Culture

Goethe-Institut Malaysia 60 © Goethe-Institut Malaysia

We promote cultural exchange, education and social discourse

The cultural programme work of the Goethe-Institut Malaysia is diverse and supports very different forms of artistic expression in the fields of visual arts, theatre, film, dance, literature and music.

Cultural exchange

1 November - 20 December 2025

Science Film Festival 2025

The 15th edition of the Science Film Festival runs as a hybrid film festival nationwide with 37 films selected by Malaysian pre-juries, all free to watch online. This year’s festival explores the theme of Green Jobs – the innovations, skills, and people driving a sustainable future.

© Goethe-Institut Malaysia © Goethe-Institut Malaysia
Annual film festival

KinoFest

We featured six award-winning German films and one Malaysian film, followed by moderated discussions from 21 - 26 October 2025 with free admission. This year's festival is regarding the theme Family: Extended - exploring evolving ideas of family across cultures and contexts.

© Goethe-Institut Malaysia © Goethe-Institut Malaysia
Co-Research Initiative

Borneo Perantis

To explore different parts of Borneo's history, local and international researchers work together using old records and oral stories - providing insights into how history shapes the culture and identity of its people.

© Goethe-Institut Malaysia © Goethe-Institut Malaysia

Cultural funding

Exchange Programme

Artist in Residence - AIR

The Artist-In-Residence exchange program (AIR) aims at supporting and encouraging contemporary visual arts and promoting international exchange.

AIR Frankfurt © BASIS e.V. Frankfurt © BASIS e.V. Frankfurt

Worldwide Arts funding and residencies

The Goethe-Institut promotes art and culture in a variety of projects in Germany and abroad. You can search by genre, funding type and duration.

© Unsplash/Matthieu Comoy © Unsplash/Matthieu Comoy
Project Funding

International Coproduction Fund

With the ICF, we support co-productions worldwide that arise from collaborative and dialogical work processes between professional artists in the fields of music, dance, theater and performance.

© Synaesthesik (Ginna Mora) © Synaesthesik (Ginna Mora)
Fiction, non-fiction, and books for children and young adults

Translation Grant Program

The Goethe-Institut translation program supports the publication of books by German speaking authors in Indonesian language.

© Goethe-Institut © Goethe-Institut

Experience culture digitally

Onleihe

German Online Library

The Onleihe is Goethe-Institut’s digital library. More than 35,000 German language eBooks, audio books, movies, materials for German language learners, magazines and newspapers are available for downloading from the Onleihe.

Onleihe-GIF © Goethe-Institut © Goethe-Institut

Tune in

Podcasts Around the World

The Goethe-Institut gets stuck in your ears and opens your eyes. Goethe-Instituts across the globe produce podcasts on different topics and in different languages. Choose from a range of diverse podcasts from around the world. Dive in and have fun listening.
Listen

Current Music from Germany

Rock, Pop, Hip-Hop, Electro: Every month this podcast presents new music from Germany below the radar to adults and young people interested in music. Quality pop made in Germany, also available for download by subscription.

© Goethe-Institut | Illustration: DOON 東 © Goethe-Institut | Illustration: DOON 東
Streaming platform

Goethe on Demand

We present various online film programmes, film festivals and film series on our streaming platform. After registering, you can watch films from home free of charge.

© Bandenfilm © Bandenfilm
From Germany

Streaming Recommendations

We have compiled a fantastic selection of German films and series for you to enjoy that are currently available in the media libraries of the public broadcasters and on various streaming services in Germany.

© Goethe-Institut / Tobias Schrank © Goethe-Institut / Tobias Schrank

Language Media Centre

Our language media centre is a place for everyone who wants to read, listen to music, watch movies, get inspired and meet people.

Global perspectives, Everyday life in Germany

Our magazines

The International Culture Magazine

Zeitgeister

Which topics and discourse are we dealing with worldwide? We address people who are interested in art, international perspectives, original (even nerdy) topics, zines and Germany. ZEITGEISTER appears four times a year. Each time, we invite international artists and authors to contribute to our magazine with anecdotes, essays, podcasts, illustrations, videos, discussions and photo series.

Illustration: © El Boum Illustration: © El Boum
The Germany Magazine

#DeutschlandNoFilter

The diversity of Germany in one magazine. #DeutschlandNoFilter presents dialects and book trends, series tips and insights into everyday working life, sports and music, sustainable ideas and special places that you should get to know. A magazine for everyone who is interested in Germany and loves the German language.