Franziskus Bries
June 19, 2026
"Watch: Yourselves" wins Filmreif Award
at Bundesfestival Junger Film
Watch: Yourselves is probably a film that couldn't fit any category better than "Schräge Filme" — roughly translating to "Weird Films."
The film speaks directly to its audience on several levels and takes quite a few risks, both aesthetically and thematically. That makes me even happier that, through a public audience vote at Bundesfestival Junger Film, "Watch: Yourselves" received the Filmreif Award for the most weird short film.This award is an important encouragement for my work and motivates me enormously to keep going.
A special thank you to Sven, Jolli, Max, Jay, and everyone else who supported me throughout the making of this film. 💚
Photo: Sebastian Knoebber
April 26, 2026
"A D H D s h o r t" wins SilberFiSH Award
at FiSH Film Festival in Rostock
I was very happy to bring my film to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,
the state where I grew up. I'm even happier about the positive feedback from the jury and receiving the SilberFiSH Award. FiSH was a wonderful festival with a unique charm, and I had a great time meeting other filmmakers and sharing my work with the audience.
Jury: Milena Aboyan, Johannes Louis, Julia Weigl, Jennifer Stahl, âni võ
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Photo: Niklas Nebrich
January 30, 2026
Finally finished: "Watch: Yourselves"
After almost a year of work, I finally finished my most ambitious short film project so far. Watch: Yourselves is a short film about escapism, addiction, denial, and social failure, aimed especially at teenagers and young adults. At its centre are an abstract unicorn character and the "Atze", who guide the audience through early-internet animations, a trashy music video, and TikTok dances. Throughout the film, questions directed at the audience interrupt the narrative, shifting the focus towards reflection: on the film itself, the screening situation, and one's own experience as a viewer.
In the end, one question remains: Who will fail — the film, or its audience?
A huge thank you to everyone who supported this project, in front of the camera, behind the scenes, or through advice and feedback. This film wouldn't exist without you. 🫶
January 19, 2026
Rave Music Video Screening at HBK
Yesterday, I had the special opportunity to bring together two of my biggest interests: film and electronic music. As part of the Filmforum at HBK Braunschweig, I curated and presented a programme of rave music videos, ranging from early classics to more recent works. A particular highlight was the discussion afterwards with DJ Hundefriedhof (HGich.T) and Lexia Starnum, who joined us online. Alongside screenings of works by DJ Hundefriedhof and HGich.T, we talked about creative processes, music video aesthetics, and the relationship between image, music, and imperfection. Being able to talk with the two of them as part of the event was the fulfilment of a small personal dream. It was an absolute pleasure!
December 2025
Film Class Trip to Japan
What an experience!
In December, our film class travelled to Japan for two weeks, spending one week in Kyoto and one week in Tokyo.
At a screening at Frame in VOX, we had the chance to exchange ideas with CALLING, a local group of filmmakers. Later, at another screening at Image Forum, Tokyo's oldest cinema, we once again presented our films to a local audience and talked with people about our work. In Kyoto, we also visited Seika University, a partner university of HBK Braunschweig. I was especially fascinated by their Manga programme and definitely had a few fanboy moments there.
Other highlights included visiting the Tokyo Art Book Fair, exploring a temple near Seika University, discovering countless museums, castles, neighbourhoods and restaurants, and taking a day trip to Osaka.
A journey I'll never forget. 😍
November 20, 2025
International Cyber Festival 2025
For the second time, the International Cyber Festival brought together the Media Lab at TU Braunschweig and the Innovation Labs at the University of Rhode Island.
I was happy to once again curate the film programme and, together with my colleague Lilli, host the film night. We were also lucky to welcome artist and filmmaker Sebastian Neubauer, who opened the evening with a talk.
The screening was a lot of fun, sparked some great conversations, and I'm already looking forward to next year's edition.
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January 19, 2025
Special Mention for "A D H D s h o r t"
at the 38th Stuttgarter Filmwinter
Jury Statement: It’s already hard to focus these days - even harder for people suffering from ADHD.
Franziskus Bries proves this impressively by presenting us plain text about the condition while constantly throwing videos, gameplays and motion graphics at us.
Form follows function in this truly creative and relevant statement.
Jury: Esther Fehn, Sylke Gottlebe, Louis Wick