Dear film lovers,
What unites us all is the fact that we are involved in relationships with other people and communities, as well as in complex, larger ecosystems. We are interconnected and our actions, our feelings and our language have an impact on our personal environment. Many of the films at the Münster 2025 film festival also tell of these interconnections and their consequences.
Around 70 films are screened at the Schloßtheater during the ten days of the festival and it is a special experience to experience them in the concentration of the cinema auditorium. Together with the audience, you can enter into an exchange with the filmmakers, experience new points of view and adopt unusual perspectives. We would like to invite you to discover the diversity of European cinema in both long and short form.
European First Feature Film Competition
The European Feature Film Competition is being organised for the eleventh time since 2005. For the fourth time, only debut films by young directors are competing for the prize for best director, which is awarded by an international jury and comes with prize money of 5,000 euros … more
European Short Film Competition
36 short films from 15 European countries have been selected for the short film competition at the 21st Münster Film Festival. The programme includes award-winning films from renowned international festivals as well as numerous premieres … more
Focus NL
Dutch films have been an integral part of the Münster Film Festival since 1999. This year, the selection of current films from our neighbouring country runs through (almost) all festival sections … more
Westfalen Connection
For the sixth time, the Westfalen Connection section is all about films from the region, with a connection to the region, or films whose filmmakers are connected to Westphalia in very different ways … more
Nightwatch – Gregg Araki’s Teen Apocalypse Trilogy
Take the conventions of the American teen film, transpose them to the freaky fringes of Los Angeles, anchor them in an uncompromising vision of sexual fluidity and top it all off with a heavy dose of Generation X disillusionment, gonzo violence and hallucinogenic surrealism – and you get something like these daring border crossings by New Queer Cinema rebel Gregg Araki … more
Specials
On 26 and 27 September, there will be two industry days for film in Westphalia. In addition, Alina Cyranek will present her feature film debut in a Dok Special, and there will be a sneak preview of a VR exhibition on the classic film Alle Jahre wieder … more
- Curtains
In “Facades”, Sandra Hüller tells the story of a woman who breaks out of a long-term violent relationship and of a political and social system that prefers to look the other way. The film shows the power structures behind the facades and how the state inadequately protects women. (German with English subtitles) - Pitching Sessions
at SpecOps (Aegidiimarkt 5, 48143 Münster) - Panel: Young film talents in the financing dilemma – ways out of precarious funding
Moderation:Paula Essam Panelists:Katharina Huber, Acker Film Jacqueline Jansen, Filmweh Mariana Schneider, Hessen… - Hysteria
Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay’s ambiguous, provocative conspiracy thriller plays with the film-within-a-film motif and is full of unexpected twists and turns. A precise reflection on the power of images and the dynamics of perception, projection and social hysteria. (German, Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, English with German subtitles) - Masterclass with Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay and Claus Herzog-Reichel
In the masterclass for up-and-coming filmmakers in the region, the… - ALLE JAHRE WIEDER in Münster: The virtual exhibition
Ulrich Schamoni’s award-winning film classic goes VR! The world’s first film museum in virtual reality takes visitors on a journey through time to the central locations of the feature film, which was shot on location in Münster in the winter of 1966/67.