Program selection 2026

High 5!: Young Filmmakers Programme (up to 13 years)

07.06.,12.00 Uhr | Festivalzentrum Post Lampenlager | Buy Ticket
06+
100

This year’s theme, “Contrasts,” provided scope for a wide variety of film genres, topics, and approaches. Numerous young filmmakers aged 13 and under and between 14 and 18 brought their creative ideas to life in 5-minute short films. This resulted in two exciting and diverse programs.
The event is supported by the Hamburg Cultural Foundation and the Center for School and Youth Information Hamburg.

Forest-City

Germany 2026 | Schule Alsterdorfer Str. 39 Hamburg | Animation | 4'13

A jaguar eats a toadstool and falls ill. A tomcat finds the jaguar and gives him an antidote. They become friends and eventually move into the forest together with the tomcat’s owner.

Three of a kind

Germany 2025 | Lilli Papke, Gustav Harwardt | Documentary | 4'48

Lilli and Gusti set out in search of opposites in a Berlin library.

Two Sides

Germany 2026 | Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium Saarbrücken | Short Fiction | 05:04

Alexander and Alexandra were often bullied at their old school, now they both want to make a fresh start at a different school. Things aren’t going equally well for both of them.

Beat Bude

Germany 2026 | Schule an der Kleiststraße Oldenburg | Animation | 2'32

A rabbit wants to dance with a group of cats at the ‘Beat Bude’ dance school. But they don’t want him to and treat him badly. It’s only when the rabbit shows how well he can dance that they’re happy he’s joining in. But because they were so unfriendly at first, the rabbit doesn’t want to do it anymore.

Is it fair to be a loser

Germany 2025 | Wilhelm-Raabe-Schule Lüneburg | Musical | 4'18

Loser or not? Who decides who’s cool and who isn’t? How does it feel to be labelled a loser? What’s really going on behind the scenes with those who label others and those who are supposedly cool? – I don’t want to be a loser. And I’m not.

Dune jumps

Germany 2025 | Lio Emil Sylvester Hamburg | Experimental film | 4'59

Two children jump onto a dune. Sand cannot move by itself, but it scatters when an external force causes it to. We humans can move, but we are solid masses (we do not scatter).

Wormhole

Germany 2026 | Grundschule Tennenbronn Schramberg | Animation | 5'07

Two feisty robots are flying through space in search of a planet to call home. When they spot a square and rather sad-looking planet, they decide to land. But the planet has other plans.

Overslept

Germany 2025 | Jugendfilm e. V. Hamburg | Short Fiction | 4'20

If the alarm clock doesn't go off, the journey to school can be quite stressful.

The good and the bad tree

Germany 2024 | Amela Kosumi Nördlingen | Animation | 1'52

Once upon a time, there were two trees. The tree on the left was kind, but the other one was mean. Lots of birds came to the kind tree and sang songs. But not to the mean tree. One day, a few bees came...

High 5! Neon: Young Filmmakers Programme (14 to 18 years)

07.06.,14.30 Uhr | Festivalzentrum Post Lampenlager | Buy Ticket
14+
100

High 5! Neon is a film program for young filmmakers aged 14 to 18. As part of a workshop held in collaboration with DREH DEINEN FILM! e. V. and the Esche Jugendkunsthaus, all submitted films were viewed and selected by a youth jury. The result is a diverse film program that the young jury members will present independently on stage to the festival audience.

Power

Germany 2026 | DREH DEINEN FILM! e. V. | Short Fiction | 3'57

In this film, the young people explore the power parents have over their children and the cycle of violence that can arise when domestic violence occurs.

Fruitless

Germany 2025 | Henri van Hettinga Voß | Experimetal Film | 4'18

A young woman tries to make sense of a colourful and a black-and-white surreal reality, between which she is involuntarily transported, linked by an apple.

Stuck Lives

Germany 2026 | Max-Brauer-Schule Altona | Short Fiction | 4'49

Two very different lives that show just how differently people have to spend their time.

The big connection

Germany 2025 | Xaver Zimmermann | Documentary | 4'50

Titmice in winter – the challenges and dangers they face, and how they cope with larger birds and the harsh season. A short, fascinating tale from the world of birds, full of surprises and interesting details.

Academy of the Superheroes

Germany 2025 | Oberschule Essen | Short Fiction | 5'05

No superpowers? No entry! Two villains stand in front of the locked doors of the Superhero Academy and hatch a plan to become superheroes even without any superpowers of their own.

Just a woman

Deutschland 2025 | Europaschule IGS | Spielfilm | 5'00

The film traces the development of women’s rights throughout history. In the past, women had almost no rights. They were not allowed to make their own decisions, had no access to education and were often subjected to violence.

Neon Hamburg

07.06.,17.00 Uhr | Festivalzentrum Post Lampenlager | Buy Ticket
14+
60

Since we’ve had the pleasure of seeing some impressive submissions this year from young filmmakers based in Hamburg or featuring the city, we’ve made room for Neon Hamburg.

Home

Germany 2025 | Esa-Lu Lorenz | Feature film | 18'41 Min

Samir is due to be deported, but those close to him are not giving up on him without a fight.

This place will never leave me

Germany 2026 | Matti Bliß | Documentary | 21'09

The Brecht School’s Diversity Club is setting off for Auschwitz to learn more about the history of the extermination camp.

Single Tickets

Advance ticket sales for the afternoon and weekend events will be possible from May 12.
Ticket prices for adults and children: €3.50
Box office opening: approx. 15 minutes before the start of the performance..

Support for technical problems at: ticketing@shortfilm.com.

Group registration: Kindergarden & Schools

During the festival week, moderated kindergarden and school screenings will take place in the mornings (2 to 5 June) in the cinema.

Ticket prices:
€3.50 per school and daycare child | admission is free for accompanying persons

The registration form can be found linked next to the respective program on our website. Once we have received your registration, you will receive a confirmation.

If you have any questions about booking, please contact: anmeldung@shortfilm.com

Accompanying educational material

We offer accompanying educational material for all film blocks in the competition, which can be used to prepare for and follow up on a visit to the cinema in class.

The material covers both the content covered in the film and the cinematic aspects.

All materials can be downloaded and printed out as PDF files as a link to the respective program from the end of May.

Program schedule and program booklet

For an overview of the festival week, you can find the program schedule and the program booklet here.

Film language and accessibility

All programs are moderated in an age-appropriate manner. Foreign-language short films up to the age of 14 will be dubbed in German. The competition program from the age of 14 is subtitled in German. We also offer some of our programs with translation into German sign language and audio description. These are marked in our booklet.