Braunschweig International Film Festival

Der HEINRICH is the audience award and the Volkswagen Financial Services Filmpreis is the jury award for European debut and second features in the main competition. Die TILDA recognises a first, second or third feature by a woman director. KINEMA is the German-French youth jury prize for a German- or French-language debut or second feature. The Green Horizons Award recognises documentary filmmaking about sustainability; ECHT recognises queer cinema; and the Heimspiel Preis recognises a feature with a connection to the Braunschweig region. Die EDDA is the audience award for an international short film. The acting distinctions are Die EUROPA, recognising contributions to European film culture, and the Braunschweiger Filmpreis for emerging German-speaking acting talent.

2026 participation: Submissions are closed. Films are submitted through Eventival or FilmFreeway, with a completed entry form, paid fee and private or unlisted online screener. Eligible films are completed after 1 January 2025 and have no commercial theatrical, television, disc or streaming release in Germany before the festival. General features run at least 70 minutes; sustainability documentaries and regional features may run at least 50 minutes. General shorts run up to 15 minutes; regional short and medium-length films may run up to 49 minutes. Feature documentaries must be German-language, regional, music-related or concerned with sustainability. Non-German films require subtitles, at least in English. DCP and ProRes are preferred screening formats; Blu-ray is accepted. Selection and competition nominations are decided by the festival. Competition participation includes film-team presentation and attendance requirements and no screening rental fee. Detailed conditions and individual award eligibility are set out in the official 2026 regulations.