Berlin Independent Radio Drama Festival
We are living in the red zone. The gauges are spiking, the needles are on the verge of snapping, the level metres are stuck at maximum. Overdrive is no longer a fault, but a permanent state of deregulation. The radio play is the ideal medium for overdrive – as an artistic counter-action and critical reflection. Here, the voice is allowed to waver; time may stretch or condense. Here, there is room for superimposition, feedback and the uncontrollable. The radio play twists perception until something breaks through.
Image gallery
Berliner Hörspielfestival
It is against this backdrop that the Berlin Radio Play Festival of the Independent Scene will take place from 17 to 20 September at the Academy of Arts on Hanseatenweg.
The festival centres on independently produced radio plays, documentaries and sound art pieces, which will compete in five competitions for the coveted ‘Brennende Mikros’ – featuring discussions with the producers and audience voting. Further highlights include live performances by Ute Wassermann and Joke Lanz, Marc Matter, and the Kamerun-Qrella-Group with guests.
There will also be discussions, workshops, participatory radio, a listening den, the ‘Recording UFO’ and the presentation of the 2026 Audiowalk Award. Sound installations by Hye Young Sin and blablabor, as well as by students from the ‘Sound Studies and Sonic Arts’ Master’s programme at the Berlin University of the Arts, round off the programme. On site, via live stream and on the radio.
All this is preceded by the Open Days of the independent community radio stations on 11 and 12 September, featuring live radio shows on the independent stations Cashmere Radio, Mutant Radio, Refuge Worldwide and Radio Industry as part of Berlin Art Week.
The world we live in is overmodulated. The artistic manoeuvre of turning up the volume is an act of resistance. Against the clean, risk-free signal! Listening is art!
Additional information
Dates
September 2026
| Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
| |
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
30
|
