| The jury appointed by German Films has selected Sandra Wollner’s feature film EVERYTIME for submission to the 99th Academy Awards in the “International Feature Film” category. The German productions YELLOW LETTERS and SHAME AND MONEY have also qualified. After viewing the eleven films submitted for consideration, an independent nine-member jury appointed by German Films selected the drama EVERYTIME, produced by The Barricades, as Oscar candidate. The jury's motivation reads as follows:
“In EVERYTIME, director and writer Sandra Wollner achieves the remarkable feat of making grief tangible as a world thrown into disarray through purely cinematic means and with a surprising lightness of touch. The outstanding cinematography creates a shimmering and at times ethereal atmosphere without intruding on the characters. The ensemble of actors is convincing in its naturalness, with the characterizations remaining consistently precise and ambivalent. Playing elegantly with form and narrative ellipses, EVERYTIME explores the interstices of the pain of loss. Memory and the present, reality and imagination flow into one another almost imperceptibly, making this film a truly poetic cinematic experience.“ Statement by the producers at The Barricades and Panama Film, as well as director and screenwriter Sandra Wollner, on the decision:
“We feel very honoured to be part of Germany’s Oscar preselection this year. At a time when German cinema has once again gained international visibility through strong auteur voices, we are particularly pleased to share this honour with our esteemed colleagues from YELLOW LETTERS and SHAME AND MONEY.
The attention EVERYTIME received in Cannes - and now the jury’s confidence in the film - reinforce our belief that cinema needs distinctive voices with the courage to follow their own form and, precisely by doing so, reach audiences across borders.
Our special thanks go to our cast, crew members, partners and funders, as well as to everyone who helped us make this film possible.” Following the rule changes introduced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences® this spring, films that have won significant awards at selected international film festivals are also eligible for submission to the “International Feature Film” category. Thus, the Grand Jury Prize awarded to Visar Morina’s SHAME AND MONEY (VON SCHAM UND GELD) at the Sundance Film Festival and the Golden Bear won by İlker Çatak’s YELLOW LETTERS (GELBE BRIEFE) at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival qualify the two German productions for submission to this Oscar category. The road to the Oscars:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will publish a list of all films submitted to the International Feature Film category in early November.
Last year, 86 countries submitted films. The shortlist of 15 titles in this category will be announced on 15 December, 2026.
The five nominated films will be selected from this shortlist and announced on 21 January, 2027.
The Academy Awards ceremony will take place on 14 March, 2027. | |
| German Films received eleven film submissions for the 99th Oscar® Competition in the category "International Feature Film". The selection of the German entry for the Academy Awards® 2027 will take place with an independent jury of experts on August 24 and 25, 2026 in Munich. The following eleven German films have been submitted to German Films by German producers and qualify for the final selection: 23000 LIVES (23000 LEBEN) by Markus Goller (Neue Flimmer)
OH - THIS UNSPEAKABLE VOID (ACH, DIESE LÜCKE, DIESE ENTSETZLICHE LÜCKE) by Simon Verhoeven (Komplizen Film)
BABYSTAR (BABYSTAR) by Joscha Bongard (LiseLotte Films)
THE DREAMED ADVENTURE (DAS GETRÄUMTE ABENTEUER) by Valeska Grisebach (Komplizen Film)
TRIAL OF HEIN (DER HEIMATLOSE) by Kai Staenicke (TamTam Film)
EVERYTIME (EVERYTIME) by Sandra Wollner (The Barricades)
VISITATION (HEIMSUCHUNG) by Volker Schloendorff (Ziegler Film)
MINOTAUR (MINOTAURUS) by Andrei Zvyagintsev (Razor Film Produktion) - provisionally
NO GOOD MEN (NO GOOD MEN) by Shahrbanoo Sadat (Adomeit Film)
YOU BELIEVE IN ANGELS, MR. DROWAK? (SIE GLAUBEN AN ENGEL, HERR DROWAK?) by Nicolas Steiner (Ziegler Film Baden-Baden)
PROSECUTION (STAATSSCHUTZ) by Faraz Shariat (Jünglinge Film) The independent German Oscar® selection committee includes participants of the following organizations: - PROG - Producers of Germany
- German Producers‘ Alliance
- German World Sales Association
- Screenwriters' Guild of Germany
- Association of Independent German Film Distributors (AG Verleih-Verband unabhängiger Filmverleiher)
- Association of German Film Theatres (HdF Kino e.V.)
