On 6 May 2026, the National Film Centre of Latvia announced the results of its 2026 annual film production grant competition.

Eight projects have been chosen for the 12th European Genre Forum, a six-month development programme aimed at emerging European genre filmmakers. The selected projects represent eight different countries.

The Awards

 CLOUDS MOVE WITH GREAT SPEED (UKR 2025), directed by Roman Ostrovskyi and produced by Iryna Kyporenko for MONS Production, has been honoured with the Golden Lily for Best Film (endowed with prize money in the amount of 10,000 euros) at the 26th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film in Wiesbaden. The International Jury, chaired by Salomé Alexi, explained its selection with the following statement: “From the entire competition, one film stood out with unquestionable urgency. It highlights the importance of documenting Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Created by a filmmaker who became a soldier out of necessity and personal responsibility, it bears witness to the unbearable and portrays humanity under inhuman circumstances. For their courage as director and producer, the jury awards the Golden Lily for Best Film to Roman Ostrovskyi and Iryna Kyporenko for CLOUDS MOVE WITH GREAT SPEED. We hope the clouds will move with great speed towards the sky of a peaceful and free Ukraine.”

The awards ceremony at Caligari FilmBühne represented the grand finale for an emotional and eventful festival week at goEast in the festival’s 26th year. It was the first edition under the direction of Rebecca Heiler, who succeeded Heleen Gerritsen in the role of Festival Director in June 2025. After seven days full of cinematic art, workshops, numerous discussions, lectures, film talks and exhibitions, featuring screenings of 76 films and with more than 120 guests from the international film industry present in Wiesbaden, the winning films of the Competition and the RheinMain Short Film Competition, as well as the winning projects of the East-West Talent Lab, were honoured and presented with prizes valued at a total of 26,000 euros.

Director Ivana Mladenović won the Award of the City of Wiesbaden for Best Director (endowed with 7,500 euros) with SORELLA DI CLAUSURA (ROU, SRB, ESP, ITA 2025). The grotesque comedy follows a well-educated, unemployed woman on her journey through life. In the words of the jury: “Tonight, we want to award a director’s talent for revealing the absurdity of everyday life by skilfully juggling contrasts. A director with a surprising and refreshing female gaze. For her ability to use dark humour to encourage us to rethink the role of women on the margins of society, and for the risks she takes in her search for a cinematic language, the jury awards Ivana Mladenović the Award of the City of Wiesbaden for Best Director for her film SORELLA DI CLAUSURA.” The film was co-produced by goEast Portrait guest Ada Solomon and the director herself.

OUTLIVING SHAKESPEARE (ARM, NLD 2025), directed by Inna Sahakyan and Ruben Ghazaryan, was honoured with the goEast Award for Best Documentary Film, endowed with 1,000 euros in prize money. The documentary tragicomedy depicts everyday life in an Armenian home for seniors as residents rehearse for a theatre performance. As the jury explained: “The film we have chosen to award approaches each of its protagonists with great patience, tenderness and honesty. Following the rehearsal process of a play in a retirement home, the filmmakers succeed in portraying each character with love and humanity, creating space for their free expression and shattering stereotypes about aging. The goEast Documentary Award goes to OUTLIVING SHAKESPEARE, directed by Inna Sahakyan and Ruben Ghazaryan and produced by Agasi Azarian.”

 

A Special Mention went to THE QUEEN AND THE SMOKEHOUSE (POL 2025), directed by Iga Lis. This portrait of a hard-working woman takes the viewer along to Poland, where, amid the hustle and bustle of tourists on the Baltic coast, Miecia, the “Queen of Łeba”, has been running her smokehouse with humour, rigour and unwavering standards for forty years. According to the jury’s statement: “For its fresh, intimate and empathetic portrayal of a generation drifting away, with careful attention to both place and character, we decided to award a Special Mention to a promising young voice of Polish cinema. The Special Mention goes to Iga Lis for THE QUEEN AND THE SMOKEHOUSE.”

3sat Feature Film Broadcast Selection: THE BEAUTY OF THE DONKEY

As part of its long-standing media partnership with goEast, 3sat selects a film from the festival’s Competition program each year. The chosen film is then presented in the 3sat program the following year in connection with the goEast festival week.

This year, the selection team from 3sat chose the hybrid documentary film THE BEAUTY OF THE DONKEY (CHE, KOS, FRA, USA 2025) by Dea Gjinovci. In the words of the selection committee: “A father-daughter journey of a special kind. She delves into the past of a small village in Kosovo and into her own family’s history. Dea Gjinovci artfully blends layers of memory, mixing documentary observation with the theatrical stage. Her film offers a rich tapestry: peaceful village scenes alternate with periods of violence when the Albanian minority was driven out and Kosovo was engulfed in war. In doing so, THE BEAUTY OF THE DONKEY succeeds in telling a touching story that is personal and universal at the same time.  We get a glimpse of the possibility of reconciliation, and we see the impossibility of forgetting across generations.”

The film is slated to celebrate its television premiere on 3sat during the 2027 edition of goEast. The festival is delighted to see this media partnership with 3sat continue and treasures the opportunity it presents for bringing cinematic art from Central and Eastern Europe to a television audience moving forward.

FIPRESCI Awards

For the FIPRESCI International Film Critic’s Award in the fiction feature category, the FIPRESCI jury, composed of Silvia Bahl, Stojan Sinadinov and Mariola Wiktor, chose to honour CAT ON MY MIND (LVA 2025), directed by Laila Pakalniņa. The jury explained its selection with the following statement: “Everything that happens on screen is fiction, because everything was created as inspired by photo negatives from the 1960s to the early 1980s found in a dustbin. CAT ON MY MIND by Laila Pakalniņa is not a traditional narrative but a visual poetic exploration and an original film essay on the memories and emotions of the people in the photos. It is also a deep reflection on human perception and the nature of cinema.”

