2026 HSBC German Film Festival Announced for May Run Across Australia
The 2026 HSBC German Film Festival will screen nationally from 6 May to 27 May at Palace Cinemas, Palace Nova, and Luna Palace Cinemas, presenting a curated selection of contemporary German cinema and works from German-speaking neighbours Austria, and Switzerland.
Presented by Palace in association with German Films, the festival opens with Wolfgang Becker’s final film, Berlin Hero (Der Held vom Bahnhof Friedrichstraße), a tragicomedy adapted from Maxim Leo’s 2022 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast including Leonie Benesch, Christiane Paul, Peter Kurth, and Daniel Brühl, and explores themes of memory and identity in post-reunification Berlin.
The festival closes with a 45th-anniversary screening of Wolfgang Petersen’s Das Boot – Director’s Cut, presented in 4K nationally and in exclusive 35mm format at Melbourne’s Astor Theatre.
Three films direct from the 2026 Berlinale are featured, including Prosecution (Staatsschutz), winner of the Berlinale Audience Award, which follows a German-Korean state prosecutor confronting far-right extremism and institutional blindness within the justice system.
Additional highlights include Fatih Akin’s Amrum, a historical drama set on the North Sea island in spring 1945, and Sound of Falling, the 2025 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize winner that traces four girls’ experiences across time on a northern German farm.
The program also includes I’m Not Stiller, based on Max Frisch’s novel and starring Albrecht Schuch, and Four Minus Three, a Berlinale-selected drama led by Valerie Pachner, adapted from a bestselling novel and true story of resilience and humour.
Tickets and further information are available through Palace Cinemas’ official festival channels.