German cinema

German tech publisher Heise has reviewed the horror film Obsession as part of its 4K home cinema test series, asking whether Blu-ray, UHD disc and streaming can deliver the film at its best. The reviewer wishes the horror film entertained more than anything else in cinemas, and the test examines whether the home formats can fulfil that wish without side effects. The verdict on picture and sound quality is drawing attention among home cinema fans.

The film 'Für Immer 16' (Germany 2026, 74 min, rated FSK 16), directed by Brezel Göring, screens in Leipzig on 3 October at 17:15, shown in German with English subtitles. The cast includes Lilith Stangenberg and Chang Wang. The story follows Charlotte, Helena and Oskar, characters who meet up as part of the plot.

The 1957 German feature film 'Rose Bernd' is being highlighted as the random film of the day. The drama is based on Gerhart Hauptmann's stage play of the same name and follows Rose Bernd, a maidservant who enters into an affair, a role that brought the adaptation lasting recognition in post-war German cinema.

German-language posts are circulating with hashtags linking film, film diversity, independent cinema, culture and democracy. The messages tie together cinema and cultural variety with democratic values, but the posts contain no specific event, announcement or named film beyond the themes themselves.

Faraz Shariat's feature film 'Staatsschutz BRD 2026' will be shown in Leipzig on 1 October at 9 pm. The 113-minute drama, rated FSK 12, stars Chen Emilie Yan, Julia Jentsch, Alev Irmak and Arnd Klawitter, with dialogue in German and Korean and English subtitles. The film follows a freshly graduated protagonist and is being promoted as a screening in the city's cinema programme.

A German-language debate is unfolding about whether films can be watched "wrong". The argument: many people watch movies and series without questioning what they see, consuming them purely passively rather than engaging critically with form, choices and meaning. Commenters are weighing in on whether active viewing really matters, and whether most audiences miss what makes cinema worth watching.

The German-French broadcaster ARTE has scheduled the tragicomedy "Sommer auf Asphalt" by director Simon Ostermann for broadcast on Thursday, 1 October 2026, at 8:15 pm. The film stars Mala Emde, Christoph Maria Herbst, Aaron Hilmer, Gina Haller, Jenny Schily, Moritz Führmann and Danilo Kamperidis. The announcement comes from the film directory celeo.de, which tracks upcoming German television airings of cinema releases.

A trailer has been released for Rose, the new film from Austrian director Markus Schleinzer, starring Sandra Hüller, the German actress known for Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest. Film fans are sharing the first look and discussing Hüller's latest role ahead of the film's release.

The feature film 'Staatschutz BRD 2026' by director Faraz Shariat is being shown in Leipzig on 30 September at 21:15. The 113-minute fiction film, rated FSK 12, stars Chen Emilie Yan, Julia Jentsch, Alev Irmak and Arnd Klawitter, and screens in German and Korean with English subtitles. It follows a newly graduated protagonist, and locals are circulating the screening details ahead of the showing.

Film buffs are debating whether the pointed hairline now known as the vampire's widow's peak originated with Emil Jannings in F.W. Murnau's 1926 silent classic Faust, or later with Bela Lugosi's iconic 1931 Dracula. The question touches on how silent-era German expressionist cinema shaped vampire imagery that Lugosi later cemented in popular culture.