The FIPRESCI International Film Critic’s Award in the documentary film category in 2026 went to OUTLIVING SHAKESPEARE (ARM, NED 2025), directed by Inna Sahakyan and Ruben Ghazaryan. In the words of the FIPRESCI jury: “OUTLIVING SHAKESPEARE by Inna Sahakyan and Ruben Ghazaryan is more than an ordinary portrait of elderly residents in a post-Soviet-era Armenian retirement home. It depicts with subtle humour and sensitivity how art therapy transforms loneliness and losses in their lives. Protagonists in this movie still resist the uncertainty of a world full of brutal political conflicts and tensions.”

RheinMain Short Film Award

The RheinMain Short Film Award, sponsored by Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain and endowed with 2,500 euros in prize money, went to KISMET (SVN, HRV 2024) by Žiga Virc. According to a statement from jury members Marie-Hélène Gutberlet, Dascha Petuchow and Pavel Schnabel: “A revolution rarely starts loud. It begins quietly, deep inside a human being, with the decision to take a different path. In a whirlwind of traditions and expectations, the film consistently tells its story through a dense, almost documentary-like cinematography, from the perspective of a young girl, and negotiates the question of fate and the possibilities that are actually available to her. The result is a vivid picture, condensed into 15 minutes: a moment of self-presentation, of questioning the roles that the actresses consciously reproduce, adopt, or reject. For his compelling film KISMET, we congratulate Žiga Virc on winning the RheinMain Short Film Award.”

East-West Talent Lab Awards for Up-and-Coming Film Professionals

In the East-West Talent Lab, realised once again with the generous support of Renovabis, the annual Project Market Pitch took place in front of a three-member jury, consisting of Bettina Brokemper, Veronika Janatková and Aliaksei Paluyan, and a large audience featuring numerous industry representatives.

The Pitch-the-Doc Award, a non-cash prize package consisting of consulting services valued at 500 euros, went to the project DREAMS COVERED IN CHROME from director/producer Trëndelina Halili from Kosovo. According to the jury: “In a town where the mountains are eaten from within, where the tunnels swallow the men, it is the women who remain. Through the collective female voice, the filmmaker moves with poetic precision between the daily harsh reality and the night, where dreams can articulate what daily life cannot.”

I ONLY PRAY TO SARA KALI (ROU) from Romanian director Mihaela Drãgan was awarded the Renovabis Research Grant (endowed with 3,500 euros). As the jury explained: “In the spirit of her saint, embodying endurance and power, the filmmaker takes us on her personal quest to find belonging. Reclaiming her own community narrative, the filmmaker gives a voice to an underrepresented part of society and sets out to fight the institutional power and to save their sacred tradition against cultural voyeurism.”

The jury awarded a Special Mention to the film project ROUND GLASSES (UKR) from director Kyrylo Naumko, commenting: “We are delighted that the filmmaker, with charming humour and in a unique way, raises the moral questions that our society in Europe is currently grappling with. We encourage the filmmaker to find an answer to this existential question, even if the men with round glasses are silent.”

DFF Patrons’ Circle Audience Award

The new goEast Audience Award, sponsored by the DFF Patrons’ Circle and endowed with 1,000 euros in prize money, went to the documentary film THE QUEEN AND THE SMOKEHOUSE (POL 2025) by Iga Lis.

The 26^th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film took place in Wiesbaden, Germany, from 21 to 27 April. In addition to a wide-ranging Competition section and intensive encounters in the cinema, this year’s festival highlights included guest appearances by internationally celebrated filmmakers and representatives of film institutions. This year’s Symposium, entitled “Cinematic Strategies of Resistance”, was met with a very high degree of enthusiastic participation and sold-out cinema screenings. The 2026 goEast Portrait, devoted to the work of esteemed Romanian producer and chair of the European Film Academy Ada Solomon, featured films drawn from the past 20 years of her illustrious career. With the thematic focus program on “Revolution”, made possible with the generous support of Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, the festival explored new territory and facilitated socially relevant panel discussions and in-depth reflections on the significance of film and cinema for society.

Here is a full overview of this year’s award winners:

1. Golden Lily for Best Film

CLOUDS MOVE WITH GREAT SPEED (UKR 2025), director: Roman Ostrovskyi

2. Award of the City of Wiesbaden for Best Director

SORELLA DI CLAUSURA (ROU, SRB, ITA, ESP 2025), director: Ivana Mladenović

3. goEast Award for Best Documentary Film

OUTLIVING SHAKESPEARE (ARM, NLD 2025), directors: Inna Sahakyan and Ruben Ghazaryan

4. Special Mention of the International Jury

THE QUEEN AND THE SMOKEHOUSE (POL 2025), director: Iga Lis

5. 3sat Broadcast Selection

THE BEAUTY OF THE DONKEY (CHE, KOS, FRA, USA 2025), director: Dea Gjinovci

6. FIPRESCI International Film Critic’s Award (fiction feature)

CAT ON MY MIND (LVA 2025), director: Laila Pakalniņa

7. FIPRESCI International Film Critic’s Award (documentary film)

OUTLIVING SHAKESPEARE (ARM, NED 2025), directors: Inna Sahakyan and Ruben Ghazaryan

8. RheinMain Short Film Award

KISMET (SVN, HRV 2024), director: Žiga Virc

9. Pitch-the-Doc Award

DREAMS COVERED IN CHROME (KOS), director/producer: Trëndelina Halili

10. Renovabis Research Grant

I ONLY PRAY TO SARA KALI (ROU), director: Mihaela Drãgan

11. Special Mention East-West Talent Lab

ROUND GLASSES (UKR), director: Kyrylo Naumko

12. Audience Award

THE QUEEN AND THE SMOKEHOUSE (POL 2025), director: Iga Lis

The goEast catalog is now available in the download section of our website. You can also find images related to the festival there.

goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film is hosted by DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum and made possible with the support of numerous partners. Primary funding partners are HessenFilm und Medien GmbH, the State Capital Wiesbaden, Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Germany and the solidarity initiative of the German Catholics with the people of Central and Eastern Europe Renovabis.

