143 Sahara Street

DOCUMENTARY An anti-road movie of stories from life in the desert. Malika has a little kiosk in the middle of the sandy wastes of the Algerian …

7500

The Emergency Code for a plane hijacking is 7500: a tense, intense thriller, told from the cockpit. A flight from Berlin to Paris. Everyday …

Abou Leila

A surreal mirror of present-day Algeria: during the civil war, two policeman undertake a nightmarish trip through the desert. In 1994, S. and …

Adoration

Genre-hopping Fabrice du Welz undertakes a fantastic trip into the abyss of the soul. 12-year old Paul lives with his mum in a remote forest in …

Africa

So much for being past it! In his debut feature film Africa, director Oren Gerner makes his pensioner father an unwilling rebel. For the last 30 …

Alice and the Mayor

An old white man and a young philosopher meet at the town hall – and turn the political landscape in France on its head. A comedy about the …

All Alone

A father fights for more time with his daughter: a family drama from Croatia that portrays a tense, emotional odyssey through all instances …

Ami

DOCUMENTARY In 1994, Ami founded the Hamburger Tafel food service for the poor and over the years built it up to become a large logistics company. …

As Happy As Possible

Under the scorching sun of Southern France, a young generation between rebellion and resignation. After years away, Salomé returns to the …

Ask Dr. Ruth

DOCUMENTARY The German Jew Ruth Westheimer rose to become a cult sex therapist in the USA: a warm portrait of a humorous taboo-breaker. When …

Atlantis

A dystopian vision of the massive consequences of the war between Ukraine and Russia in the Donbass. East Ukraine in the near future: the …

The Audition

An intense family drama with Nina Hoss as a violin teacher whose own expectations prove too much and provoke a breakdown. Anna Bronsky (Nina …

Babyteeth

When carpe diem is more than just a slogan on a wall: in this unconventional dramedy from Australia, a young woman facing death discovers the beauty …

Bad Poems

A merry-melancholic kaleidoscope of a crisis in which four time frames expertly and startlingly communicate with each other. Tamás‘ soul is …

Bangla

Culture shock as romcom – with the Bengali director playing himself with loads of charm and self-irony. Phaim, a 22-year old Muslim with …

The Bare Necessity

In this oddball romantic comedy, love and some oh so beloved relatives keep a bourgeois policeman busy. In a sleepy village in the forests of …

Beanpole

A visually and emotionally striking drama about the traumas of two women shortly after the end of World War 2. Leningrad 1945: the siege is over …

Beats

The last night of a friendship and an explosion of new youth culture: a British music drama with a touch of Trainspotting has the screen booming …

La Belle Époque

Full of esprit, charm and truth, this French comedy plays with the question as to whether everything really was better in the old days. For …

The Birth of the Leopard

DOCUMENTARY How a great love became a masterpiece of European literature: the fascinating story of how the novel »The Leopard« came to be written …

Body of Truth

DOCUMENTARY Strong, radical and provocative: the film accompanies four female artists on a fascinating, emotional journey through their pasts …

Bombay Rose

ANIMATION Bollywood in 24 paintings per second: love, suffering and music in a whirl of colours Salim sees flower girl Kamala on the streets of …

Bonnie & Bonnie

A female Bonnie & Clyde in Hamburg: two young girls fight for their love and break away from their previous lives. Yara and Kiki belong to …

A Brother's Love

In this colourful, visually playful Franco-Canadian comedy, a young woman seeks her place in life with the help of her brother. 35-year old …

Bruno

The search for a dog brings together a homeless man and a young boy. A moving road movie set in the streets of London. Daniel lives on the …

Capital in the Twenty-First Century

DOCUMENTARY Capitalism over the centuries: a statement of political bankruptcy for today’s market economy. Director Justin Pemberton has …

The Colonial Institute

ESSAY Right up until the 1960s, Hamburg University saw itself as a „colonial university“. A search for traces of a difficult legacy and the …

A Colony

Camille loves to spend time in the wild, talking to frogs and chickens and roaming unselfconsciously around. Her big sister Mylia has it tougher. …

Corpus Christi

A young petty criminal gets a small community back on track after passing himself off as a vicar. A Polish drama based on real events. 20-year …

The County

In this visually impressive, emotionally powerful drama from Iceland, a woman sees red and rebels against a corrupt agricultural cooperative in her …

Cunningham

DOCUMENTARY A reunion with the iconic work of the legendary American choreographer Merce Cunningham – as a 3D cinema experience! The works of …

