KinoFest 2025

Based on the true story of music fan Vera Brandes who organized legendary pianist Keith Jarret’s Cologne concert in 1975. A tribute to originality and courage in the arts.

After a car crash kills her boyfriend, piano student Laura is taken in by Betty, who witnessed the accident. Living with Betty's family brings comfort, but Laura starts questioning their intentions as time passes. As emotional walls come down, doubts arise: is there more to the care offered than simple kindness?

A young autistic boy and his two siblings have to stay for four weeks with their grandparents while their mother is away. Because of his unique abilities and interest in space missions, he considers his grandparents’ land an isolated planet. A new adventure begins.

High-tension work in a surgery ward of a Swiss public hospital, shown from an overworked nurse’s perspective. A compact drama told in meticulous precision and zero waste of emotions.

Berlin 1942, Hilde becomes involved in the anti-Nazi resistance. When she falls in love with another member, Hans, they spend a happy summer together until they are arrested by the Gestapo and Hilde is imprisoned, eight months pregnant. In prison, she develops unexpected strength, giving birth to her son and keeping the memory of her beloved husband alive.

Homophobia in football has been costing lives. Queer players recount their journey in the suffocating atmosphere. While homosexuality hardly matters elsewhere, the topic seems to be taboo in professional soccer.

Over the course of a century, as four girls from different time periods experience their youth on a German farm, their lives become intertwined until time seems to dissolve. A ghostly epic of women in one house visited by catastrophe and its echoes over generations, mirroring patterns of inherited malaise in German society.

When a burnt Quran is found on a film set, the shoot takes a dark turn and the crew are thrown into turmoil. Caught in the crossfire, an intern, Elif, is drawn into a dangerous game of secrets, accusations and lies. A piercing reflection on the power of images and the dynamics of perception.

How does art deal with femininity? The maternity clinic and art school in Hamburg where the director taught prompts an examination of three generations of German women balancing motherhood and careers. A reflection on artistic ambitions and society’s impositions.

Being a mother and struggling to overcome addiction is Jenny’s call. As her relationship to her changing body changes, she redefines her life. A bold debut work on motherhood and determination.

Chinedu, Samana and Yasin, three people from very different social and ethnic backgrounds, start training at Berlin’s Police Academy. The real world full of prejudice and violence awaits, as they find their own place within the police force.

The documentary Riefenstahl explores the life and work of the controversial filmmaker whose films such as Triumph of the Will and Olympia are still considered masterpieces of visual composition—and at the same time central works of Nazi propaganda. Based on an extensive archive of personal footage, letters, and script drafts, Andres Veiel creates a multifaceted portrait that navigates between artistic ambition and political responsibility.

Carag, a shapeshifting puma raised in the wild, joins Clearwater High, a school for Woodwalkers - humans who can turn into animals. With his new friends he navigates mysteries and dangers of the Woodwalker world. Will they be able to use their powers to protect their forest?

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, a communist family discovers a bunker full of money soon to be worthless. With the help of their neighbours, they embark on a race against time to enter the capitalist world in style. An entertaining cash scam caper reflecting on a time that shaped modern day Germany.