- German Directors' Association
- German Film Academy (2x)
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| From August 5 to 15, 2026, Locarno again became a meeting place for the international film community. The 79th Locarno Film Festival presented emerging talents alongside established filmmakers, with seven German productions and co-productions represented across its program. German Films also continued its collaboration with Locarno Pro through the “Match Me!” initiative. Two majority German productions competed for the Golden Leopard in the Concorso Internazionale. Ann Oren’s OBJET A followed a couple consumed by desires and obsessions, while Isabelle Stever’s I RARELY WAKE UP DREAMING portrayed an LGBTQ+ couple in Ukraine whose identities and relationship were challenged by Russia’s war of aggression. In the Concorso Cineasti del Presente, Luise Donschen’s TOMORROW A LONG TIME AGO explored German reunification by featuring a woman who mysteriously reappeared thirty years after disappearing. Nicolaas Schmidt’s SEPTEMBER AFTERNOON depicted a family’s final carefree summer day before an impending change. Outside the competitions, Nikias Chryssos’s BLOODY TENNIS, set at a Spanish tennis academy, and TRANSITION by Peter Badel and the late Thomas Heise screened in Fuori Concorso. Felix Randau’s I IS ANOTHER, about Heinrich Himmler’s former masseur Felix Kersten and the disputed claims surrounding him, was presented on the Piazza Grande. From August 7 to 9, Locarno Pro’s “Match Me!” program connected emerging producers with potential partners and industry professionals. Supported by German Films, the German participants included Alec Barth of Counterintuitive Film and Jasper Wiedhöft of Reynard Films. On the first weekend of the festival, German Films and Film Fund North-Rhine Westphalia hosted the Locarno Pro Meet & Greet at the Campari Lounge. Among the 300 or so guests were the German film teams whose films could be seen in the Locarno program, as well as numerous industry professionals who met to exchange ideas and to network. | |
| The 26th edition of the Festival de Cine Alemán in Buenos Aires will take place at the cinema Cinépolis Recoleta from September 17 to 23, 2026, celebrating German cinema in all its diversity and facets. The festival will open with Welf Reinhart’s film A FADING MAN selected to compete in the prestigious Tiger Competition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). As in previous years, German Films will present a selection of outstanding short films from the NEXT GENERATION SHORT TIGER 2026 program. Other highlights in the program will be the presence of Kilian Armando Friedrich, who will present his film I UNDERSTAND YOUR DISPLEASURE. After the screenings, he will answer questions about the film and, in particular, about working with non-professional actors. A special highlight this year will be the screening of SOUND OF FALLING by Mascha Schilinski, winner of the jury prize at Cannes 2025. The festival is organized in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Buenos Aires, Filmbüro LATAM, with support from the German Embassy in Argentina and in partnership with MUBI and Sendfiles. The full program of the festival: - THE FROG AND THE WATER by Thomas Stuber
- CIRCUS BOY by Julia Lemke & Anna Koch
- SIX WEEKS ON by Jacqueline Jansen
- BABYSTAR by Joscha Bongard
- RAVE ON by Nikias Chryssos & Viktor Jakovlevski
- NEXT GENERATION SHORT TIGER 2026 by various directors
- PHANTOMS OF JULY by Julian Radlmaier
- LUISA by Julia Roesler
- THE SECRET FLOOR by Norbert Lechner
- OH - THIS UNSPEAKABLE VOID by Simon Verhoeven
- BERLIN HERO by Wolfgang Becker
- I UNDERSTAND YOUR DISPLEASURE by Kilian Armando Friedrich
- SOUND OF FALLING by Mascha Schilinski
- HOMESTORIES by Eva Trobisch
More information about the festival here. | |
| FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS ambassador Anna Roller's film ALLEGRO PASTELL continued its festival journey to Poland, screening at the 26th TAURON New Horizons International Film Festival in Wrocław, one of Central Europe's most significant platforms for arthouse cinema. ALLEGRO PASTELL was selected for "Third Eye: Broken Hearts Club", a section curated around women filmmakers exploring love stories that resist the traditional happy ending. The film fitted right in: Based on Leif Randt's bestselling novel of the same name, the story follows a couple in a long-distance relationship navigating commitment between Berlin and Frankfurt and reflects a generation renegotiating closeness in a digitally mediated world. Anna presented her film on stage at two screenings at New Horizons. She will travel more with her film around the globe this fall – more news to come. | |
| The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted 16 students as winners of the 53rd Student Academy Awards competition. This year, the Student Academy Awards competition received 2,972 entries from 894 colleges and universities worldwide. The 2026 winners join the ranks of such past Student Academy Award winners as Patricia Cardoso, Pete Docter, Spike Lee, Patricia Riggen and Robert Zemeckis. Among the 16 winners is German director Matthias Strasser with his film THE PANIC INSIDE, which he shot at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg. The film is one of three selected in the Animation category. THE PANIC INSIDE centers on a chronic “people-pleaser” who has trouble turning down his friends’ constant requests, and how he finally learns to set boundaries, say “no” with confidence, and regain his personal freedom. The presentation ceremony for the annual international student film awards will be held at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) inside TIFF Lightbox at Reitman Square on Monday, September 14, 2026.
