Fatih Akin’s Cannes-celebrated film Amrum will celebrate its German premiere in the “Große Freiheit” section at FILMFEST HAMBURG. Representing strong North German filmmaking are also the debut feature Lonig & Havendel, directed by Claudia Tuyết Scheffel, a graduate of the Hamburg University of Fine Arts (HFBK), as well as Ameer Fakher Eldin’s Yunan, which was shot on the Hallig Langeneß. Both films will screen in the “Hamburger Premieren” section.

Amrum tells the story of 12-year-old Nanning, who helps his mother provide for the family during the final days of the war in 1945 on the island of Amrum. The plot is based on the childhood memories of Hark Bohm, which were also published as a novel last year. The screenplay for Amrum was co-written by Bohm and Fatih Akin. That Akin not only produced the film but also took on directing this very personal and poetic story of his friend makes Amrum, in the best sense, “a Hark Bohm film by Fatih Akin.” For director Fatih Akin, Amrum is a special project: “Amrum is about being expelled from paradise. This film was a mission, a journey into the depths of my ‘German soul’. Perhaps the final lesson taught to me by master Hark Bohm: cinema remains an eternal mystery.”

The leading roles are played by 12-year-old Jasper Billerbeck as Nanning and 11-year-old Kian Köppke as his friend Hermann. Laura Tonke portrays Nanning’s mother Hille Hagener, while Lisa Hagmeister plays her sister Ena. Diane Kruger takes on the role of farmer Tessa Bendixen, Detlev Buck plays fisherman Sam Gangsters, Matthias Schweighöfer appears as Uncle Theo, Lars Jessen as Grandpa Arjan, and Hark Bohm himself as the old man by the sea. Following its German premiere with cast and crew in Hamburg, Amrum will be released in German cinemas on 9 October by Warner Bros.

In her feature film debut Lonig & Havendel, Claudia Tuyết Scheffel weaves mystery elements with fairy-tale narratives. Poetically and biographically inspired, she tells of parallel worlds and redefines the concept of the Heimatfilm: Young Vietnamese woman Trúc Lâm is a vocational student living in a small town in the Ore Mountains. She loves nature, the snow, and the mountains. During a guided tour of a mine, she separates from her group and finds her way through a side shaft to the other side of the mountain. The world there resembles the old one – but the people are different. She meets Đức, the son of the local Asian snack bar owner, and a mysterious spirit who offers to make a deal with the young woman to enable her return to her old world.

An island as a place of decision: Munir, a writer from the Middle East living in Hamburg, suffers from being separated from his homeland. On the island of Langeneß, he finds refuge in the guesthouse of the wise and life-experienced Valeska (Hanna Schygulla) and draws new strength amidst the untamed forces of nature. After his acclaimed debut film Der Fremde, which screened at FILMFEST HAMBURG in 2021, Syrian director Ameer Fakher Eldin returns to Hamburg with Yunan. Yunan premiered as the only Arab entry in this year’s Berlinale Competition.

FILMFEST HAMBURG will take place from 25 September to 4 October 2025. More than 120 productions from around the world will be shown as world, European, German or Hamburg premieres. Festival cinemas are Abaton, CinemaxX Dammtor, Metropolis, Passage, and Studio-Kino. On 3 October, FILMFEST HAMBURG will celebrate the “Free Admission Day”. All festival films shown on that day in the five festival cinemas will be free of charge. The FILMFEST UMS ECK cinemas will also take part in the event, each with a free screening on 3 October 2025. The complete festival programme will be announced on 9 September 2025.