Primary media partners include 3sat, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Introducing the Juries

goEast is delighted to announce the chair of 2026’s international Competition Jury:  award-winning Georgian director and screenwriter Salomé Alexi. After her studies at Tbilisi State Academy of Fine Arts and La Fémis in Paris, where she graduated from the film directing department with honours in 1996, Alexi founded the production company 3003 Film Production in 2012 and has been producing her own films ever since. Her short film FELICITA (GEO 2009) won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Her feature-film debut LINE OF CREDIT (GEO/FRA/DEU 2014) premiered in the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti section. Her most recent work, NUTSA AND LANA GOGOBERIDZE, OR THE DARKNESS IS NEVER COMPLETE (GEO/FRA 2024), staged together with her mother Lana Gogoberidze, celebrated its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Forum Special section. In addition, she has translated texts by François Truffaut and Robert Bresson into Georgian.

The jury also features Latvian producer and director Gints Grūbe. Grübe studied philosophy and political science and is a co-founder of the production company Mistrus Media, one of Latvia’s leading film companies. As a producer, he has been involved in numerous internationally screened films, including THE CHRONICLES OF MELANIE (LVA 2016), THE MOVER (LVA 2018), MY FATHER THE SPY (LVA 2019), SAMUEL’S TRAVELS (LVA 2021), JANUARY (LVA 2022) and MARIA’S SILENCE (LVA/LTU 2024). He is a member of the European Film Academy.

Our next member of the international Competition Jury: Polish festival organiser and curator Radek Lipka, who studied philosophy and languages in Paris and Cologne, before settling in Luxemburg. He co-founded CinEast Film Festival in Luxemburg in 2008, and served as its programming director for a long period, before taking over as festival director in 2019. In addition, Lipka has been involved in numerous film projects, including retrospectives, film series and screenings for the LUX Audience Award. In 2023, along with Heleen Gerritsen, he was one of the co-founders of the Eastern European Film Festival Network (EEFFN). In addition to his curatorial work, he is also active as a translator.

Czech director, editor, dramaturg and producer Klára Tasovská is also joining this year’s jury. Tasovská studied new media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and documentary filmmaking at FAMU. Her feature-film debut FORTRESS (CZE 2012), realised in collaboration with Lukáš Kokeš, received multiple awards and was nominated for the LUX Prize. NOTHING LIKE BEFORE (CZE 2017) celebrated its premiere at IDFA. In 2020, she founded the production company Somatic Films. Her most recent film, I’M NOT EVERYTHING I WANT TO BE (CZE 2024), which had its world premiere in the Panorama section at the Berlinale, has been featured at numerous festivals and was the Czech entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar.

This year’s Competition Jury is rounded off by Eszter Tompa. Born in Transilvania, the actor, director and author began her acting training in Hungary and continued it in Germany under David Esrig. She subsequently settled in Berlin. Tompa works internationally in film, theatre, performance and object theatre and performs in eight languages. During the Covid pandemic, she continued her film studies in Romania and Spain. Her short film OEDIPUS MORNING (ROU 2020) was honoured at Transilvania International Film Festival. Most recently, she starred in Radu Jude’s KONTINENTAL ’25 (ROU 2025), which was honoured at the Berlinale and earned Tompa Best Actress awards at festivals in Chicago and Gijón, among others.

The FIPRESCI Jury

The International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI, which is celebrating its 101^st birthday this year, is represented by a three-member jury as well as a panel discussion with film critics Mariana Hristova, Mariola Wiktor and Stojan Sinadinov, moderated by Marta Moneva-Enchev. The panel, entitled “WHO OWNS THE REVOLUTION?” and devoted to the examination of filmic perspectives on revolution, remembrance culture and social upheaval in cinema, will take place on Saturday, 25 April.

This year’s FIPRESCI Jury includes Silvia Bahl, a German media and cultural studies researcher and freelance author and film critic with a particular focus on Eastern European cinema. For over ten years, she has written for diverse print and online media, including Filmdienst and Der Freitag. Joining her is Mariola Wiktor, a Polish film critic and journalist as well as a guest lecturer at the AMA Film Academy in Warsaw. Wiktor writes for numerous media outlets, such as Gazeta Wyborcza, Kino and Film&TV Kamera, and reports on international festivals. In addition, she served as the artistic director of the Forum of European Cinema “Cinergia” in Łódź. The third and final FIPRESCI Jury member is film critic, author and media expert Stojan Sinadinov from Skopje. Since the late-1980s, he has been writing about film history and theory as well as art and culture in North Macedonia and the surrounding region.

East-West Talent Lab Jury

The East-West Talent Lab Jury includes Cologne-based film producer Bettina Brokemper, who founded her production company Heimatfilm in 2003 and is recognised internationally for her strong focus on ambitious international co-productions. To date, she has produced more than 50 award-winning feature films released worldwide. Joining her is Veronika Janatková, a film producer, director and curator specialising in socially and politically engaged documentary films who also runs the Prague-based production company Pandistan. Since September 2025, she has served as programming director at the Institute of Documentary Film in Prague. Rounding out the EWTL Jury is Belarusian-German screenwriter and director Aliaksei Paluyan. His documentary-film debut COURAGE celebrated its premiere at the 71^st edition of the Berlinale in 2021 and was subsequently screened at major festivals like IDFA, Visions du Réel, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs and Sheffield Doc. Paluyan is a member of the European Film Academy and founder of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy (BIFA).

