CPH PIX is an annual, international feature film festival in Copenhagen focusing on emerging talents and artistic courage. CPH PIX is the result of the merging of the Copenhagen International Film Festival and the NatFilm Festival in 2008, which created the organisation Copenhagen Film Festivals. Copenhagen Film Festivals also manages the documentary festival. The festival was founded by Jacob Neiiendam who administered the festival until the end of its 10th edition in 2018. The first edition of CPH PIX was held in April 2009 with 36,500 audiences - the largest crowd ever recorded for a film festival in Copenhagen at the time. Since its first edition the festival has grown in size to total of 78,000 audiences in 2017. In 2016 the festival merged with BUSTER Film Festival for Children and Youth becoming one large festival featuring a variety of films for all ages. At the same time, the festival period moved from April to September/October. The festival lasts for two weeks and takes place in the Danish Capital of Copenhagen. The 14 day programme is packed with 200 films from around the world as well as 700 film related events and activities. CPH PIX is recognised for its focus on new talents, supporting talent development and presenting unreleased quality films from a wide spectrum of countries and cultures, as well as curating a small section of exclusive, immersive film events. As part of the main programme, CPH PIX also presents retrospective sections with highly acclaimed filmmakers such as William Friedkin, Andrzej Zulawski, Terence Davies, Bertrand Bonello, and Neil Young often in collaboration with the Danish Cinematheque. The festival hosts seminars, educational workshops, artist talks, theatrical performances and film related concerts. Leos Carax, William Friedkin, and James Schamus are among film makers who have attended masterclasses on the festival. Throughout the years well known artists such as John Carpenter, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream and Jóhann Jóhannsson have performed as part of the festival. Next edition of CPH PIX will be held from September 27th to October 10th, 2018. The year 2018 marked the 10th edition of CPH PIX.
Festival programme
The following are recurring film sections in the programme curated by the festival's programmers.
New Talent Grand PIX: The main competition
PIX Audience Award: Selected films competing for the audience's votes. Only film which are not already bought for Danish theatrical release are selected for this section.
Thrills & Kills: A section dedicated to new horror and thriller films.
Masters of Cinema: comprises new films made by highly acclaimed film makers with a great impact on cinema.
BUSTER: Section dedicated to new children's films. The section is divided into a school programme aimed at Danish schools to incorporate in their educational curriculum and a family programme only screening in the two weekends of the festival.
Untamed: A section dedicated to films with a unique, unconventional, or free artistic expression.
Awards
The festival currently awards four different prizes;
New Talent Grand PIX is the main award and includes a cash prize of 6,000 euros. The winner is selected by an international jury of industry professionals, and the award is given to a first-time filmmaker.
BUSTER's Best Children’s Film along with 2,000 euro is awarded by a special children's jury. This award has been handed out since 2016 as part of BUSTER - the festival's programme for kids, schools and families.
Politiken Talent Award is selected to a debuting director of a Danish feature film in cooporation with Politiken.
PIX Audience Award in which the audiences vote for their favourite between nominated films. The winner is granted 3,000 euro.
