International Festival Signs of the Night (Internationales Festival Zeichen der Nacht)

International Festival Signs of the Night

Internationales Festival Zeichen der Nacht

Also known as: Internationales Festival Zeichen der Nacht - Berlin, FISDN
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The Berlin edition of International Festival Signs of the Night concentrates on documentaries, short films and Cinema in Transgression, a competition for work that tests audiovisual conventions. Its selection favours critical approaches to social, political, psychological and technological questions, including films that explore how images represent or manipulate reality. The programme combines international competitions with regional focuses and thematic screenings.

Berlin forms part of the Signes de Nuit network, which originates in Paris in 2003 and extends to German events in 2013. The network announces the next Berlin edition for April 2027; exact dates are not yet published.

Country

Germany

Focus

Documentary, Experimental

Categories

Documentary, Experimental, Feature, Short

Awards and prizes

The 2026 Berlin awards cover Short Film, Documentary and Cinema in Transgression competitions. Each has a Main Award, Signs Award and Night Award; juries also give additional awards and mentions. The Signs Award recognises an original and convincing treatment of an important subject; in documentary it highlights sensitive and unsettling aspects of reality. The Night Award recognises ambiguity, complexity and enigmatic forms that avoid simple conclusions. Short Film and Documentary also include the Edward Snowden Award, recognising films that communicate little-known information of significant public importance. The 2026 juries additionally present a Short Film award for a child’s perspective, a Cinema in Transgression award for perception, a Documentary Jury Award and special mentions.

Festival rules

Latest published FilmFreeway terms, checked 17 October 2026; the listing does not specify an edition year. These terms are not confirmed regulations for April 2027. Documentary and Cinema in Transgression competitions accept short and feature-length films without a running-time limit. The Short Film competition has a maximum length of 30 minutes. Thematic and regional Focus programmes have no running-time limit. Competition films must date from 2024 or later; Focus films from 2016 or later. Selected filmmakers supply a screening copy. Submission grants screening permission for the edition covered by the submission, without additional conditions or screening-fee requests. Films not immediately selected may be considered for another event in the international network. Physical submission media are not returned. The older official submission page headed 2025 gives different limits: 45 minutes for short films, no time limit for other competitions or Focus programmes, and Focus films from 2018 or later. It requests a downloadable film through the submission platform, offers no waivers and excludes animation. Applicants should verify the applicable edition and category terms before submitting.

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