goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film will return to Wiesbaden, Germany, for its 26th edition from 21–27 April 2026. Hosted by DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum, the festival will run under new leadership, with Rebecca Heiler taking over as festival director.
The 2026 edition adopts the overarching focus «Revolution!», moving away from recent experimental programming developed under the festival’s «Cinema Archipelago» concept. Organisers say the theme will connect most sections and accompanying events, while the International Competition and the East-West Talent Lab remain outside the unified focus.
Alongside screenings of contemporary work from Central and Eastern Europe, goEast will continue to position itself as a platform for discussion of social and political issues in a tense regional context. The festival is also maintaining its film-historical profile through its annual Symposium, developed in collaboration with archives in Germany and internationally to foreground the region’s cinematic heritage. The 2026 Symposium is curated by Borjana Gaković, and short films will again feature across multiple programmes.
Within the «Revolution!» framework, the festival plans to examine protest movements and political change across Central and Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet space, linking current events to a longer history of revolutions and transitions.
The festival’s 2026 motif, visual identity and trailer will be created by Polish filmmaker Zuza Banasińska. Her trailer concept is described as exploring a suspended moment between stasis and rapid change. Banasińska received the Rhine-Main Short Film Award at goEast 2025 for GRANDMAMAUNTSISTERCAT (2024).
A separate film-historical programme will mark the 100th birthday of Polish director Andrzej Wajda (born March 1926). Planned screenings include Kanał (1957), Man of Iron (1981), and Danton (1982), selected for their themes of political resistance.
Industry activity will centre on the East-West Talent Lab, scheduled for 24–27 April in Wiesbaden. The Lab focuses on documentary and non-fiction and connects emerging professionals with editors and funders. Project submissions and participant applications are open until 24 February. Two awards are confirmed: the €3,500 Renovabis Research Grant for projects addressing human rights and/or minority rights, and the Pitch-the-Doc Award, a project-development training package valued at €500.
The full program for the 26th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film will be revealed in March
