1,300 submissions – festival record – from the film, video and new media sector were brought forward to the preselection committee of the 16th Stuttgarter Filmwinter – Festival for Expanded Media. This number makes the Stuttgarter Filmwinter one of the most important European media art festivals. The number of submissions does not account for the festival's character, but the way of choosing the art works as well as the wide variety of presentation forms, including movie screenings and media presentations. Lectures, performances, activities, exhibitions and workshops – on- and offline – round off the event.

In its 16th year, the festival captivates with its heterogeneity and an extended understanding of media. Coming from experimental films and Expanded Cinema, the Filmwinter and the organizers at Wand 5 have always dedicated their work to the developments and changes of film and media. The festival doesn't lapse into blind technolgy euphoria, but it traces new trends in media art and production, revealing the interplay with other societal sectors, such as science, economy and pop culture. Simultaneously the Filmwinter bares media historic traces and creates relations between apparently different positions and genres.

Under this year's headword "Grounding", Wand 5 traces trends in film and media art as well as technological and social developments. Which roles inhere geographical and emotional places in today's media society? How do digital technologies change identity models, attached to real spaces? Is there a corrective to the trends of mobilization and globalization? And does that mean we are returning to traditional value systems, implying expressions such as "home" and "root"? Highlights of the supporting programme include a video retrospective by Erwin Wurm, the program Machinima introducing computer movies, as well as the exhibition and video program by Annette Hollywood.

Besides numerous supporting programs, the international competitions for film / video and new media are focal points of the festival. Altogether prizes worth € 11,500 will be awarded.