RheinMain Short Film Award Jury

This year’s RheinMain Short Film Award Jury is composed as usual of three jury members active in the film industry in the Rhine-Main region. Marie-Hélène Gutberlet studied art history, philosophy and theatre, film and media studies in Frankfurt am Main, among other places, where she obtained her PhD in film studies in 2002. Between 2010 and 2020, she worked primarily as a freelance curator, author and artist. Since 2020, she has served as a professor for film at Offenbach University of Art and Design. Dascha Petuchow is an up-and-coming filmmaker and part of a production collective based in Wiesbaden. In 2021, together with fellow students she founded the production company Plotlessfilm, which is based in Frankfurt today and focusses on projects at the intersection between genre film and arthouse cinema. Pavel Schnabel, born in Czechoslovakia in 1946, studied at the Film and Television Academy (FAMU) in Prague and left the country shortly after Warsaw Pact troops invaded in 1968. He has lived in Germany ever since, where he works as a freelance author, director, cameraman and producer.

The goEast Press Conference

Festival director Rebecca Heiler presented the program of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film to the press today, Tuesday, 14 April, inside the newly renovated Caligari FilmBühne. Running from Tuesday, 21 April, to Monday, 27 April, goEast features screenings of 76 films from 40 countries.

Christine Kopf, Artistic Director at DFF shared: “For 26 years, DFF has been bringing cinematic art from Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics in Central Asia to Wiesbaden and turning the Hessian state capital into a hotspot for film culture for a few days. I am happy, in these times of war and crisis, that we can offer a space for conversations, discussions and constructive confrontations that our democracy so urgently needs.”

Rebecca Heiler, who has been at the helm of goEast since summer 2025, explained: “In 2026, goEast is the first festival to take place in the newly reopened Caligari FilmBühne. So, we are looking forward even more to a full house and many encounters between filmmakers and cinemagoers, here and in all of our other venues. With 76 films and more than 100 events, we are bringing the countries of Eastern Europe and beyond into the region. Our newly created thematic focus turns some things upside down this year, from the festival motif to the romantic conception of revolution. The program is very brave this year, and there are both minor and major changes. I am very grateful to our whole team, our funding partners, sponsors and other partners for their commitment and support, as it is only through their efforts that such a challenging and ambitious program can be realised.”

Anna Schoeppe, CEO of HessenFilm und Medien GmbH, observed: “goEast opens up perspectives on Central and Eastern Europe that we see far too rarely, and thus creates a space for dialogue that is more essential than ever today. With Ada Solomon, we are also bringing one of Europe’s most influential producers into dialogue with the Hessian film industry and the participants of the East-West Talent Lab at goEast Film Festival. This combination of artistic excellence and targeted support for young talent makes goEast special, and it is also of great significance to us at Hessen Film & Medien.”

For Dr. Hendrik Schmehl, Head of Wiesbaden’s Cultural Department, goEast Film Festival possesses a special relevance: “goEast is a defining part of cultural life in the state capital of Wiesbaden. Its firm focus on mutual exchange that transcends linguistic and political boundaries makes the festival an indispensable part of lived democracy in our city.”

Around 120 guests from the Central and Eastern European film industry are expected to attend the festival in Wiesbaden.

EEFFN AWARD WINNING FILM: PERLA

Before the festival has even begun, the winner of the first award has already been decided. The 2026 EEFFN Award, a prize presented by the Eastern European Film Festival Network, of which goEast is a member, goes to the Slovakian family drama PERLA (AUT, SVK 2025) from director Alexandra Makarová. The film is set in 1980s Vienna, where Slovak artist Perla lives with her daughter Julia, a talented and dedicated pianist. Perla manages to scrape together just enough money every month to pay for piano lessons. Then she meets Josef, who offers her and Julia love and security. Alas, the brave mother’s past catches up with her. The film will be screened in Wiesbaden during the festival week.

Focus on Georgia: PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE

Since 2023, tens of thousands of people have demonstrated in Georgia against their government’s current efforts to cosy up to the Russian regime. While the protests of 2023 were still able to achieve some success, since autumn 2024 the government has systematically supressed any opposition. Individuals have been imprisoned on political grounds. The Georgian National Film Center (GNFC) has also been forced to conform to the administration’s agenda. In response, filmmakers have founded an independent Georgian Film Institute. In the scope of a panel discussion in Heimathafen at Altes Gericht on Friday, 24 April, a trio of experts will discuss the role of filmmakers in the current situation. Participants include director and president of the Georgian Film Institute Salomé Alexi, political scientist Gaga Gogoladze and doctor and witness to human rights abuses Reinhard Kaul-Seeger.

The accompanying short film program features eleven filmmakers who are at the same time prisoners: this ongoing film project gathers short cinematic portraits of individuals who have been imprisoned in Georgia for political reasons and are considered “prisoners of conscience“. The films respond to the increasing repression following the disputed parliamentary elections of 2024 and give faces and voices back to those who have been purposely rendered invisible by state propaganda. The series is intended to serve as a growing cinematic archive of resistance.

Q&As and Film Talks

Dramas, documentaries, comedies, satires and unique portraits from Central and Eastern Europe – the Competition program at the heart of the festival once again features the full cinematic diversity which can be found in the festival’s focus regions. The Competition offers a broad audience from Wiesbaden and the surrounding region the opportunity to get to know highlights from the contemporary Central and Eastern European film scene. All films are shown in their original languages with English subtitles – while those screening at Caligari FilmBühne also feature additional German subtitles. Q&As with film guests will take place in the respective cinemas following screenings.

