28.04. ‐ 03.05.2026

Regional Film Program 2023

The REGIONAL LONG AND SHORT FILM COMPETITIONS give the wide range of filmmaking from Kassel to Marburg and Giessen to the Rhine-Main region its well-deserved publicity and strengthen it, especially in the exchange with the national and international competition. Two juries, always staffed with renowned personalities, annually award the coveted LICHTER-Bembel in both large and small versions.

All venues can be found here.

Section

Country

Language

language version

WED, 19. AprLichter FilmfestLichter Filmfest

18:15 h

49 Problems_Regionaler Langfilm

49 Problems (and my future is one)

Section: Regional Feature Film Program

Direction: Maxi Buck

Kasseler Dokfest 2022: Nomination for the "Golden Hercules"

In the presence of the director

Wednesday, 19 April 2023, 18:15 h, Eldorado Filmtheater

Lichter Filmfest

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How far should protest go if one’s way of life is threatened? 49 Problems (and my future is one) accompanies the protests against the construction of Highway 49 through the Dannenröder Forest and the trial against “Ella”. She has been accused of endangering a police officer’s life during the eviction.

19:30 h

Plopp_Regionaler Kurzfilm

Regional short films I

Section: Regional Short Film Program

In presence of the filmmakers

Wednesday, 19 April 2023, 19:30 h, Pupille Kino

Lichter Filmfest

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PLOPP (2022, Director: Carolin Glomp, Length: 5 Min.) // DIE SCHULE BRENNT UND WIR WISSEN WARUM (2023, Director: Janina Lutter, Length: 25 Min.) // 밥을 하는 여자들 (FRAUEN, DIE REIS KOCHEN) (2022, Director: Hansol Kim, Length: 6 Min.) // DIE MACHT DER ENTSCHEIDUNG (2022, Director: Anton Algrang, Length: 25 Min.) // ON POINT (2022, Director: Anouschka Fritz, Length: 3 Min.) // PACIFIC CLUB (2023, Director: Valentin Noujaïm, Dauer: 16 Min.) // SO SOON - YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND (2022, Director: Daniel Knußmann & Daniel Sax, Length: 5 Min.) // WENN DIE ERDE STEHEN BLEIBT (2022, Director: Benjamin Fiedler, Length: 7 Min.)

20:00 h

Vamos a la Playa

Vamos a la Playa

Section: Regional Feature Film Program

Direction: Bettina Blümner

Filmfest Köln, Achtung Berlin, Braunschweig International Filmfestival

HESSIAN PREMIERE

In the presence of the director

Wednesday, 19 April 2023, 20:00 h, Mal Seh'n Kino

Lichter Filmfest

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Vacation time! Soaking up the sun in Cuba. Technically, the students Benjamin, Katharina and Judith are trying to find Katharina‘s brother Wanja. But this plan quickly becomes irrelevant. Katharina is looking for sexual adventures, Benjamin for true love and Judith definitely not for a relationship. When they meet the dance instructor Ignacio, their triple constellation is shaken up.

20:00 h

Talking To You

Talking To You - Christof Lauer (sax)

Section: Regional Feature Film Program

Direction: Lucie Herrmann

WORLD PREMIER

In the presence of the director and Christof Lauer

Wednesday, 19 April 2023, 20:00 h, Eldorado Filmtheater

Lichter Filmfest

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He is one of the best jazz saxophonists in Europe, has played with the great stars of the international jazz scene, was a member of the NDR Big Band in Hamburg for 25 years, and was also a frequent guest at the hr Jazz Festival in Frankfurt. And he has remained true to his Hessian homeland: Christof Lauer. "I tell something about myself by playing and putting sounds together. That's my story," he says. Talking To You enters the musical cosmos of an idiosyncratic saxophonist who rejects any routine and persistently works on new forms. Most importantly: "it has to be intense!".

THU, 20. AprLichter FilmfestLichter Filmfest

17:30 h

Mina - Der Preis der Freiheit

Mina – Der Preis der Freiheit

Section: Regional Feature Film Program

Direction: Hesam Yousefi

HESSIAN PREMIERE

In the presence of the director and Mina Ahadi

Thursday, 20 April 2023, 17:30 h, Kino des DFF

Lichter Filmfest

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As long as liberty does not flourish in every country, people like Gandhi and Mandela – or Mina Ahadi – are needed.The film portrays the Iranian human rights activist during her lifelong struggle against capital punishment. A touching, inspiring portrayal which reveals that people’s love for their fellow humans is stronger than any cruelty between them.

19:30 h

Staudamm_Regionaler Kurzfilm

Regional short films II

Section: Regional Short Film Program

In presence of the filmmakers

Thursday, 20 April 2023, 19:30 h, Pupille Kino

Lichter Filmfest

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ENJOY THE SHOW (2022, Director: Michael Schwarz, Length: 1 Min.) // STAUDAMM (2023, Director: Noreen Erkardas, Length: 27 Min.) // Поки тут тихо. (IT IS QUIET HERE.) (2022, Director: Olena Podolianko & Novruz Hikmet, Length: 12 Min.) // MORTIMER UND DIE VERSCHWUNDENEN DINGE (2022, Director: Robert Scheffner, Length: 14 Min.) // MAUER DES SCHWEIGENS (2022, Director: Leonard Mink, Length: 19 Min.) // ZWISCHEN UNS BEIDEN (2022, Director: Benjamin Kessler, Length: 14 Min.) // WE MAKE HOME MOVIES THEREFORE WE ARE (2022, Director: Clara Jäschke, Length: 10 Min.)

