At the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2023, an ecumenical jury was accredited for the first time in both the International Competition and the Children's and Youth Film Competition. "Let's be friends" by Arno Coenen and Rodger Werdhoven won the Jury Prize in the International Competition, "Le jour de gloire" that in the Children's and Youth Film Competition. The Ecumenical Jury of the International Competition also awarded a Commendation for "Every Sunday, GrandMa" by Laure Prouvost.
The Grand Prize of the City of Oberhausen was awarded to "Chornobyl 22" by Oleksiy Radynski from the Ukraine. The International Jury's Grand Prize went to "Camino de lava" by Gretel Marín Palacio from Cuba. The FIPRESCI jury awarded the International Film Critics Prize to "2720" by Basil da Cunha (Portugal; Switzerland 2023).
The 69th International Short Film Festival showed a total of over 500 films. One programme focus under the title "Against Gravity" was on the new genre machinima, films made with the help of computer games. The festival also dedicated a showcase to the artists Marcel Broodthaers (Belgium), Teboho Edkins (Germany/South Africa), Alexandra Gulea (Romania), Lynne Sachs (USA) and the Japanese Yamashiro Chikako. The "MuVi" competition for music videos, which the Frestival established 25 years ago, celebrated an anniversary.