perspectives?
• Optional: aesthetic references, made through, for example, films or visual material that have provided inspiration.
• A short description of the person or people involved, including web links, if these are available.
• Web links to a selection of existing works in the field of film, if these are available.
• The persuasiveness of the filmic idea with regards to the subject of the Independent Performing Arts Community in Berlin. 
   

What Are the Criteria Which Will Be Used to Make the Selection?

• The experience and knowledge of the applicants in the field of film
• The special nature of the intended aesthetic direction
• Relationship of the applicants to the independent performing arts (in Berlin) or related fields
• The ability of the project to be realized within the given budgetary framework, especially with regard to the size of the team and the number of shooting days 
   

What is the Budget that is Available?

• A budget of between € 7,000 and € 11,000 for fees and material costs is available for the realization of the project.
• The determination of the final amount of the budget will be dependent upon the size of the time and the working time required for the project.
• The applicants are not required to submit an offer for the price with their project sketch. 

How Do Things Go From Here?

• A selection will be made by the middle of August 2025, at the latest, and all applicants will be informed of the choices.
• The final amount of the budget that will be available for the concept will be discussed with the selected team and the scope of the project will be decided upon together.
• The realization will take place in coordination with the Berlin Performing Arts Program, which will provide advisory support, especially in terms of the determination and coordination of the shooting dates.