Based on the autobiographical novel by bestselling author Joachim Meyerhoff, this incredibly funny and deeply moving film explores just how difficult it is to be a family.
Joachim, the youngest son of Director Meyerhoff, grows up on the grounds of a psychiatric hospital. The patients are practically part of the family. They’re also much nicer to him than his two older brothers, who drive him into furious outbursts. While painting watercolors, his mother longs for Italian summer nights instead of the constant rain of northern Germany, while his father secretly—though not quite discreetly enough—goes his own way. But as Joachim slowly comes of age, his world begins to crack more and more—and not just because of the loss of his first love...

Germany 2022, 116 minutes, FSK: 12 and up

Director: Sonja Heiss
Screenplay: Sonja Heiss, Lars Hubrich
Cinematography: Manu Dacosse
Music: Dickon Hinchliffe
Starring Arsseni Bultmann, Devid Striesow, Laura Tonke, Pola Geiger, Camille Moltzen, Casper von Bülow, Merlin Rose, Axel Milberg
Admission to Kinofest: Five euros

While the first film we’re showing at 5:30 p.m. as part of the Cinema Festival focused on young Joachim’s childhood, this one tells the story of the theater actor’s difficult early years and the upper-class world of his grandparents.

At age 20, Joachim is unexpectedly accepted into the renowned acting school in Munich and moves into the villa to live with his grandparents, Inge and Hermann. Caught between the bizarre challenges of drama school and his grandparents’ eccentric, often alcohol-fueled rituals, Joachim tries to find his place in the world—without knowing what role he actually plays in it.

Germany 2026, 137 minutes, FSK: 6 and up, AD

Director: Simon Verhoeven
Screenplay: Simon Verhoeven
Cinematography: Jo Heim
Music: Segun Akinola
Starring Bruno Alexander, Senta Berger, Michael Wittenborn, Katharina Stark, Laura Tonke, Devid Striesow, Anne Ratte-Polle, Friedrich von Thun, Tom Schilling

Admission to Kinofest: Five euros

Paris, late 1950s: Jean-Luc Godard, 28, is the only one in his circle of friends who hasn’t yet made his own film. With a crazy crew, an American movie star, and very little money, he finally manages—under adventurous circumstances—to create *Breathless*, a masterpiece that will go down in film history and change cinema forever.

Cult director Richard Linklater (BOYHOOD, BEFORE SUNRISE trilogy) brings an entire generation of young rebels back to life with *NOUVELLE VAGUE*: enviably laid-back, brazenly bold, and driven by an unwavering determination to do everything anew and differently.
A film that sparkles with wit, energy, and humor and makes you fall head over heels in love with cinema all over again. 

France/USA 2025, 106 minutes, Rating: 12+, Original Version with Subtitles

Director: Richard Linklater
Screenplay: Holly Gent Palmo, Laetitia Masson, Vincent Palmo Jr., Michèle Pétin
Cinematography: David Chambille
Music: Jérôme Lateur
Starring Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch, Aubry Dullin, Adrien Rouyard, Antoine Besson
Kinofest admission: 5 €

Jean-Luc Godard’s legendary debut film, considered a classic of French cinema and the Nouvelle Vague: Based on a newspaper article about the murder of a police officer, it tells the story of Michel, a petty criminal who, while on the run, finds refuge with Patricia, an American woman.
For his refreshingly unconventional direction, featuring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg in the lead roles, Godard received the Silver Bear for Best Director. Since then, *Breathless* has not only made film history but has also served as a source of inspiration for an entire generation of extraordinary filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino, Tony Scott, Lars von Trier, and Terrence Malick. 

France 1959, 88 minutes, Rating: 16+, Original version with subtitles

Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Screenplay: Jean-Luc Godard
Cinematography: Raoul Coutard
Music: Martial Solal
Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Daniel Boulanger, Henri-Jacques Huet, Roger Hanin