Dark Suns

DOCUMENTARY An epic search for traces of countless unsolved murders in Mexico. Since the 1970s, thousands of people have been murdered in Mexico …

Dark Twin

Inspectors Bukow and König once again plumb the depths of the human soul. Investigating the discovery of the body of a 16-year old runaway girl …

Darkroom - Drops of Death

In his new film, Rosa von Praunheim reexamines the true story of a gay serial killer and retells it in his own inimitable way. Lars, a nurse and …

The Dead Queen

A romantic drama in three acts: the skilfully told story of a couple that go on a fascinating journey through three different epochs and settings …

Death Will Come and Shall Have Your Eyes

Two women rediscover love in the face of death. A quiet, magic end-times drama in the remoteness of a forest hut. María and Ana have been a …

Death in the Land of Encantos

HYBRID When the world goes out of kilter: a nine-hour plunge into a shattered country and the survivors. In 2006, the Philippine region of Bicol …

The Debt

An Argentinian nocturne about a young woman who only has until sunrise to pay her debts. Because she’s chronically short of money, Monica feels …

Dieter Meier - Ein Zufall

DOCUMENTARY From Zurich to the Ganges: A associative portrait of Dieter Meier, best known as the singer and lyricist of the Swiss duo »Yello« …

Donny hat ein neues Auto und fährt etwas zu schnell

SUPPORTING FILM to: Ulrich Tukur - Life of a Showman Between love and »storage capacity«: Karoline Eichhorn’s first short as director is a …

Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains

A film like a river: three generations of a Chinese family drift through four eventful seasons Fuyang lies in a valley in eastern China and was …

Echo

A calmly tender, loosely episodic echo of Icelandic society by Rúnar Rúnarsson. It’s just before Christmas. There’s a special atmosphere …

Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things

DOCUMENTARY The portrait of a fascinating woman whose music was the soundtrack of a turbulent century. Her career was a unique journey which …

Emu Runner

Nine-year old Gem lives with her Aborigine family in a remote region of Australia. When Gem‘s mother dies suddenly, a wild emu helps her get …

Endless Night

Interwoven with dream-like, poetically bleak tableaux vivants, this Spanish triptych is a journey to the roots of Spanish fascism. When the …

Fahim

The true story of a young chess genius fighting for the right to stay in France, told with passion and humour. 8-year old Fahim (Assad Ahmed) …

German Lesson

Supported by:AV MEDIEN SERVICE

Das Gesetz sind wir

Where are the borders between the rule of law and a sense of justice? A realistic, but at the same time satirical look at the world of two law …

Ghost Tropic

A woman falls asleep in the subway and sets out on a nocturnal odyssey through the melting pot of Brussels. A minimalistic night walk full of …

Gipsy Queen

A young woman boxes for her life: a haunting social drama with the legendary Hamburg pub Ritze as the backdrop for a new beginning. Ali (Alina …

Giraffe

A tunnel project, an ethnologist who collects lost life forms and Polish migrant workers who dream of a future far from home: a lingering film about …

Good Day's Work

A social drama set in Sarajevo sees a father fighting for his integrity – against a corrupt system that ruthlessly hits back. Nothing in …

Guest of Honor

Douglas Sirk Prize-winner Atom Egoyan returns to the big screen with the sophisticated drama Guest of Honor. Jim is shocked when his daughter …

The Halt

A dictator as buffoon: Lav Diaz presents a manifesto against the authoritarian rulers of his home country and elsewhere. In the year 2034 the …

Die Hamburger Krankheit

Trashy, with a great cast and a soundtrack from the young Jean-Michel Jarre: this cultish Utopian end-times drama has been comprehensively restored …

The Hidden City

DOCUMENTARY A cinematic subterranean journey through the Madrid underworld. Claustrophobic, with virtuoso visuals and a mesmerizing soundtrack …

Homs and Me

DOCUMENTARY The story of a siege: for two years during the Syrian civil war, the director was trapped in Homs and kept a film diary of his painful …

I Can Quit Whenever I Want

Welcome, economic crisis! Three young Spaniards have a great business idea and then just make everything worse – in a comedy for which the …

I Lost My Body

ANIMATION A hand seeks its body and sets out on a spectacular journey through Paris. This prize-winning animation mixes fantasy, adventure and …

An Iron Box

DOCUMENTARY A grandson follows the murderous trail left by his grandfather 70 years previously. After the death of his grandfather, Nils Olger is …

Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs

ANIMATED FILM Jacob lives in the city and dreams of becoming a busy architect like his father. When his father goes on a business trip, Jacob has to …

Joan of Arc

The demythologisation of an icon: Bruno Dumont tells the story of the life and death of Jeanne D’Arc as an idiosyncratic biopic that veers from …

The Kamagasaki Cauldron War

 A film as a time capsule: the story of a modern class struggle as a humorous homage to the cinema of the late 1960s Day labourers and sex …

Krabi, 2562

HYBRID A tourist hotspot becomes the place where geological eras merge We’re in Krabi in Southern Thailand. The year is 2562 – according to …

Kranke Geschäfte

For risks and side-effects: GDR citizens as unknowing guinea pigs. 1988. Armin Glaser (Florian Stetter), first lieutenant in the Stasi, lives …

Die Liebe frisst das Leben - Tobias Gruben, seine Lieder und die Erde

DOCUMENTARY When Hamburg was cool: even 20 years after his death, underground musician Tobias Gruben is still seen as a rough diamond of German pop …

The Lighthouse

A lighthouse becomes the scene for a gripping face-off between two men. A remote island off the New England coast at the turn of the century. …

Lingua Franca

Sensuous and provocative: Isabel Sandoval tells the astonishingly frank story of the political and sexual awakening of a disempowered woman. The …

Maiden of the Lake

DOCUMENTARY 13-year old Emika and her cousin Antti like to spend their free time in the wild. They camp out on a remote island, roam the …

Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love

DOCUMENTARY »So Long, Marianne«: the biopic tells of the close relationship between singer Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian muse Marianne …

Marriage Story

Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach paints a precise and compassionate portrait of a marriage breaking apart. Charlie (Adam Driver) is a playwright who wants …

Martin Eden

Based on the eponymous novel by Jack London, this visually impressive drama tells of the class struggle at the beginning of the 20th century and art …

Maternal

»Blessed be the fruit of thy womb«: a meeting between a nun and two teenage mothers has a long-term effect on their lives. Young Sister Paola …

Matthias & Maxime

Suppressed love and an ode to friendship: Matthias & Maxime is a typical Dolan film, full of boundless energy and romance. Max (Xavier …

Mosaic Portrait

What begins as a classic whodunnit, slowly turns into an intelligent reflection on the conflict of differing points of view When the migrant …

Movements of A Nearby Mountain

HYBRID Global capitalism as seen from the margins: a film about recycling, myths and car tyres. The open-cast mountain mine of Erzberg in Styria …

Mute Fire

ESSAY In the tradition of Harun Farocki and João Moreira Salles, in this personal film essay Federico Atehortúa Arteaga examines the relationship …

My Life as a Courgette

ANIMATION Céline Sciamma wrote the screenplay for this magical stop-motion film, which gained an Oscar nomination and numerous prizes. After …

My wife's lover

A comedy with a star cast about the transformation of a long-married couple into a pair of young-at-heart lovers. After 40 years, the marriage …

Nightshift - Cash & Carry

An exciting new episode of Lars Becker‘s cult series set in Hamburg. One evening, policeman Harry Tönnies (Benno Fürmann) and his colleague …

No Data Plan

ESSAY A train journey from Los Angeles to New York – seen through the eyes of an immigrant without documentation. By Amtrak across the USA: …

Noah Land

A Biblical tree, planted by Noah? In a Turkish village, a father and son get caught up in a web of belief and rumour. In the final stages of a …

Nona. If They Soak Me, I’ll Burn Them

HYBRID Grandmother, friend, anarchist and arsonist – a director portrays the life of her grandmother with cinematic chutzpah and explores the …

Ode to Nothing

Death is her life: the loneliness of an undertaker leads to an unconventional family situation Sonya‘s life isn’t exactly a party. Her …

Official Secrets

A British whistleblower reveals exortionate machinations before the third Gulf War to the press and is arrested: a tense court drama based on a true …

Olanda

DOCUMENTARY A journey into the magical world of the Carpathian Mountains. Hamburg director Bernd Schoch on the trail of mushrooms pickers who work …

On a Magical Night

Full of esprit and surreal humour, Christophe Honoré’s new film pays homage to the great tradition of French light comedy. After her affair …

One Child Nation

DOCUMENTARY Population planning and the consequences: a disturbing journey into the Chinese past and present. China’s so-called »one child …

