We are a festival for independent and underground films in Hamburg, Germany.

We are back for our third year screening the most interesting and bizarre independent, underground and student films we can find- from Hamburg and all around the world. Selected films will be shown at screenings open to the public on January 30 and 31st, 2027 at the B-Movie. The cinema is centrally located and easy to reach, close to many bars, restaurants and clubs.

We are open to all genres. We are looking for handcrafted films that are as unusual as possible, as well as filmmakers with strong voices. We want to discover films that surprise us, make us laugh or cry. Underground and experimental films that challenge and disturb. Films that you just have to talk about after watching. Anything but ordinary!

A jury will watch all films with the audience during screenings and then make their decision.

In the "Trigger Warning" section, we showcase the most extreme films that are submitted to our festival, which might be just a little too harsh for the average audience. The Danger Zone Team will pick the "Trigger Warning" films from all submissions.

Of course, a festival doesn't just live from its films; we want to invite filmmakers to take part in the festival, to network and to present their films to the audience and jury.

Awards & Prizes

There will be 5 awards:

A jury will view the films with the audience during the screenings and then make their decision. There are prizes for the best feature film, the best short film, best Hamburg film, & the most dangerous Film.

For our "Trigger Warning" Section there will be an audience award.
The awards are purely symbolic and do not come with a cash prize.

Rules & Terms

All submissions are watched and considered. Illegible or incomplete entry forms will not be accepted. The entry fees are not refundable and do not guarantee placement in the festival.

Each applicant may submit as many projects as he wants, they must be submitted separately.

Running time for all shorts: 40 minutes and under.
Running time for feature films: 40 - 500 minutes.

All submissions must contain burnt in English subtitles if shot in a different language!

By submitting their contribution, the submitter confirms that they have all the necessary rights to all material. The submitter holds the festival harmless from external claims/costs (in particular legal or court costs)/lawsuits and losses of any kind - including from third parties. We do not pay any film royalties!

The Filmfestival reserve the full rights to use submitted content (including name, logo, trailer, posters and clips) of the selected film for screening (or streaming), presentation of awards and promotion.

Participants of the festival agree to not hold the festival responsible for any losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind in connection with the event or resulting from acceptance, possession or use of any prize. We reserve the right to make changes to the rules and conditions or the timing of the event.

We stand for freedom and diversity and want to make the festival a safe place for guests from all over the world. Racism, sexism, anti-LGBTQ or other exclusions of any kind have no place at Danger Zone Festival!
22 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Odin Jurray

    Thank you for screening my film "Parallax Of The Liminal Void" at your festival. Would love to make the journey to Germany next time and check it out in person next time. Big love from Melbourne!

    March 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you Odin! It was our pleasure to screen your film. We would love to have you here with us in Hamburg next time.

  • Adam Cowie

    Amazing festival. One of the highlights of the run so far. St Pauli is a fun spot in Hamburg and across two days I caught some excellent films at the B-Movie Kino.

    The organisers were some of the nicest people I’ve met on the circuit. They take the time to talk to you and make you feel part of it and you can tell they genuinely value every film they screen. Love the ethos behind the festival, it’s unique and makes for a wild ride of screenings.

    Will definitely be entering again with more projects.

    March 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you Adam. We're very happy you could join us in Hamburg for the whole festival. I will pass on your kind words to the team.

  • Christian Alsan

    Loved every day of it. Highly recommend to join for several days as community building and exchange amongst filmmakers is really strong on this one. Great collection of films and an awesome and responsive audience

    February 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you Cristian. It was awesome to have you with us throughout the entire festival. And also thanks for featuring us in you Twitch stream.

  • Luigi Di Domenico

    Really cute festival. Many thanks to Julien, Claire and Casi for these beautiful days spent together. Many good film and filmmakers from all around the world with getting networking.

    February 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    It was a pleasure to have you with us, Luigi. Thanks for traveling to Hamburg from Italy. We're glad you enjoyed the films, networking and our coffee.

  • Paul Uhlig

    Had a lovely time in the "Danger Zone" - interesting films, great organization and a lot of nerdy networking for filmmakers - and most important: no unnessesary pomp, just a genuine platform for artistic expression. Would recommend 5 out of 5!!

    February 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you Paul. We loved to have you and "Who owns the Street?" at the festival. It was also very cool that a local filmmaker participated in most of the events and even took our international guest on a pub crawl.