04.03.2026 | Bear-strong Hamburg
İlker Çatak and Fatih Akin - together in Hamburg with their Golden Bears: For the nationwide cinema release of "Yellow Letters" on Thursday, 5 March 2026, MOIN Film Fund is sending a visible signal for the film location: for more than two decades, the German Berlinale-winning films have come from Hamburg.
You can download the photo for free for reporting purposes here.(Credits: MOIN/Kennedy Production)
After Fatih Akin (2004) and Mohammad Rasoulof (2020), this year's Berlinale winner İlker Çatak is the third Golden Bear for a German film to go to a Director with a Hamburg connection.
In 2004, Fatih Akin won the Golden Bear for "Against the Wall"
In 2020, Mohammad Rasoulof followed with "There is no evil"
In 2026, the Golden Bear went to İlker Çatak for his film "Yellow Letters"
All three films were supported by MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein. With "Against the Wall", Fatih Akin put the Hanseatic city on the international film map. The film, starring Hamburg native Sibel Kekilli, was largely shot in Altona and St. Pauli. Mohammad Rasoulof has been producing his films from Hamburg since 2012 - including "There is no evil" and the Oscar-nominated film "The Seeds of the Holy Fig Tree". İlker Çatak has been supported by the MOIN Film Fund since his studies at the Hamburg Media School. His current film "Yellow Letters" was shot in Hamburg for almost four weeks. The Oscar-nominated drama "The Teachers' Lounge" was also shot entirely in Hamburg.
Helge Albers, CEO of MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein: "The fact that the three most recent German Golden Bears come from the Hanseatic city stands for artistic freedom, international perspectives and long-term talent promotion. When this work is honoured with the Golden Bear at the Berlinale, it is a strong endorsement of the location."