In addition, attendees can also enter into conversation with the filmmakers in the scope of the goEast “film talks”. The film talk FAMILY BUSINESS on Wednesday, 22 April, brings together Hana Jušić, director of GOD WILL NOT HELP, Iga Lisa, director of BALTYK, Markéta Ekrt Válková, director of AMIRA’S CHILDREN, as well as producer Ada Solomon. The film talk FOCUS ON UKRAINE on Friday, 24 April, features Olena Gepper from Dekoloniale Ukraine, alongside Glib Lukianets, producer of FLOWERS OF UKRAINE, and Iryna Kyporenko, producer of CLOUDS MOVE WITH GREAT SPEED. Participants for the film talk A LIFE’S LEGACY on Saturday, 25 April, include Giedrė Žickytė, director of A GOODNGHT KISS, Laila Pakalniņa, director of CAT ON MY MIND, Arym Kubat Aktan, director of BLACK RED YELLOW, and Alexandra Bidian, director of SO LONG SINCE I’VE KNOWN A SPRING. Finally, the film talk SOMETIMES THIS SPACE COULD HURT YOU on Sunday, 26 April, assembles Tamar Kalandadze and Julien Pebrel, directors of KARTLI KINGDOM, Miro Remo, director of BETTER GO MAD IN THE WILD, as well as Béla Varadi, co-director of THE EXHIBITION. The film talks take place at 9 p.m. in the goEast Clubhouse at Altes Gericht.

goEast Parties

The goEast parties and the cosy bar in the Clubhouse at Heimathafen in the Festival Centre provide a great atmosphere and get festivalgoers in the mood for dancing. The GOEAST PARTY@ALTES GERICHT – featuring a “revolution” theme – gets going on Friday, 24 April, at 10:30 p.m. In 2026, goEast resident DJ Janeck will be mixing his familiar beats with sounds from the Congo region. For the first time, a member of the goEast team will be commandeering the decks: alongside DJ Janeck, chief goEast editor and emerging DJ talent Stefan Schuchort aka DJ Petit Pois will be doing his utmost to drive the audience into a frenzy with goEast disco hits. The second party, LUDMILA POGODINA@SCHLACHTHOF>, takes place on Saturday, 25 April, at 11:00 p.m. Multi-disciplinary artist Ludmila Pogodina from Minsk, who has lived in Berlin since 2022, combines genres, languages and influences in crafting an eclectic setlist that spans a wide spectrum, from self-assured punk manifestos and dark electronic tracks to sensual tales about the body.

The goEast catalog is now available in the download section of our website. You can also find images related to the festival there.

The full program for the 26th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film is now available on our website.

goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film is hosted by DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum and made possible with the support of numerous partners. Primary funding partners are HessenFilm und Medien GmbH, the State Capital Wiesbaden, Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Germany and the solidarity initiative of the German Catholics with the people of Central and Eastern Europe Renovabis.

Primary media partners include 3sat, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Competition Films and Film Guests

The countdown is on: the 26^th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film is set to kick off in less than two weeks, on Tuesday, 21 April. Today, we are delighted to be able to reveal the rest of our Competition program and share eight more German premieres.

The presentation of the final eight films begins with the documentary tragicomedy OUTLIVING SHAKESPEARE (ARM, NED 2025) by the directorial duo of Inna Sahakyan and Ruben Ghazaryan. Where does a cane sometimes double as a billiard cue, where do dramas both large and small occur naturally, and where does a theatre producer in desperate need of performers discover an untapped reservoir? In an Armenian retirement home, where a theatre group is rehearsing the play “Shakespeare’s Sins”, in which the legendary bard is confronted by his own characters. In sensitive, humorous scenes, a touching portrait emerges, against a backdrop of crumbling walls, stray cats and a robot caregiver going about its business.

Our next documentary film comes to us from Czechia: AMIRA‘S CHILDREN (CZE 2025) by Markéta Ekrt Válková, who will be on hand for the premiere screenings. The film tells of war and destruction in Syria and arrival and cultural acclimatization in Europe. Amira’s family also feels compelled to leave their home country. Due to a serious heart defect diagnosed in her youngest son, the family is evacuated to Czechia so that the boy can receive medical treatment. For ten years, filmmaker Markéta Ekrt Válková followed Amira’s new life there in particular, documenting her ambiguous experiences of settling in and still feeling like an outsider, torn between integration and the desire to return home.

Croatian director Hana Jušić is coming to Wiesbaden to present her film GOD WILL NOT HELP (HRV, ITA, ROU, GRC, FRA, SVN 2025). Shortly thereafter, the film will also be shown at the Internationales Frauen Film Fest in Cologne. This existential drama is set around the turn of the 20^th century in the mountains of Croatia, where Teresa, a Chilean woman, reaches an isolated herder family to bring them the news of the death of her husband, a brother of the family who emigrated. Teresa only speaks Spanish, the family only speaks Croatian. Her arrival unsettles the rigidly Catholic, patriarchal community.

Director Łukasz Ronduda is showing his most recent film, TELL ME WHAT YOU FEEL (POL 2026), in Wiesbaden. The psychological relationship drama is set in Warsaw. Patryk, an aspiring young illustrator from the countryside, attempts to sell his pictures while trying to get into art school. In the process, he meets Maria, a charismatic artist who runs an art project where people receive money in exchange for their tears.

Lithuanian director Jurgis Matulevičius will be presenting his thriller CHINA SEA (LTU, TWN, POL, CZE 2025) personally in Wiesbaden. Osvald, an internationally celebrated kickboxer, is forced to abandon his career after accidently injuring a woman during a barroom fight. Plagued by feelings of guilt, he goes to work at CHINA SEA, a family restaurant run by his only friend. In court-ordered group-therapy sessions, he encounters enigmatic Skaistė and begins to harbour hope for a fresh start. Alas, while he trains young boxers and dreams of a better life, his past and the violence it contained catch up with him once again.