Our Mothers

20 years after the civil war in Guatemala, the submerged past comes to light thanks to the memories of the women of the time. Ernesto works as a …

Particles

Back to the big bang: an atmospherically dense debut feature links sci fi with auteur cinema and describes the creeping transformation of the world …

The Peanut Butter Falcon

A road movie with fairytale qualities follows in the footsteps of Mark Twain and is a heart-warming plea for friendship. 22-year old Zak (Zack …

Pelican Blood

In ancient mythology, mother pelicans fed their young their own blood if they were in danger of starving: a film about a woman whose motherly …

Die Pfefferkörner - Das Cello und Glücksspiele

THE CELLO Krissi is taken in by a trickster who’s got his eye on her cello. The Peppercorns find out that it‘s not the only instrument that’s …

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Céline Sciamma‘s new film is a sensitive love story and a powerful modern statement about the situation of women in the past and today. In …

Psychobitch

Love in the age of »Generation Perfect«: the box-office hit from Norway tells the refreshing coming-of-age story of two young people, who despite …

Queen of Hearts

Trine Dyrholm stars as a cool temptress in a provocative melodrama which won countless prizes in Denmark and was a box-office hit at the cinema …

The Ragged Life of Juice Leskinen

The Finnish Dylan! A melancholy, yet at the same time fast and funny biopic tells of the rise and fall Juice Leskinen, an icon of Finnish pop music, …

A Rainy Day in New York

A RAINY DAY IN NEW YORK is a love letter to old New York in which Woody Allen casts a loving look at the greater and smaller miracles and …

Red Fields

This adaptation for the screen of the 80s Israeli rock opera Mami tells the story of the Middle East conflict poetically and surreally. Young, …

The Red Hatchback

Happiness on four wheels: a single dad and his son dream of owning their own car. Producer and writer is the Iranian film-maker Mohammad Rasulof …

Redemption

When Maputo becomes the Bronx: a fast-paced thriller from Mozambique is reminiscent of US American examples of the genre. After four years in …

Reihe für die Minis

The first cinema experience? The youngest festival audience will be accompanied playfully and age-appropriately by a cheerful program of animated …

Scattered Night

The collapse of a South Korean family as a nuanced, unhysterical ensemble drama The separation of their parents plunges Jinho‘s and Sumin’s …

Season of the Devil

Pain in melodic form: Lav Diaz condenses the traumas of a nation into an anti-musical. At the end of the 1970s, dictator Marcos rules the …

The Secret of a Leader

Capitalism made in Kazakhstan: a bank clerk longs for glamour and girls and lands up in a world of false friends and dirty money. Kanat is fed …

Skin and Bones

Love vesus addiction: a drama about a widespread illness. »I’m afraid your daughter is anorexic!« The diagnosis is a shock for Susanne (Anja …

Snow White and the magic of the dwarves

Snow White finds out that her cold-blooded stepmother wants to oppress the people and remain the most beautiful in the land at any price. Driven away …

A Son

While two parents fight for the life of their son, their love threatens to founder on events supposedly long past. Tunesia, summer 2011. Fares, …

Sorry We Missed You

Zero hours contracts and neo-liberal serfdom: Ken Loach’s new film tells of the social abyss created by a digital service economy. Ricky, Abby …

South Terminal

When injustice becomes the law, resistance is a duty. Isn‘t it? South Terminal portrays a fictional dystopia that seems threateningly familiar and …

The Specials

The true story of two men obsessed with the will to make the world better for others – and who do indeed manage minor miracles on a daily basis. A …

Spider

They wanted to be part of a youth movement – and became right-wing terrorists. An intense political thriller linking Chilean history to the present …

Stars By The Pound

Loïs would like nothing more than be an astronaut. The 16-year old has a talent for physics, but also the problem that she weighs over 100 kilos. …

Stripped

In the first part of a trilogy about love, Israeli director Yaron Shani has constructed  a clever, sly psychodrama that looks deep into the …

Sune vs Sune

On his first day in year four an unpleasant surprise awaits Sune. A new classmate is sitting in his place and he is everything that Sune would like …

The Sunlit Night

In the bright nights of Norway, a young artist falls in love not just with the beauty of the Nordic landscape. For artist Frances, the summer …

Tatort: Die goldene Zeit

Romanticism was yesterday: two federal police officers fight to control the influence of criminal gangs in St. Pauli. A contract killing shocks …

Tell Me Who I Am

Bollywood in a refugee camp: in this documentary musical, refugees sing about loss of identity -- without pathos, but with a healthy portion of irony …

