Good taste? Who cares!

The large number of registrations quickly shrinks as soon as we ask whether a film is suitable for a screening at the Taxifilmfest.

We want to give our colleagues and the public an impression of what the term and the service ‘taxi’ mean in the world. We want to show the reality of working behind the wheel and the importance of taxis for the lives of the inhabitants of a city or region. Last but not least, we are looking for the myths surrounding taxis. We try to develop an interesting and moving film programme from the proposed films. It should be just as interesting for our colleagues as for our passengers. We address all Berliners, their guests and everyone who is out and about in Berlin. We are convinced that our programme concerns everyone.

At the Taxi Film Festival, we don’t select films based on our own tastes, but rather on relevance and theme.

In order for us to consider them, films must be submitted. Our selection is therefore limited to stories that filmmakers from around the world suggest to us. They are our filter.

We could have actively searched for movies, for example by asking taxi unions and professional associations for their recommendations. We couldn’t do that because we earn our living driving and managing taxis. So we collect taxi images from around the world and ask ourselves how the world sees us and our colleagues. That’s more than enough work and very interesting.

This is an ever developing project so maybe next year we’ll choose a different method for finding the best taxi films. In 2025, we are delighted with the huge interest and the range of taxi stories that have been suggested to us.

The selected films should, but don’t have to, be ‘good films’ in the usual sense. They should contribute to answering our questions or confront us with new ones. This year, we’ll take ‘whatever comes in,’ because the first step is to discover what ‘taxi’ means in today’s world. Don’t worry, we’ll sort out the real junk.

We will evaluate the films at a later date. For example, we have only received a few documentaries. We will find out whether this insight helps answer the question of what a ‘taxi’ really is today or whether the stories are pure fiction.

Realistic depictions are important because we can only act on the basis of facts in our union and industry policy. Myths and fantasies may repeatedly influence people’s lives, but they are like Santa Claus. After 6 January, even the most devout child is no longer interested.