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| From January to June 2026, 410 German films reached cinema audiences in 67 countries, generating over 110.2 million euros in international box office revenue and attracting more than 17.9 million admissions. The top majority titles included SILENT FRIEND, WOODWALKERS 2, and TAFITI – ACROSS THE DESERT. Presented with a newly designed layout, the latest German Films Abroad report highlights the key figures, leading titles and most important international markets of the first half of 2026, and is now available online. For further information, please contact Andrea Schiefer and Anna Heissler. | |
| The focus of the next session for the English-language KINO! FILM SALON online film club on September 13th will be Valeska Grisebach’s masterpiece WESTERN. Her modern adaptation of an adventure film celebrated its world premiere in Cannes International Competition in 2017 and was part of the line-up in Toronto in the same year. We’ll be hosting this event LIVE from the Toronto International Film Festival honoring Valeska Grisebach and her most recent drama THE DREAMED ADVENTURE that is part of the Centrepiece section. Jim Kolmar's curational comment on the movie: “Eleven years after her 2006 film LONGING, Valeska Grisebach returned with the remarkable contemporary fable WESTERN. As the title suggests, the 2017 film adopts some familiar genre tropes to tell a story that feels classically styled, yet riven with modern anxieties and themes. When a group of German men begin working on a construction site between Bulgaria and Greece, their intrepid spirit and stoic work ethic are met with suspicion by skeptical locals. As the group examines their own internalized prejudice while simply trying to earn a living, it becomes clear that this is more than just an employment opportunity. Instead, WESTERN becomes a crucible for cultural tensions and conflict that seem to be just as present in 2026 as they were nearly a decade ago. Shot in a naturalistic style that articulates both the intimate and the epic, WESTERN feels like a film for the ages. In other words, it’s ripe for a lively conversation in the KINO! Film Salon". RSVP here
The conversation is preceded by a recorded introduction by Valeska Grisebach. Date and time: Sunday, September 13th, 11:30am – 12:30 pm PT
2:30pm – 3:30pm ET, 8:30pm – 9:30pm CET KINO! FILM SALON is a production by Telescope Film, in collaboration with the German Film Office Trailer here | |
| Episode 103 - September 10, 2026:
In this episode we welcome our first-ever LIVE guest, actor Nick Romeo Reimann. We will talk about chess obsession, the random joy little dogs bring, and a career that's taken him places — plus real talk about the many versions of ourselves we carry, in and out of friendships. You can find all of the episodes on our website and wherever podcasts are available. SHORT TAKE on Instagram! | |
| September 15, 2026:
Director Hannu Salonen has three projects coming out this fall. He talked to us about why he considers himself a craftsman and a storyteller first, rather than a filmmaker. We discussed his interest in exploring the human condition, the advantage of having tunnel vision on big productions – and blowing the socks off the audience with visuals on ADAM'S EIGHT, or the playfulness of VIENNA GAME. And above all – he brought his own special,exuberant joy to our conversation. September 22, 2026:
We talked to producer Jonas Dornbach about meeting Janine (& Maren) - his partners at Komplizen Film - on the dancefloor, a first foray into filmmaking via so-bad-they’re-good music videos, his super 8 road movie, his “not humble enough” application at the Munich film school, why good stories need an unknown element and why there is no such thing as “the truth". You can find all of the episodes on our website and wherever podcasts are available.
DEEP DIVE GENRE on Instagram! | |
| Award for German production at Hiroshima Animation Season
For its third edition, Hiroshima Animation Season (HAS) received a record-breaking 3,181 submissions from 110 countries and regions. A total of 76 works, including 71 short films and five feature films, were officially selected and screened at HAS 2026 from August 19 to 23, 2026. The winning films were determined by an international jury and an audience vote. From a German perspective, Heinrich Sabl’s feature-length animated film MEMORY HOTEL won the Grand Prix in the Feature Films Competition at Hiroshima Animation Season.
International Film Schools Dominate 2026 Student Academy Awards
International film schools achieved a record result at the 2026 Student Academy Awards, winning nine of the twelve awards presented this year. As Steve Pond reports for TheWrap, schools from Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom secured the majority of prizes, while U.S. schools received three awards. Pond noted that international schools “swept two of the four categories, winning all three awards in animation and narrative,” marking the highest number of Student Academy Awards ever won by schools outside the United States. Since domestic and international schools began competing in the same categories in 2022, international institutions have won almost 60 percent of all the awards.