The coming-of-age adventure THE OTHER SIDE OF SUMMER (CZE, HRV 2025) by Vojtěch Strakatý takes the audience along to a lakeside vacation cottage, where 15-year-old Bětka is spending a languid summer with her best friend Alma. They long to join the party at the beach bar on the opposite shore, but Bětka’s older sister Marie won’t allow it. Everything changes when Alma meets the enigmatic Aneta, who disappears into the water every day for hours. One day Alma follows her – reaching an island, she discovers a pond that exerts a strange attraction on her and leads to a magical parallel world. Strakatý will also be on hand in Wiesbaden and available to answer the audience’s questions.

Dea Gjinovci is presenting her hybrid documentary film THE BEAUTY OF THE DONKEY (CHE, KOS, FRA, USA 2025). After spending over half a century in Switzerland, the filmmaker’s father, Asllan Gjinovci, returns to his native village in Kosovo with his director daughter. In conversations with the villagers, conducted within an improvised, stage-like reconstruction of the house where Asllan grew up, they search for traces of the past and personal identity. During this process, the unexplained disappearance of Asllan’s mother during the Kosovo War also gradually moves into the foreground.

In the poetic documentary film THE KARTLI KINGDOM (GEO, FRA 2025), directed by Tamar Kalandadze and Julien Pebre, the suicide of a resident sends shockwaves through the Kartli, a former sanatorium which has served as a makeshift home for displaced persons from Abkhazia since 1993. Initially intended as a temporary measure, the shelter has become a precarious long-term arrangement. A crack in the building mirrors the uncertain future, as the residents protest for better living conditions.

Opening Program on Tuesday, 21 April

Following a festive opening ceremony on Tuesday, 21 April at 6:30 p.m., goEast will be showing a program of short films featuring the following works: THE EXHIBITION (GBR, HUN, NOR 2026) from the goShorts section; BERLIN NOT FOR SALE (BRD 1967) from the Symposium program; and ERASERHEAD IN A KNITTED SHOPPING BAG (BGR 2025) from the Kaleidoscope program. These three short films explore very different perspectives from diverse protagonists: a queer photographer with Roma roots returning to his native Hungary after a ten-year absence; a Yugoslav writer and filmmaker discovering the post-war urban space of West Berlin; and a young cinephile in 1990s Bulgaria willing to go to great lengths to see a film on VHS. The short film program is presented by ARTE.

goShorts, Anarcho Shorts, Romani Cinema

The films of this year’s short film competition, assembled under the new section title “goShorts”, are part of the festival’s 2026 focus on “Revolution” and deal with myriad forms of revolutionary action. Under the title REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE, six selected short films open up a space for questions about power and empowerment – of collectives and individuals as well as thoughts and ideas. FRAGMENTS ON RESISTANCE (GEO, SRB 2025) by Levan Tskhovrebadze and Ani Kiladze follows unrest in Novi Sad and Georgia that impacts the lives of Serbian film journalist Pavla and Georgian short-film maker Levan. Marta Popivoda’s SLET 1988 (DEU, FRA, SRB 2025) asks two central questions: How revolutionary is the collective, and how ideological is the individual? In KISMET (SVN, HRV 2024) by Žiga Virc, 11-year-old Milena rebels against the fate that has been laid out for her, while her big sister sees her own wedding as a liberation. THE CARE PACKAGE (BLR, DNK 2025) by Vera Shysh (a pseudonym to protect the filmmaker’s identity) is devoted to the more than 1,000 political prisoners in Belarusian jails, who have little or no rights to visitation or phone calls. HOW TO LISTEN TO FOUNTAINS (SVK 2025) by Eva Sajanova asks what we can learn from Bratislava’s endangered fountains if we listen to them. THE EXHIBITION (GBR, HUN, NOR 2026) by Béla Váradi and Dáša Raimanová, a participant in the most recent edition of the East-West Talent Lab, tells the story of the queer Romani photographer Béla Váradi, who returns to his native rural Hungary following a 25-year absence. In spite of considerable self-doubt and external obstacles, he manages to organise an exhibition of his work – a brave intervention in a country where Béla’s identity is subject to state repression. The program is curated by Sophie Brakemeier.

Quick, wild, witty, thought-provoking: welcome back to the ANARCHO SHORTS, curated by this year’s goEast interns. Love is redefined on an intergalactic cruise for singles in COSMONAUTS (SVN, ITA 2026). In Bulgaria, a girl struggles to obtain a VHS cassette in ERASERHEAD IN A KNITTED SHOPPING BAG (BGR 2025). Four activists on a mission to liberate some hens end up facing moral dilemmas in FREE THE CHICKENS (SVK, CZE 2024). Flight and memories in the context of the war in Ukraine shape animated perspectives in I DIED IN IRPIN (CZE, SVK, UKR 2024) and MY GRANDMOTHER IS A SKYDIVER (UKR, DEU 2025). A gigantic vegetable wreaks havoc in THE BEETROOT (CZE 2025) and a beekeeper provides insight into the life cycle of his beloved insect friends in THE BRIEF LIFE OF A BEE (POL 2024). The Anarcho Shorts are also presented with the support of ARTE and will also be screened at the DFF cinema in the scope of Wiesbaden’s Night of Museums.

