A total of nine German productions and co-productions in the competition categories at Locarno

From August 5 to 15, 2026, Locarno will once again become a meeting place for the international film community. The renowned Locarno Film Festival celebrates its 79th edition, presenting emerging talents alongside established filmmakers from around the world. Seven German productions and co-productions are represented across various competitive sections. German Films is also once again collaborating with Locarno Pro as part of the “Match Me!” programme.

Since its foundation in 1946, the Swiss festival has been regarded as one of Europe’s most important platforms for ambitious auteur cinema, cinematic discoveries and innovative forms of storytelling. “7,759 films were submitted this year, and 233 were ultimately selected for the program, 103 of which are world premieres,” Artistic Director Giona A. Nazzaro reported at the official press conference.
German productions and co-productions are once again part of this year’s programme, highlighting the diversity, creative independence and international interconnectedness of contemporary German cinema.

Two majority German productions are competing for the Golden Leopard in this year’s main competition, the Concorso Internazionale. Ann Oren’s OBJET A follows a couple consumed by desires and obsessions, including kleptomania, eco-anxiety and a passion for unusual objects.
The second German production is I RARELY WAKE UP DREAMING by Isabelle Stever. The drama centres on Olha and Oleh, an LGBTQ+ couple living in Ukraine according to European values. However, Russia’s war of aggression puts both their identities and their relationship to the test.

The Concorso Cineasti del Presente is dedicated to emerging talent and serves as a forum for contemporary filmmakers shaping the cinema of tomorrow. This year, Germany is represented by Luise Donschen’s TOMORROW A LONG TIME AGO. Set during the period of German reunification, the historical drama follows Patty, who loses her job and her girlfriend Jelena before retreating into the forests of the Kyffhäuser mountains. When she reappears at the foot of the mountain thirty years later, having barely aged, Jelena follows her ghostly apparition into the historical landscape of an East German present.
Nicolaas Schmidt’s SEPTEMBER AFTERNOON follows a family enjoying the final moments of a carefree time on the last day of summer. Their day at the beach becomes a metaphor for the illusion of eternal harmony.

Outside the competitions, Nikias Chryssos’s horror thriller BLOODY TENNIS will screen in the Fuori Concorso - Out of Competition section. The film revolves around the dark secrets of a Spanish tennis academy. The section will also present TRANSISTION by Peter Badel and Chris Wright. Cinematographer Peter Badel completed the documentary begun by director Thomas Heise in 2023. Heise died in May 2024 before he was able to finish the film.

A German production is also included in the highly popular Piazza Grande section. Felix Randau’s I IS ANOTHER centres on Felix Kersten, Heinrich Himmler’s former masseur. Kersten claimed to have used his position of trust with the Reichsführer-SS to save the lives of thousands of concentration camp prisoners. Journalist Hedda, however, believes Kersten to be a charlatan. Which of them has the more convincing story?

Another competitive section, Pardi di Domani: Concorso Internazionale, will screen TOGETHER by the artist duo Neozoon. Using archival footage and social media material, the experimental short film examines humanity’s pursuit of land ownership and private property.

Marleen Valien’s PARADEISA will celebrate its world premiere in the Locarno Kids Screenings section. The tragicomedy follows twelve-year-old Lou, who wants to help her unsuccessful and narcissistic artist father Edgar through an existential crisis and comes up with the absurd idea of faking his death.

Locarno Pro’s “Match Me!” networking initiative will take place from August 7 to 9. A series of one-to-one meetings and tailor-made networking activities will connect participants with potential business partners, co-producers and key industry professionals. The initiative is also supported by German Films. The German participants include Alec Barth of Counterintuitive Film and Jasper Wiedhöft of Reynard Films.

All German productions and co-productions in Locarno at a glance:

Concorso Internazionale
A MARGEM DO RIO (THE RIVERBANK) by Matheus Farias, Enock Carvalho (BR/FR/DE, Tama Filmproduktion)
I RARELY WAKE UP DREAMING (SELTEN WACHE ICH TRÄUMEND AUF) by Isabelle Stever (DE/UA, X-Filme Creative Pool)
OBJET A by Ann Oren (DE/GR/LU, Schuldenberg Films)
PRINCESA BURRO (DONKEY PRINCESS) by Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña (CHL/FR/URY/NL/DE, Autentika Films)
THE HOUSE ON THE MOON by Nelson Yeo (SGP/TWN/DE/IDN, Weydeman Bros.)

Fuori Concorso - Out of Competition
BLOODY TENNIS by Nikias Chryssos (Augenschein Filmproduktion)
TRANSITION (ÜBERGANG) by Peter Badel, Chris Wright (Ma.ja.de. Filmproduktion)

Concorso Cineasti del Presente
MORGEN VOR LANGER ZEIT (TOMORROW A LONG TIME AGO) by Luise Donschen (Fünferfilm, New Matter Films)
SEPTEMBER AFTERNOON by Nicolaas Schmidt (Amerikafilm)
TEAR GAS by Uta Beria (GE/FR/DE, 70 Steps)

Piazza Grande
I IS ANOTHER (ICH IST EIN ANDERER) by Felix Randau (DE/AT, ostlicht Filmproduktion)

Pardi di Domani: Concorso Internazionale
TOGETHER by NEOZOON (DE/CH)

Histoire(s) du Cinéma 
SOUDAIN (ALL OF A SUDDEN) by Ryūsuke Hamaguchi (FR/JP/DE/BL, Heimatfilm)
MAMMAS: INTRODUCTION, SPIDER, HAMSTER, PIPING PLOVER, TOAD by Isabella Rossellini (DE/FR/ USA, Sperl Film- und Fernsehproduktion)

Panorama Suisse
YOU BELIEVE IN ANGELS, MR. DROWAK? (SIE GLAUBEN AN ENGEL, HERR DROWAK?) by Nicolas Steiner (DE/CH, Zieglerfilm)

Locarno Kids Screening
PARADEISA by Marleen Valien (Kurhaus production, ANORAK Film, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg)

Open Doors Screening
COTTON QUEEN by Suzannah Mirghani (DE/FR/PS/EG/QA/SA, Strange Bird)
DIYA (BLUTGELD) by Achille Ronaimou (TD/DE/FR/CI, Filmgalerie 451)
LA KORA DE MON PÈRE (MY FATHER’S KORA) by Ayeman Aymar Esse (BJ/CH/DE)

Semaine de la Critique
GABIN by Maxence Voiseux (FR/DE/CH, AMA FILM)

LOCARNO PRO

Match Me!
Alec Barth - Counterintuitive film
Jasper Wiedhöft - Reynard Films
Melissa Byrne –allergikerfilm & NORDPOLARIS

Alliance4development
DYSPNOE by Henning Beckhoff (Oma Inge Film)
HUMANOID by Claudia Rorarius (Soquiet Filmproduktion)

U30
Cecilia Pezzini – Coproduction Office

Locarno Industry Academy
Lena Sophie Daun – Films Boutique
Hugo Scheubel – Salaud Morisset

Contact:
Sylva Häutle (Head of Festival Relations & Producers Liaison)
Angela Sonntag (Head of Press & Public Relations)

Impressum

German Films Service + Marketing GmbH
Herzog-Wilhelm-Straße 16
80331 München/Deutschland

Tel +49-89-59 97 87-0
Fax +49-89-59 97 87-30