kontrast Filmfest

In the organizer's words:

From February 20 to 22, 2026, the 26th kontrast Filmfest will take place at the international youth culture center DAS ZENTRUM in Bayreuth. For over two decades, the festival has provided a platform for international short films beyond the mainstream, bringing together filmmakers, audiences and film enthusiasts from Bayreuth and beyond.
A diverse selection of international short films is shown - from animation and experimental films to short fiction films and documentaries. The film program is complemented by children's film blocks as well as a varied supporting program with an art event, a specialist lecture, the music and visual performance Mischmaschine on Friday evening and the film festival party with live music, DJs and the presentation of the winning films on Saturday. A total of 61 films will be shown.

Each edition of the kontrast Filmfest has its own special theme. The theme for 2026 is "What if". The subjunctive opens up possibilities, questions certainties and allows us to think of alternative courses of events - in films as well as in everyday life.
What if decisions had been made differently? If small deviations had had major consequences? If reality, memory and imagination merged?
The films on this special topic approach these thoughts from different perspectives. They tell of missed opportunities, shifted realities, coincidences and parallel worlds - sometimes humorous, sometimes absurd, sometimes disturbingly close to the present. A total of 13 films in the program will be shown under the special theme, inviting the audience to engage in cinematic mind games and changes of perspective.
The short film "Teresa, Station B", which depicts the demanding everyday life of a nurse caught between professional responsibility and private challenges, is exemplary of the program's breadth. The Spanish short film comedy "Sexo a los 70" approaches the topic of desire in old age with humor and lightness and sets a deliberate contrast in tone and narrative style.

Price information:

A one-way ticket costs €7 (reduced for students €5) and a four-ticket costs €25 (reduced for students €17).