The next program highlight goes perfectly with today’s observation of International Romani Day: under the title ROMANI CINEMA: AGAINST THE ODDS, goEast is presenting eight short films which place Romani perspectives centre-stage in the scope of two short film programs. Using documentary, fictional and animated forms, they treat diverse experiences in Central and Eastern Europe – including school segregation, deportation and state violence, foster families and intergenerational trauma. At the same time, they share moments of self-assertion, joy and resilience. The section opens our eyes to stories and existential realities that have been overlooked or silenced for far too long. The program is curated by Lisa Smith. In addition, goEast is organising a workshop with the title “Respectful Romani Representation: Building the Framework” in co-operation with the Critical Film and Image Hub and the Romani Filmmakers Network.

DIVIDED LIVES (CZE 2025) by Alica Sigmund Heráková tells the story of Tereza, a Romani mother who is fighting to have her children moved from a segregated school to an inclusive one. In THE SPECTACLE (HUN, FRA 2025) by Bálint Kenyeres, a young boy with an unusual gift becomes the focus of media attention – but at what cost? Kenyeres delivers a brilliant poetic narrative about disillusionment. In GOODBYE, CASTLE! (ROU 2022) by Alina Șerban, Ana looks back on her childhood in institutional homes and foster care and faces her memories of family, loss and belonging. FIFTEEN MINUTES (DEU 2024) by Sejad Ademaj shows how Jasmina’s world begins to fall apart when the police arrive with plans to deport her family within a quarter of an hour. In the animated short film I SANG AGAIN (DEU 2022) by Hamze Bytyçi, Emilie Elina Machálková regains her voice, decades after the murder of her family in the Holocaust. The director of GYPSY GADJI (POL 2024), Dáša Raimanová, tells the story of Roksana, a passionate advocate for the right of Roma children to be able to attend school who identifies equally as Romani and Polish. The animated fairy tale SONGS OF THE GALLOWS (CZE, FIN 2003) by Katariina Lillqvist recalls an era when Finnish law permitted the hanging of Roma people, while paying tribute to classic Czech animation. Finally, in WESLEY SWIMS (DEU 2024) by Adrian Oeser, 14-year-old Wesley traces the path of his grandfather, an Auschwitz survivor.

You can find images related to the festival in our download section.

The full program for the 26^th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film is now available on our website.

goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film is hosted by DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum and made possible with the support of numerous partners. Primary funding partners are HessenFilm und Medien GmbH, the State Capital Wiesbaden, Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Germany, the solidarity initiative of the German Catholics with the people of Central and Eastern Europe Renovabis and the Polish Institute Düsseldorf.

Primary media partners include 3sat, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

goEast 2026 – Save the Date! // Focus on: Revolution! // Festival Motif, VisualgoEast 2026 – Save the Date! // Focus on: Revolution! // Festival Motif, VisualIdentity and Trailer by Zuza Banasińska // "Sto lat!" – Celebrating Andrzej Wajda's100th Birthday // Fostering Young Film Professionals in the East-West Talent Lab

Following a quarter-century full of cinematic highlights from Central and Eastern Europe, goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film returns for its 26^th edition from 21 to 27 April in Wiesbaden, Germany – for the first time under the direction of Rebecca Heiler.

Every year since its inception, goEast Film Festival, hosted by DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum, has transformed the Hessian state capital of Wiesbaden into one of the most internationally significant venues for cinema from Central and Eastern Europe. With a program consisting of film screenings and accompanying events, goEast’s reach extends far beyond its regional audience, attracting communities with histories of migration from Eastern Europe all across Germany and industry guests from the international film sector alike. This year, the film festival will once again be showcasing current cinematic art from Central and Eastern Europe and providing a platform for the discussion of social and political issues in the midst of a geopolitical situation that remains extremely tense. As a project of DFF, the festival also places particular emphasis on film-historical programs, such as the annual Symposium: in collaboration with archives from Germany and abroad, goEast renders the cinema heritage of Central and Eastern Europe visible. In keeping with tradition, in 2026 all of the festival’s special programs will once again be carefully assembled by qualified guest curators and cinema experts. In the scope of the goEast Symposium, curated by Borjana Gaković, the worlds of filmmaking and film scholarship intermingle, while the Competition section features screenings of contemporary cinema from Central and Eastern Europe, with the filmmakers in attendance. The short film format also features heavily as always, in the scope of multiple programs. Finally, the East-West Talent Lab offers active support for up-and-coming documentary film professionals from Central and Eastern Europe.

Focus on: Revolution!

After three years of experimental programming exploring the potential of its “Cinema Archipelago” concept, goEast now turns its attention to a clear thematic rallying cry: “Revolution!” This motto both serves to give shape to the upcoming festival edition and, for the first time, unites almost all sections under a common focus – with the exceptions of the International Competition and East-West Talent Lab. Throughout all of the other programming areas – particularly in the Symposium – connections to the theme of revolution will be apparent. Although Central and Eastern Europe as well as the post-Soviet space have been marked by protest movements and political upheavals for decades, up until now goEast had yet to explicitly devote an edition of the Symposium to this particular range of topics. The expansion of the focus to encompass several programs continues the tradition established in recent years of pursuing cross-sectional programmatic lines in the accompanying program.

But why “Revolution!” of all things? In view of current political developments and sustained protest movements in countries like Georgia, Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria or Lithuania, goEast’s 2026 edition will shed light on the phenomenon of “revolution” from various perspectives. The focus here is also on the rich revolutionary history of Central and Eastern Europe, beginning with the liberation of the Balkans from Ottoman rule and extending to the Russian Revolution, the Solidarność movement, the Peaceful Revolution, the Velvet Revolution, the Orange Revolution, all the way to the Revolution of Dignity. How an attempted coup or a popular uprising is interpreted depends largely on its outcome and the perspective of the particular observer. Festival attendees can already look forward to a high-quality program. The Focus is made possible with the generous support of Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain.