Gerd Conradt Short Film Program M.O.V.I.N.G. at Verona
With support from German Films and the German Short Film Association (AG Kurzfilm), the 32nd edition of San Gio’ Verona Video Festival (July 23-27, 2026) invited film and video artist Gerd Conradt to present a screening of the special program M.O.V.I.N.G (trailer here). For the program, Gerd Conradt selected eleven of his short works that were produced between 1966 and 2026, such as EIN-BLICK (1987) and FARBTEST 6 (2008), combining them into a feature-length journey through topics of political activism, poetry and music. The festival’s jury awarded M.O.V.I.N.G. with the Special Jury Prize and the “Cinema is Politics” Award (ex aequo). The German feature RED STARS UPON THE FIELD (ROTE STERNE ÜBERM FELD) by Laura Laabs won the festival’s awards for Best Feature, Best Music and Best Acting (Hannah Ehrlichmann).
German short film candidates for the Academy Awards 2027
German Films is planning to publish a list of all German short films submitted to the 99th Academy Awards and asks all producers to inform us about their submission and film before October 1, 2026 by contacting Martin Scheuring (scheuring@german-films.de). The final deadline to submit qualified shorts to the Academy Awards is on Thursday, October 8, 2026. Calls for Submission - DOK Preview Germany: Call for documentary projects: German Films Service + Marketing GmbH and DOK Industry are looking for the most exciting new German documentary projects. DOK Preview Germany is a presentation platform for German productions, newly completed or in their final stages, with an estimated release date in winter/spring 26/27. The teams can present their projects to international buyers, editors, world sales, festivals, curators and distributors. With the project presentation and subsequent opportunity for networking and exchange, we support selected projects for international marketing. Last year, productions such as SIRI HUSTVEDT – DANCE AROUND THE SELF and FINDING CONNECTION, took part before premiering their films at the Berlinale and CPH:DOX. The call is open until September 3, 2026. Find more information on DOK Leipzig’s website.
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| Awards for German productions and co-productions at Wroclaw, Guanajuato, Locarno, Sarajevo, Hollywood and Melbourne. | |
| New section starting in 2026: Here you will find links to photo galleries of German Films receptions and other German Films events from this month. | |
| International releases of German films in September 2026 supported by the German Films Distribution Support program: BIBI BLOCKSBERG - DIE TOTAL VERHEXTE ZEITREISE in Switzerland & Liechtenstein (Distributor: DCM, World Sales: Leonine Distribution, Theatrical Release: September 24, 2026, Grant: 8,000 €)
CIRCUSBOY in Sweden (Distributor: Filmcentrum Distribution, World Sales: Pluto Film, Theatrical Release: September 09, 2026, Grant: 6,000 €)
DAS GEWISSE ETWAS in Switzerland (Distributor: Praesens, World Sales: Constantin Film, Theatrical Release: September 03, 2026: 5,000 €)
HEIDI – RESCUE OF THE LYNX in Hungary (Distributor: ADS Service Ltd, World Sales: Studio 100, Theatrical Release: September 17, 2026, Grant: 5,000 €)
HORSE ON A STICK in Estonia (Distributor: The Playmaker, World Sales: Unlimited Media, Theatrical Release: September 18, 2026, Grant: 4,000 €)
HORSE ON A STICK in Latvia (Distributor: The Playmaker, World Sales: Unlimited Media, Theatrical Release: September 18, 2026, Grant: 3,000 €)
HORSE ON A STICK in Lithuania (Distributor: The Playmaker, World Sales: Unlimited Media, Theatrical Release: September 4, 2026, Grant: 5,000 €)
SMELL OF BURNT MILK in Spain (Distributor: CON UN PACK DE PELICULAS S.L., World Sales: Sweet Godless Turtle Film Productions / Justine Bauer, Theatrical Release: September 4, 2026, Grant: 5,000 €)
THE GOOD SISTER in France (Distributor: Memento Distribution, World Sales: New Europe Film Sales, Theatrical Release: September 02, 2026, Grant: 15,000 €)
THE LAST WHALE SINGER in Australia, New Zealand (Distributor: Blitz Film & Video Distribucija, World Sales: Vuelta, Theatrical Release: September 24, 2026, Grant: 14,000 €)
THE LAST WHALE SINGER in Poland (Distributor: New Horizons, World Sales: PFX, Theatrical Release: September 18, 2026, Grant: 15,000 €)
THE SCHOOL OF MAGICAL ANIMALS 4 in Lithuania (Distributor: Garsu pasaulio Irasai, World Sales: Epsilon, Theatrical Release: September 18, 2026, Grant: 3,000 €)
WHAT MARIELLE KNOWS in Israel (Distributor: Nachshon Films, World Sales: Lucky Number, Theatrical Release: September 03, 2026, Grant: 9,000 €)
YELLOW LETTERS in Australia, New Zeeland (Distributor: Rialto Distribution, World Sales: Be For Films, Theatrical Release: September 24, 2026, Grant: 13,000 €)
Please note: Correct at time of going to press. Changes may occur at any time.
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| Contact:
Angela Sonntag (Head of Press & Public Relations) | |
| German Films Service + Marketing GmbH
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