German Film Festival announces exciting new program for 2026

The HSBC German Film Festival is set to return this year, featuring an unmissable showcase of contemporary German cinema, screening at Luna Leederville, Luna on SX and Palace Raine Square from Thursday, May 7, to Wednesday, May 27.

Presented by Palace in collaboration with German Films, the festival line-up features gripping true stories, delightful family films, comedy and powerful new drama from Germany’s finest filmmakers and actors, including a selection direct from this year’s Berlinale.

Opening this year’s festival is much-loved director Wolfgang Becker’s final film, Berlin Hero (Der Held vom Bahnhof Friedrichstraße). The captivating comedy about an unwitting GDR hero, revealed thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, is adapted from Maxim Leo’s 2022 novel and features an all-star ensemble cast.

Three films arrive direct from the 2026 Berlinale. The Winner of the 2026 Berlinale Audience Award, Prosecution (Staatsschutz), follows a self-assured young German-Korean state prosecutor who takes her own case to court, confronting the perpetrators and a justice system that turns a blind eye to far-right extremism.

Set in provincial eastern Germany, Home Stories (Etwas ganz Besonderes) is a poignant exploration of intergenerational tensions. When sixteen-year-old Lea auditions for a TV talent show, an identity crisis rises to the surface, and she must decide who she is and what home story she can create from her family’s history.

Adrian Goiginger’s Four Minus Three (Vier minus drei) from Austria is a deeply moving drama featuring an outstanding lead performance from Valerie Pachner as Barbara, a professional entertainer forced to face an unspeakable loss, based on the bestselling novel and incredible true story.

The 2026 Festival Special Presentation is the Cannes Film Festival Jury Award winner Sound Of Falling (In die Sonne schauen), directed by Mascha Schilinski. The haunting drama follows four girls across four generations as they experience their youth on the same farm in northern Germany.

This year’s festival centrepiece is Fatih Akin’s celebrated new feature Amrum, starring Laura Tonke, Diane Kruger and Matthias Schweighöfer. A deeply poignant drama about hardworking Nanning, a 12-year-old boy who lives on Amrum Island during the final days of WWII. Life on the beautiful, windswept island almost feels like paradise, but in the shadows a deeper threat is revealed: the enemy is far closer than he imagined.

The popular ‘Kino for Kids’ sidebar, presented by the Goethe-Institut Australia, returns with a superb selection of films for younger cinemagoers and families, including The Secret Floor (Das geheime Stockwerk), a playful time-travel adventure shot in stunning Alpine locations, and Barry & Me (Mein Freund Barry), a breathtaking live-action adventure inspired by the legend of Switzerland’s most famous rescue dog, the St Bernard.

The 2026 HSBC German Film Festival hits Luna Leederville, Luna on SX and Palace Raine Square from Thursday, May 7, to Wednesday, May 27, 2026. For more information and tickets, visit germanfilmfestival.com.au