Magazine

Until now, Nepalese filmmaker Abinash Bikram Shah has mainly made a name for himself with short films and as a Script Writer, but now he is making his feature film debut with "Elephants in the Fog". The film was edited by Andrew Bird and Paris J. Ludwig in Hamburg Altona. Lübeck-based zischlermann filmproduktion and Cologne-based Die Gesellschaft DGS are significantly involved. The film will celebrate its world premiere in Cannes in May.

With the drama "Trial of Hein", Script Writer and Director Kai Stänicke makes it into the Berlinale 2026 Newcomer Competition from a standing start. His feature film debut was shot on Sylt and Norderney. With compulsory beard and plenty of ingenuity.

Austrian Director Markus Schleinzer has made a historical drama - without any pomp or opulent costumes. Set in the 17th century, it tells the story of a woman in trousers in black and white. For the filmmaker, this is a great medium for dealing with unifying themes. The fantastic Sandra Hüller plays the title character. Rose" celebrates its world premiere in the Berlinale Competition in mid-February. There's a bit of Hamburg in it too.

Im letzten Jahr hat die MOIN Filmförderung das MOIN Talents-Programm ins Leben gerufen: Drei junge Filmschaffende ohne Filmhochschul-Background erhalten ein Jahr lang individuelle Förderangebote, bereisen Festivals und arbeiten mit Mentor*innen an ihrem aktuellen Filmprojekt. Hier erzählen Max, Hannah und Arnit von ihren Erfahrungen.

Sheri Hagen's third feature film "Billie" celebrates its world premiere at Filmfest Hamburg on 26 September. The ensemble film, produced by Equality Film, was made entirely in Hamburg - read on to find out why Nettelnburg became the key location and how the film combines pain and humour.

With "The Last Whale Singer", a real animation blockbuster "Made in Hamburg" awaits us at this year's MICHEL Filmfest Hamburg. Reza Memari and Maite Woköck are behind the project with their company Telescope Animation, which was founded in 2018. What makes it special: In addition to the film, the team is also working on a series, two video games and an interactive picture book that tell the story of the young humpback whale Vincent from different perspectives and times.

He celebrated the premiere of his first feature film, ‘The Stranger,’ in Venice – his second work, ‘Yunan,’ made it straight into the competition at the 2025 Berlinale and can now be seen at the Hamburg Film Festival. Ameer Fakher Eldin is one of the up-and-coming young filmmakers and currently lives in Hamburg. He shot most of his drama on a Hallig island in Schleswig-Holstein. Here we reveal what all this has to do with ‘Land unter’ (Land Under) and how you can get stars like Hanna Schygulla and Sibel Kekilli excited about your second feature film.

Given the current global situation, few films were as eagerly anticipated at this year's Cannes Film Festival as "Once Upon a Time in Gaza", the new work by twin brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser, who were born in Gaza. It is already their third feature film about their homeland – and certainly not their last. We reveal what the film has to do with Hamburg here