18 German productions in the program

The 59th Hof International Film Festival opens on October 21, 2025 with the motto “The Place to Grow.” This year’s program again offers a diverse selection of films by young talents presenting their work: as diverse as their stories, so are style and storytelling, and the view on the world from the inside and outside.

“German films this year are powerful, bold, and deeply rooted in the themes of our time — they tell of dystopian worlds, fractured family images, abuse, right-wing extremism, and female strength. They unfold the full emotional spectrum: they make us laugh, move us to tears — and leave images that burn deeply in the heart and linger long.” Thorsten Schaumann, Artistic Director

Here is a first look at which German feature-length films have made it into the program:

BALANCE, Director: Björn Schürmann, Germany 2025

Johannes (49) is visited by his daughter Clara (20). A quick overnight stay before she embarks on a long journey. But when Clara’s flight is canceled, they suddenly have more time than they’re used to and must leave their comfort zones.

CYBERPUNK ROMANCE, Director: Joscha Douma, Germany, Austria 2025

The future is here: human brains can be connected directly to computers via ports. Mona is determined against this technology, but then her beloved falls into a neurotechnical coma. To save him, she has a port installed, and soon the question arises of who now rules in Mona’s head.

DAMAGED LEMONS, Director: Naemi Ada, Germany 2025

Overwhelmed by responsibility, family helper Mavi locks up her chronically ill sister and flees with a new acquaintance on a journey. Her weakening grip on reality leads her to a long-overdue confrontation with herself.

DOPPELHERZ, Director: Christian Koch, Germany 2025

After three disguised Nazi women attack Liza, they flee and cause a car accident. Liza ends up in the same hospital as the sole survivor of the accident. With neither police nor witnesses helping, Liza befriends Vanessa and takes the investigation of the crime and its consequences into her own hands.

DREI LEBEN LANG, Director: Felicitas Korn, Germany 2025

Michi, King, and Loosi. Three fates, three lives. Michi and his sister are placed in different foster homes after their parents’ accidental death. King wants to rule the city’s biggest club at all costs. And Loosi has been lost in alcohol and his inner demons for years. In the end, all stories are connected, and everything depends on Loosi.

EIN ABEND IM DEZEMBER, Director: Matthias Kreter, Germany 2025

The news of a terrorist attack in a bar where the youngest daughter of a family may have been, plunges their cheerful Advent dinner into a gruelling evening of fear, guilt, and thoughts of revenge.

ENDE DES KREISES, Director: Mareike Sophie Danisch, Germany 2025

In a chamber play, the lives of four generations of women in a family are explored as they wrestle with expectations of their role as guardians of men and family — often at the expense of their own dreams and self-fulfillment.

FREE, Director: Max Hegewald, Germany 2025

Sixteen-year-old Sebastian lives with his family in the provinces. When Kolja, his previously unknown brother, moves in, everything starts to wobble. A tension arises between them that erupts in an unexpected kiss. What follows changes not only Sebastian but the entire family.

HIER WAR ICH NOCH NIE, Director: Tor Iben, Germany 2025

Niko isn’t really sure what to do with his life. Should he continue working in his father’s late shop or become an actor? Or do nothing at all? And then there’s Lilli, his girlfriend, and David, whom he has just met when an accident suddenly breaks his life apart.

IM ZEICHEN DES DRACHEN, Directors: Enrico Saller and Marina Hoeft, Germany 2025

Policeman Michael loses his hearing on a mission and retires from active duty. Years later, his former colleague asks him to take on a mysterious case involving a dangerous dragon sect.

LUISA, Director: Julia Roesler, Germany 2025

Luisa lives in a group home for people with disabilities in a small German town. Unexpectedly, it is discovered that she is pregnant. The suspicion of sexual abuse is high.

PLAN F, Director: Ina Balon, Germany 2025

Maya, exhausted by life, meets her completely over-the-top sister Franka. What follows is not coincidence but long overdue: a turbulent day and a long night with beer, spirits, self-doubt, old wounds, and new truths. A merciless inventory of two women who are closer to each other than they think.

SO AS IT IS (COSÌ COM’È), Director: Antonello Scarpelli, Germany, Italy 2025

“Così com’è” is staged in a form of autofiction the director’s family: a worried mother, an ailing father, and a disillusioned son, lost in poor communication and the difficulty of understanding each other.

SUNNY, Director: Silke C. Engler, Germany 2025

Sunny and Ray spend a Digital Detox weekend in a remote cabin, before they want to have microchips implanted that have already largely replaced nearly all smartphones. But a gigantic solar eruption wipes out all electronics on Earth, with unforeseen consequences for implant wearers.

TODAY OF MY YOUTH (TOD MEINER JUGEND), Director: Timo Jacobs, Germany 2025

With his wife Meli and son Silas, Kai returns to his old homeland. Everything seems ordered: a solid job, a loving family, and Silas follows in his footsteps as a talented kickboxer. But Kai longs for more and attends a comedy coach to give his life a new momentum.

THE TOTAL DREAM, Director: Roman Toulany, Germany 2025

The last living couple, Adam and Eve, fight in a world populated by humanoids in vain for the fate of humanity. While pregnant Eve doubts, Adam makes a risky pact with the machine to save his family.

UNSPOKEN, Director: Piotr J. Lewandowski, Germany 2025

Seweryn, a 30-year-old musician, is about to break through when he is sexually assaulted by a businessman after a gig. At first he does not remember, but the loss of his voice forces him to confront the trauma. With his girlfriend Caro, he begins a healing process that confronts him with his repressed childhood.

TOGETHER WE ARE LESS SEPARATED, Director: Alexander Conrads, Germany 2025

Sophie and Jojo have been separated for half a year, but still live together as a couple. Only when Sophie's parents condition continued financial support for their daughter on the stipulation that she bears a child with Jojo, does movement come into the rigid lives of the two Millennials.