Hamburger Kinoforum Kinohafen

Hamburg Film Forum Kinohafen is an international film forum held annually in Hamburg. Since its founding, the festival has presented independent cinema and created a space for intercultural dialogue, professional exchange, and international cooperation.

In 2026, Kinohafen places a special focus on contemporary Israeli cinema, as well as on new films by filmmakers connected to Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

The competition is open to directors and filmmakers with a biographical, cultural, or professional connection to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Estonia, and Israel. Independent directors and filmmakers from Russia and the regions of Russia are also invited to participate.

Films produced in the listed countries, as well as works by filmmakers who live and work outside these countries, including in exile, are eligible for submission.

Kinohafen Short 2026 will take place on December 12–13, 2026, at the historic Metropolis Cinema in Hamburg.

We accept fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental short films with a maximum running time of 35 minutes, completed on or after January 1, 2024.

The competition is open to films engaging with themes such as memory, identity, migration, cultural diversity, social change, and personal experience.

Selected films will be screened during the festival and reviewed by an international professional jury. A Jury Award and an Audience Choice Award will be presented.

Filmmakers whose works are selected for the competition will also be invited to take part in the festival’s professional industry platform. The platform will be held in a hybrid format and will focus on international co-production, film funding opportunities, and integration into the European film industry.