This year's International Hof Film Days attracted a record 28,000 admissions in five days.

Amongthe highlights at this year's annual gathering of the German film communitywere Andreas Dresen's Summer In Berlin (Sommer VormBalkon), EoinMoore's Im Schwitzkasten,Alain Gsponer's Roseand Veit Helmer'sdocumentary Behind The Couch - Casting InHollywood.

Gsponer won the Eastman Support Prize for NewcomerTalents for Rose.

Behind The Couch's sound designer Martin Fruehmorgen,composer Johannes Koeniger and editor Vincent Assmann shared the newly-created German Film PromotionAward with film editor Christof Schilling for hiswork on Robert Ralston's road movie DrumBun (Gute Reise).

Productiondesigner and art director association SFK gave its award for best productiondesign in a film showing at the festival to Georg Bringolf for his contribution to Samir'sSnow White.

The20th Film Award sponsored by the town of Hof was presented to theiconoclastic filmmaker and controversial theatre director ChristophSchlingensief who showed his first film in Hof in 1984.

Nextyear will be the festival's 40th anniversary.