The competition films at the 38 Filmfest Dresden
65 Short Films from 36 Countries Competing for 17 Awards with Prizemoney Totalling €72,500
The 38 Filmfest Dresden is presenting 65 short films from 36 countries in its three competition sections. From the 3,800 entries, 34 films have been selected for the International Competition, 24 for the National Competition and seven for the Central German Competition. The competition programmes include world, German and European premieres, and reflect upon current social themes such as work, loneliness, (queer) identity and migration.
Competitions and Selections
A total of 65 short films from 36 countries have been invited to contend in the three competition sections of the 38 Filmfest Dresden. From the 3,800 submissions, the Selection Committees chose 34 (co-)productions for the International Competition and 24 entries for the National Competition, as well as seven works for the Central German Competition. The films screening in the competitions include a total of eight world premieres, 12 German premieres and two European premieres.
The works are vying for a total of 17 “Golden Horsemen” and special prizes. The new Audience Award in the Central German Competition launched in 2025 is being sponsored this year for the first time by the Friends of Filmfest Dresden and is endowed with €500. Moreover, the prizemoney for the Audience Award in the National Competition has been increased again. The award is being sponsored in equal parts by the MDR broadcasting studios in Halle and Erfurt (represented by the MDR’s unicato short film TV show). Overall, the competition awards are endowed with €72,500 in prizemoney.
Numbers, Formats and Production Countries
Traditionally, animated films and hybrid works are a permanent feature in the festival’s competition sections. They represent a significant share of the works in the National and Central German Competitions, accounting for almost half of the films being screened this year.
The competition films come from a total of 36 (co-)production countries. In the International Competition, productions are being screened from China, Haiti, Cuba, Marocco, New Zealand, the Philippines, Serbia and many more. Likewise, a powerful international presence can be found in the National Competition: with five films consisting of coproductions made with Peru, Côte d’Ivoire and the USA, among others.
This year, works by female (co-)directors clearly predominate in all three competition sections. Likewise in the National Competition, independent productions prevail: 16 of the 24 films being screened were made as independent productions, while eight works come from German film schools, including the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, the Bauhaus University Weimar, the Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg and the KHM Academy of Media Arts Cologne. In the Central German Competition, independent productions account for about half of the films being screened.
Thematic Focus: Work, Loneliness, Identity and Migration
The competition films at the 38 Filmfest Dresden are grappling with key social issues of our time. With particularly prominent themes here including work, loneliness, (queer) identity and migration – being explored in documentary, fictional and experimental formats.
This year’s festival focus on “Work in Progress” is also reflected in the competition sections. The experimental documentary COLD CALL from Stefanie Schroeder (Central German Competition) examines digital working realities and their interconnections with racist attributions and global inequality. L’MINA from Randa Maroufi (International Competition) addresses illegal mining in the Moroccan mining town of Jerada, adapting it as a collective stage play developed together with the town’s citizens.
A further recurring motif consists of loneliness, which is experienced in many films as a silent, often invisible state. In UNBEMERKT VERSTORBEN (UNNOTICED DEATH) from Alina Cyranek (Central German Competition), the objects left behind by a lonely, deceased person tell the story of a life that went almost unnoticed. The Portuguese-French animated film CÃO SOZINHO (DOG ALONE) from Marta Reis Andrade (International Competition) deals with loneliness as an emotional detachment within family relationships – beyond overt isolation.
Likewise, issues related to (queer) identity and gender roles are featured in several competition programmes. The experimental short LOVE YOUR NAILS (Central German Competition) from Narges Kalhor (2024 Saxon Film Promotion Prize for SENSITIVE CONTENT) uses the mockumentary format to explore gender role reversals, alternative views of history and empowerment. A BLACK FAIRYTALE from Kim Sanou, Isabelle Edi and Mariama Sow (National Competition) depicts Black queer existences in fairy-tale spaces and develops decolonial perspectives on identity and historical narratives.
The subject of migration is powerfully represented again this year in the Brazilian-Portuguese fictional film QUEM SE MOVE (THOSE WHO MOVE) from Stephanie Ricci (International Competition), as the female protagonist traverses Lisbon at night, moving between queer parties, unfulfilled love and existential uncertainty. In a EINE TOCHTER UND ZEHN SÖHNE (A DAUGHTER AND TEN SONS) (Central German Competition), Finn Weigt and Paula Milena Weise accompany young adults in Kyrgyzstan who are seeking their own path between the Russian influences of a post-Soviet country and American promises of a better future. The two directors were awarded the 2024 Golden Horseman Central German Competition for URLAUBSVERSUCHE.
Outlook
Parallel to the competition programmes, the 38 Filmfest Dresden features an extensive and diverse range of special programmes focusing on the theme of work this year. More than 350 films overall are being screened at this year’s festival. The complete festival programme will be announced at the Press Conference on 24 March 2026 in the Schauburg Dresden festival cinema.
Start of Accreditations
For reporting purposes, press representatives can become accredited to the 38 Filmfest Dresden with immediate effect.
