Marc Ottiker's digitally shot feature Halbe Miete will have its world premiere as the opening film of the 36th International Hof Film Days today (Wednesday October 23).

Ottiker's film and Hanno Hackfort's Junimond, which is also showing at the festival, are the first projects completed under the 'Radikal Digital' initiative launched in Hof two years ago by Road Movies, broadcaster WDR and the public funding body Filmstiftung NRW .

The festival (Oct 23-27), whose director Heinz Badewitz has been at the helm right from the event's inception in 1967, will as usual be featuring world premieres of films by young new German directing talents such as Marc-Andreas Bochert (Weihnachten), Annette Ernst (Kiss And Run) and Sulbiye Gunar (Karamuk) as well as screenings of new films by Hof 'regulars' like Ken Loach (Sweet Sixteen), Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People), Rolf de Heer (The Tracker) and Takeshi Kitano (Dolls).

This year's retrospective is dedicated to cult US director Paul Morrissey who will coming to Hof to present screenings of five of his films in person.