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Top 11 Film festivals in Berlin

A Film festival for every day

International Film Festival Berlin
In front of the Berlinale Palace © KARSTEN THIELKER

Autumn in Berlin: This is cinema time. The first Oscar candidates and promising new discoveries are running in the cinemas. In addition, Berlin's cinemas offer a wide range of opportunities to discover new and unknown film worlds, especially in November, as numerous film festivals such as "Around the World in 14 Films" and the "Italian Film Festival" get underway. There is probably even a film festival every day in some Berlin cinema, celebrating Italian, French or Berlin films, the horror genre or simply the top films of all film festivals together. 

Tip 1: Lithuanian Film goes Berlin

Kino Publikum
Cinema audience © GettyImages, Foto: Ghislain & Marie David de Lossy

See short and feature-length films from Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia at the Lithuanian Film Festival. The program includes current productions, highlights from other festivals and classics. This year there is a retrospective of films by Artūras Barysas-Baras, the "father of the modern Lithuanian avant-garde".You can talk about the films at the brunch with Lithuanian specialities on Sunday.

When: 10 - 12 November 2023
Where: Acud Cinema & Sputnik Cinema

 Litauisches Kino goes Berlin

Tip 2: Portuguese Cinema Days 

Kinoreihe
© Getty Images, Bild: Maksicfoto

A broad mix of very different themes and genres from current Portuguese cinema can also be discovered in November at the Portuguese Cinema Days. The two films Mal viver and Viver mal, which have already been screened at the Berlinale and tell a story from different perspectives, will also be there. Mal viver, by the way, even won a Silver Bear Jury Prize. So if you missed it, now you have another chance to see it and its counterpart.

When: November 11 - December 10, 2023 
Where: Moviemento cinema Berlin, Kreuzberg

Portuguese Cinema Days 

Tip 3: Italian Film Festival Berlin

Kulturbrauerei Berlin
Kulturbrauerei Berlin © TLG-Immobilien

At the Italian Film Festival Berlin you can get an impression of the current Italian cinema.Among them are two films that have already been screened at the Berlinale. Disco Boy was the only Italian entry in the competition. And L'ultima notte di Amore with the super cool leading actor Pierfrancesco Favino thrilled the audience. This year's tribute is dedicated to director Marco Bellocchio, in whose Il Traditore Pierfrancesco Favino also appears.

When: 16 - 22 November 2023
Where: Cinema in the Kulturbrauerei, Schönhauser Allee 36, Prenzlauer Berg

 Italian Film Festivl Berlin

Tip 4: Interfilm – Internationales Kurzfilmfestival Berlin

At the box office
At the box office © Getty Images, Foto: Denkou Images

Sometimes shorter is simply better. At the Interfilm Short Film Festival, only short films are shown, but around 400 films . There will also be workshops and many events. The films revolve around the current issues of departure and self-realization. 

When: 14 - 19 November 2023
Where: Miscellaneous Places

Interfilm

 Tip 5: AFRIKAMERA

In the cinema
In the cinema © Getty Images, Foto: David Saium/EyeEm

The AFRIKAMERA festival shows current films from Africa under the motto "Future & Utopias". In the focus are films with visions of the future from the metropolises of Africa, which imagine them from an African perspective. Recent highlights such as the documentary Coconut Head Generation or Mami Wata and Banel & Adama, which also screened at major festivals, are also in the program.  

When: November 14-19, 2023.
Where: Kino Arsenal, BrotfabrikKino, fsk und Sinema Transtopia.

AFRIKAMERA

Tip 6: French Film week

Cinema Paris at Kurfürstendamm in Berlin
Cinema Paris at Kurfürstendamm © visitBerlin, Foto: Janine Blechschmidt

The next festival will follow at the end of November. The film week offers a foretaste of the upcoming films from France. You'll see in advance which French films the cinema-goers will actually be able to look forward to later. Around 20 films from all kinds of genres are planned, reflecting the diversity of French film.

When:  23 - 29 Novemberr 2023
Where: Cinema Paris, Kurfürstendamm 211, Charlottenburg and other cinemas

Französische Filmwoche

Tip 7: Around the world in 14 films

Cinema Berlin
Cinema Berlin © Getty Images, Bild: Tobias Weber / EyeEm

The festival "Around the World in 14 Films" is a cinematic trip around the world. At the festival of festivals you will see excellent films from Cannes or Venice and other international festivals that have not yet been screened in Germany. Among the first films already announced are the winning Locarno film Critical Zone and the French film Àma Gloria.

When: December 1 - 9, 2023
Where: Kino in der Kulturbrauerei, delphi LUX and Neues Off.
Around the World in 14 Films

Tip 8: Film festival Cinebrasil

cinema audience
© Getty Images, Foto: Hero Images

Brazil in all its diversity is brought to you by Cinebrasil, where you can discover the different worlds and regions in documentaries and feature films.
The focus is on German-Brazilian works and films that were made without a big budget.The film Marte Um about a family under the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro will kick off the festival.

When: November 16 - 22, 2023
Where: Babylon Cinema

Filmfestival Cinebrasil

Tipp 9: Winter-Film-Fest at Nikolaiviertel

At the Christmas market
At the Christmas market © GettyImages, Bild: Photo by Rafa Elias

Not quite a film festival, but a lot of fun: At the Winter Film Festival in the Nikolaiviertel, only one film is playing. You can watch the legendary German classic movie Die Feuerzangenbowle with Heinz Rühmann three times a day, if you have made yourself comfortable on the armchairs and sofas under the open sky. Of course, you can also get the drink Feuerzangenbowle at the nostalgic stalls at the Christmas market in the idyllic Nikolaiviertel.

By the way: Everyone with name Pfeifffer with three "F"  have free admission.

When: November 10, 2023 - January 1, 2024
Where: Nikolaiviertel Mitte

Winter-Film-Fest im Nikolaiviertel

Tip 10: Berlinale

Berlinale: George Clooney at International Film fetsival Berlin 2014
Goerge Clooney at the Berlin Film Festival © KARSTEN THIELKER

Only in February the Berlinale takes place, but it is simply Berlin's biggest and most important film festival. For 10 days the film world watches Potsdamer Platz, where the films celebrate their brilliant premieres in competition and the international top stars stand on the red carpet in a flurry of flashlights. In addition, there are countless other works from all over the world, which take the audience with them to foreign countries and other lives.

By the way, we report live from the film festival every year in our BerlinaleBlog.

When: 16 - 26 February 2023
Where: Berlinale Palast at Potsdamer Platz and other cinemas

Berlinale

 Tip 11: Greek Film festival

Kino Babylon in Berlin, entrance
Kino Babylon in Berlin, entrance © visitBerlin, Foto: Diana Häner

Greek film now also has its own festival in Berlin, which has successfully established itself in recent years. The festival shows you the fascinating diversity of Greek film, which unfortunately gets far too little attention in the current programme. So it's worth taking a look at the programme!

When: 20 - 24 March 2024
Where: Babylon, Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 30, Mitte

The Greek Film Festival

Kristin: visitBerlin-Bloggerin unter visitBerlin.de/blog

Kristin

does not smile on fotos. But in real life she enjoys with a smile in her face the rich cultural life of Berlin - the metropolis both in front of and behind the scenes. Her favourite season is the Berlinale, then she spends 10 days watching movies and writing about them in the blog. All posts