Festival Motif, Visual Identity and Trailer by Zuza Banasińska

Revolutions have many things in common: strong emotions, courage, the desire to leave the old behind and dare to attempt the new, but also uncertainty. Everything happens very fast, without any clarity regarding what will emerge from the process. This moment, the state of suspension between stasis and radical change, is the key inspiration behind the 2026 festival motif.

This visual was created by Polish filmmaker Zuza Banasińska, who will also be realising this year’s goEast trailer. In her trailer, Banasińska intends to play with the tension between stagnation and the simultaneous movement of time. Banasińska received the Rhine-Main Short Film Award in 2025 for her film GRANDMAMAUNTSISTERCAT (NDL, POL 2024). Her work has also received multiple international awards outside of goEast.

The realisation of the trailer is made possible through a co-operation with the Polish Institute Düsseldorf, which is also providing generous support for the program detailed below.

“Sto lat!” – Celebrating Andrzej Wajda’s 100^th Birthday

The eminent Polish director Andrzej Wajda would have turned 100 in March 2026. His life was characterised by resistance to repression. Wajda’s father was murdered in Katyn in 1940 by Soviet special forces of the NKVD. During the German occupation of Poland, Wajda himself attended an underground school for a time.  These experiences, along with his political engagement, are reflected in many of his films – in a way that spoke directly to people: MAN OF IRON was seen by more than five million cinemagoers in Poland in the space of just under five months, before the film was banned on 13 December 1981 (with the declaration of martial law by the communist regime). To mark the filmmaker’s 100^th birthday, goEast is devoting a special program to the work of Andrzej Wajda, featuring films which revolve around the central theme of political resistance. Plans for the program include screenings of the following works: KANAŁ (POL 1957), MAN OF IRON (POL 1981) and DANTON (FRA/POL/DEU 1982).

Applications Currently Open for East-West Talent Lab (Deadline: 24 February)

The East-West Talent Lab, which takes places this year from 24 to 27 April in Wiesbaden, has firmly established itself within the international film industry. Former participants have gone on to receive nominations for the European Film Award, and East-West Talent Lab alumni take part with their films in major cinema forums such as the Berlinale or IDFA. For instance, the documentary film SACRED SONGS (GEO 2026), which first gained momentum in the scope of the East-West Talent Lab, has just been honoured at the sixteenth edition of the international co-production forum “When East Meets West” (WEMW) in Trieste.

In 2025, goEast is once again supporting emerging filmmakers and up-and-coming producers from Central and Eastern Europe, by connecting them with one another and with peers from Hesse and the rest of Germany. The emphasis of the program, led by Andrea Wink since its inception, once again lies on non-fiction and documentary formats. From now until Tuesday, 24 February, filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe can submit their project ideas in development. Producers from Central and Eastern Europe as well as Germany without a current project can also apply to participate in the East-West Talent Lab. In 2026, the Lab will once again feature two awards: the Renovabis Research Grant, endowed with 3,500 euros, for a documentary film project treating human rights and/or minority rights, and the Pitch-the-Doc Award, featuring a training package for the support of project development, valued at 500 euros. Participants can look forward to a full four-day program consisting of a masterclass, workshops and opportunities to network with television editors and funding institutions, as well as diverse film screenings.

You can find images related to the festival in our download section.

The full program for the 26^th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film will be revealed in March.

goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film is hosted by DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum and made possible with the support of numerous partners. Primary funding partners are HessenFilm und Medien GmbH, the State Capital Wiesbaden, Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Germany, the solidarity initiative of the German Catholics with the people of Central and Eastern Europe Renovabis and the Polish Institute Düsseldorf.

Primary media partners include 3sat, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Young Horizons Industry, Warsaw-based co-production forum focused on films and series aimed at kids and youth, opened the call for projects In-Development or Work-in-Progress to be presented during pitching. The event which celebrates its 10th anniversary will take place from 28-30 September 2026, as part of the Young Horizons International Film Festival.  

Projects looking for co-producers and partners

It’s pitching time! Find your future business partners among the 300+ professionals attending the Young Horizons Industry and promote your project in front of the sales agents, distributors, broadcasters, streamers and possible co-production partners.  

We are looking for: 

• full-length films, series, TV specials for kids and youth from around the world,
• all types: animation, live-action, documentary, transmedia,
• at various stages of development and production.

Submissions deadline: 12 May. The submissions are free of charge.

Call for projects more information

Contact person: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Young Horizons Industry (28-30.09.2026, Warsaw, Poland) is an international co-production forum focused on films and series aimed at kids and youth and a meeting hub for film professionals who are passionate about making audiovisual content for young audiences. 

The goal of the forum is simple: helping creators connect with potential partners. By bringing together projects and industry players, we are creating a space where you can exchange ideas and form partnerships.

The forum is co-financed by Polish Film Institute, Creative Europe MEDIA, and City of Warsaw.

CLOUDS MOVE WITH GREAT SPEED (UKR 2025), directed by Roman Ostrovskyi and produced by Iryna Kyporenko for MONS Production, has been honoured with the Golden Lily for Best Film (endowed with prize money in the amount of 10,000 euros) at the 26th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film in Wiesbaden. The International Jury, chaired by Salomé Alexi, explained its selection with the following statement: “From the entire competition, one film stood out with unquestionable urgency. It highlights the importance of documenting Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Created by a filmmaker who became a soldier out of necessity and personal responsibility, it bears witness to the unbearable and portrays humanity under inhuman circumstances. For their courage as director and producer, the jury awards the Golden Lily for Best Film to Roman Ostrovskyi and Iryna Kyporenko for CLOUDS MOVE WITH GREAT SPEED. We hope the clouds will move with great speed towards the sky of a peaceful and free Ukraine.”