German Film Festival Returns: KinoFest 2026 Explores Belonging, Resilience, and The Spaces That Shape Our Lives
The Goethe-Institut proudly presents the fifth edition of KinoFest, its annual German film festival, taking place across Southeast Asia and the Pacific from October to November 2026.
In Manila, KinoFest returns from October 15 to 18, 2026, and will be held at GH Ortigas Cinema, Greenhills Mall for the first time, bringing Filipino audiences some of the newest and most acclaimed films from Germany’s dynamic cinema landscape.
IMAGE from Greenhills PH’s Instagram account
This year’s program explores how our lives are shaped by the spaces we move through and the burdens we carry, from our families and workplaces to our communities and the histories we inherit. Across stories of faith, memory, justice, care, and belonging, the films ask a central question: How do we create lives of our own when the realities around us are often imposed upon us?
Opening KinoFest 2026 is Rose (2026), the latest film by Markus Schleinzer, featuring award-winning actress Sandra Hüller in a remarkable lead performance. Presented in striking black and white, the film follows a woman striving to shape her own destiny within the rigid constraints of a historical society, exploring themes of identity, freedom, and self-determination. Hüller’s powerful performance sets the tone for a festival that reflects on resilience, agency, and the search for belonging.
Rose (2026) by Markus Schleinzer / IMAGE from Goethe-Institut Philippinen’s Website
The main lineup brings together a diverse selection of films, including I Understand Your Displeasure (Ich verstehe Ihren Unmut), Sound of Falling (In die Sonne schauen), In Good Faith (Gotteskinder), Prosecution (Staatsschutz), Trial of Hein (Der Heimatlose), The Family Approach (Im Prinzip Familie), Circusboy (Zirkuskind), Luisa, and Heidi – Rescue of the Lynx (Heidi – Rettung der Luchse).
Together, these films offer contemporary perspectives on work, family, belief, community, and the ways individuals navigate the social and institutional forces around them.
A special highlight of this year’s Manila program is KinoFest Special: Intersections on October 17, 2026, at 4:00 PM in Cinema 1, GH Ortigas Cinema, Greenhills Mall. Bringing contemporary Philippine cinema into conversation with the German lineup, the program features Invisible Labor by Joanne Cesario, Raging (Rumaragasa) by Ryan Machado, and the Philippine premiere of Body Count by Cris Bringas. Together, the films explore themes of memory, labor, trauma, intimacy, and place, demonstrating how the questions raised throughout the festival resonate far beyond national borders.
The screening will be followed by an in-person talkback with the filmmakers, moderated by Julian Fuchs, Director of the Goethe-Institut Philippines, inviting audiences to engage in a conversation about the stories and experiences that connect people across cultures.
KinoFest 2026 is jointly organized by the Goethe-Instituts in Southeast Asia and the Pacific and continues its commitment to fostering intercultural dialogue through film. By bringing German and Filipino perspectives together on screen, the festival invites audiences to reflect on how we love, care, belong, and imagine new possibilities for the future.
All screenings of KinoFest 2026 will take place from October 15 to 18, 2026, at GH Ortigas Cinema, Greenhills Mall, Cinema 1 and The Screening Room. Admission is FREE on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets may be claimed at the KinoFest booth near Cinema 1 beginning one (1) hour before each screening.
For full program details, visit: http://www.goethe.de/manila/kinofest
This is a press release. Minor edits were made prior to publishing.
