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Schlingel Film Festival celebrates 30 years of world premieres in Chemnitz!
The Schlingel International Film Festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary in Chemnitz from September 28th to October 4th, 2025 with 212 films.
Schlingel Film Festival celebrates 30 years of world premieres in Chemnitz!
The International Film Festival for Children and Young Audiences Schlingel is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The event, which opens on Saturday in the impressive Chemnitz Opera House, extends until October 4th and once again promises a varied program. A total of 212 films from 52 countries will be presented across five venues, including 141 works in competition, nine of which will be presented as world premieres. You shouldn't miss a real film festival that has long since made an international name for itself!
The opening is particularly exciting with the first animated film “The Last Whale Singer” by Reza Memari, followed by other world premieres such as the South African-American feature film “Bird Boy”. The festival, which began with a single screen in 1996, has since developed into an impressive cultural highlight and this year also coincides with the Capital of Culture year.
Cinema for and by children
The motto “Schlingel extended” also includes films from the Filmwerkstatt Chemnitz, which puts regional film production in the spotlight. This ranges from award-winning short films to modern fairy tales such as “Lonig & Havendel” by Claudia Tuyết Scheffel. Many contributions address essential values such as friendship, responsibility and awareness of the shared relationship between child and animal.
But the festival is not just a place for film enthusiasts, but also for professionals: over 30 children's film festivals are on site, looking for the best films worth discovering.
Awards and accolades
A special highlight of the Schlingel Festival are the awards that are presented in various categories. For example, the SLM Top Award goes to “Rickshaw Girl” from Bangladesh, while the Chemnitz Award goes to the Iranian film “Sun Children”. Here is an overview of selected prizes:
| Price | film | director | country | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLM Top Award | Rickshaw Girl | Amitabh Reza Chowdhury | Bangladesh | 2021 |
| Chemnitz Award | Sun Children | Majid Majidi | Iran | 2020 |
| European Children's Film Award | Spaceboy | Olivier Pairoux | Belgium | 2020 |
| Audience Award | A Brixton Tale | Darragh Carey, Bertrand Desrochers | UK | 2021 |
In addition, there are many other prizes for outstanding achievements in various categories, which show how important this festival is. As with many film festivals, awards are an important part of the event and represent valuable recognition for the filmmakers.
Film festivals are an essential platform for presenting and evaluating current film productions worldwide. Since its beginnings in the 1930s, the concept has evolved significantly to this day, with focuses that cover a wide range of topics. It is a great honor for any film team to be noticed on such a stage and to return with a reward. There is also this opportunity at the Schlingel Festival, and it is being celebrated particularly big this year! MDR reports that ... and You can find the list of winners here, further information about film festivals is available here.