20:00 h

Eigentlich eigentlich Januar

Eigentlich eigentlich Januar

Section: Regional Feature Film Program

Direction: Jan Peters

In the presence of the director

Thursday, 20 April 2023, 20:00 h, Festivalzentrum

Lichter Filmfest

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Drei Minuten, jeden Tag, einen Monat lang. Eigentlich (eigentlich) im Januar – wenn nur die Zeit nicht so schnell verginge. In seinem filmischen Tagebuch kommentiert Jan Peters Filmgeschichte, Erinnerungen und Zeitgeschehen und nutzt dafür abgelaufene, analoge Filmrollen.

FRI, 21. AprLichter FilmfestLichter Filmfest

18:00 h

Das Kino sind wir

Das Kino sind wir

Section: Regional Feature Film Program

Direction: Livia Theuer

WORLD PREMIERE

In the presence of the director

Friday, 21 April 2023, 18:00 h, Mal Seh'n Kino

Lichter Filmfest

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"Everyone was animated by the idea of making a political film," recalls (not only) documentary film director Thomas Frickel of the cultural awakening of the 1980s in Kassel. A sworn group of film enthusiasts founds the Filmladen Kassel and thus defines a film-oriented countermedia under the motto "Das Kino sind wir". What came from this, what role did the documenta and Joseph Beuys play, and how did the Kassel Dokfest emerge from this movement? This documentary is a must-see for all film fans and cineastes!

18:00 h

Morgen irgendwo am Meer

Morgen irgendwo am Meer

Section: Regional Feature Film Program

Direction: Patrick Büchting

HESSIAN PREMIERE

In the presence of the director

Friday, 21 April 2023, 18:00 h, Eldorado Filmtheater

Lichter Filmfest

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Despite their strained friendship, Konrad manages to convince Romy to go on a shared trip to the ocean during their summer holidays. When Romy’s friend Julian and the stranger Nele join them during their road trip, Konrad begins to fear the trip was a bad idea. Meanwhile, the others ask themselves one thing: Why does Konrad actually want to go to Lisbon?

SAT, 22. AprLichter FilmfestLichter Filmfest

17:00 h

Einzeltäter-Hanau_Header

Einzeltäter Teil 3 – Hanau

Section: Regional Feature Film Program

Direction: Julian Vogel

WORLD PREMIERE

In the presence of the director

Saturday, 22 April 2023, 17:00 h, Eldorado Filmtheater

Lichter Filmfest

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On February 19, 2020 a right-wing terrorist murdered nine people in Hanau: Said Nesar Hashemi, Hamza Kenan Kurtović, Ferhat Unvar, Sedat Gürbüz, Fatih Saraçoğlu, Gökhan Gültekin, Vili Viorel Păun, Mercedes Kierpacz und Kaloyan Velkov. To this day, relatives and survivors have been searching for an explanation for the racist attack.

18:00 h

Fitness California_Regionaler Langfilm

Fitness California – Wie man die Extra Meile geht

Section: Regional Feature Film Program

Direction: Nadine Zacharias

Sportfilmfestival Palermo: Paladino D’oro

GERMAN PREMIERE

In the presence of the director

Saturday, 22 April 2023, 18:00 h, Mal Seh'n Kino

Lichter Filmfest

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True to the motto “Move until your very end” one trains in the Freiburg gym “Fitness California”. Among those always to be found are Bernd Fleisig, Mario Sabatini, and Adolf Seger, all of them stars of the Wrestling scene of the 1960s and ‘70s, who, regardless of their age, ripple their muscles.

SUN, 23. AprLichter FilmfestLichter Filmfest

13:00 h

Zwickel auf Bizyckel

Zwickel auf Bizyckel

Section: Regional Feature Film Program

Direction: Reinhard Kahn, Michel Leiner, Jeanine Meerapfel, Ingeborg Nödinger, Rolf Scheimeister, Pavel Schnabel, Klaus Werner, Marion Zemann

Hessischer Filmpreis 1997

Präsentiert von: Film-und Kinobüro Hessen e. V.

Sunday, 23 April 2023, 13:00 h, Festivalzentrum

Lichter Filmfest

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28 Jahre lag der Film nur als Arbeitskopie vor, bis Reinhard Kahn 1997 den Faden wieder aufgriff, um ihn endlich in die Kinos zu bringen. Mit großem Erfolg: er lief bei der Berlinale im Forum, bei der Frankfurter Filmschau und wurde mit dem Hessischen Filmpreis ausgezeichnet. In vielerlei Hinsicht ein Unikat, wurde er 1968 in Frankfurt von einem befreundeten Kollektiv Filmstudierender gedreht. „Als habe Jim Jarmusch ein Drehbuch von Herbert Achternbusch verfilmt“, kommentierte die FR zutreffend die „Geschichte um eine schlampige Kindergärtnerin und einen schielenden Hilfsarbeiter.“

16:00 h

Einzeltäter-Hanau_Header

Einzeltäter Teil 3 – Hanau

Section: Regional Feature Film Program

Direction: Julian Vogel

WORLD PREMIERE

In the presence of the director

Sunday, 23 April 2023, 16:00 h, Eldorado Filmtheater

Lichter Filmfest

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On February 19, 2020 a right-wing terrorist murdered nine people in Hanau: Said Nesar Hashemi, Hamza Kenan Kurtović, Ferhat Unvar, Sedat Gürbüz, Fatih Saraçoğlu, Gökhan Gültekin, Vili Viorel Păun, Mercedes Kierpacz und Kaloyan Velkov. To this day, relatives and survivors have been searching for an explanation for the racist attack.