That Cloud Never Left

HYBRID At the gates of Kolkata, old film footage is given a new purpose. In the village of Daspada, hundreds of toys are produced every day: …

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Based on real events, a disturbing drama about an appalling scandal in the Romanian health system. Christian is an unconventional surgeon and …

Tlamess

Two people turn their back on society. This fascinating dramatic fever dream transcends the rules of logic and realism. The young Tunesian …

Tomboy

Empathetic, impressive and wonderfully natural, the film portrays the decisive summer for a girl who would like to be different. Laure likes her …

Tomorrow we are free

A German-Iranian family from the GDR longs for its home and its freedom and gets caught up in the Islamic Revolution of 1979. A gripping historical …

Train

A heavily pregnant woman and her husband get stranded in scorching heat in a no man’s land in Ghana. The stuff of comedy? Yes, and how! Ghana …

Transnistra

DOCUMENTARY Hearts a-flutter and probing questions about the future: against a beautiful backdrop, a film about the everyday life of six teenagers in …

Trust me

A suggestive psycho-thriller about the power of trust – and its fragility. On a train journey, doctor and single mother Nina (Lisa Maria …

Truth and a Lie

A woman unperturbed by a maze of accusations, suspicions and vengeance. Annabelle Martinelli (Natalia Wörner) specializes in the law governing …

Ulrich Tukur - Life of a Showman

A sensitive portrait of an exceptional character closely connected to Hamburg. Ulrich Tukur is a true all-rounder. He sings, plays piano and …

Under the Pear Tree

To mark the 200th anniversary of Fontane’s birth, the film revisits his famous novella as a psychological study of a village community. Abel and …

Vitalina Varela

HYBRID A deeply black, hypnotically expressionistic ghost story from Lisbon: Pedro Costa‘s new film won the Golden Leopard at Locarno. Vitalina …

A Voluntary Year

Do I stay or do I go? Ulrich Köhler‘s and Henner Winckler‘s sensitive filmic examination of the challenges of growing up. Jette (Maj-Britt …

Water Lilies

The strict choreography of synchronized swimming juytaposed with the commotion of personal feelings: a subtle, soaring coming-of-age story about the …

When Mum is Away

Papa on the verge of a nervous breakdown: a successful pasta manager suddenly has to run the family household. An Italian commedia al …

Whispering Waters

What we didn’t know: a young woman on a painful search for the truth about her family. Many years after giving up a promising career as a …

A White, White Day

According to Icelandic superstition, on »white days«, when the snow-covered earth blends in with the sky, the living meet the dead: a thrilling …

Widow of Silence

A widow in Kashmir is denied a new start and is instead forced to undergo an odyssey through a maze of corrupt bureaucracy. Aasia is a so-called …

Wilcox

HYBRID A man disappears in the woods: Denis Côté‘s new film is a fascinating, wordless variation on Walden. From the centre to the periphery …

Wild Rose

A star is born: newcomer Jessie Buckley shines in this unsentimental portrait of a rebellious country singer on the road to fame. Newly released …

Winter's Night

Director Jang Woo-jin’s film is a tightrope walk between reality and dream, yesterday and today, rush and catharsis. Eun-ju and Heung-ju have been …

You Deserve a Lover

Oh, l’amour! In her candid debut film as director, actor Hafsia Herzi looks at the life of a modern young woman who after a break-up gets lost in …

You Will Die at Twenty

Living with a sentence of death: a boy grows up with a curse and is treated in his village like a leper. Shortly after his birth, Muzamil and …

Young Juliette

In this feel-good comedy from Québec about a self-confident teenage girl, eveything’s a little bit over the top. 14-year old Juliette is …

Your Bones and Your Eyes

Brazilian director Caetano Gotardo plays the lead in this intelligent, intimate kaleidoscope of conversations, monologues and encounters. João …

Yu Gong

ESSAY A journey through the complex web of African-Chinese relations. The economic, political and cultural future of globalisation is taking …

Zombi Child

In his new film, Bertrand Bonello blends 1960s Haiti and present-day Paris to a surreal voodoo vision.  A film full of frenzy, both puzzling and …

Eine fremde Tochter

A girl traumatized by the death of her mother moves in with her father, who is living in a homosexual relationship. After losing her single mum …

La vida en común

HYBRID Surviving between the traditional and the modern: an artificial desert city in Argentina is haunted by a puma. A modern tent city of …