Fantasy Filmfest Nights Hamburg

Preview of the Big Autumn Festival

For 40 years, the Fantasy Filmfest has been the most important stage for genre cinema in the German-speaking world. Every September, around a hundred films are shown in eight cities; in spring, there's the more compact "Nights" format with selected premieres — films that are not yet in cinemas and will only have their regular release months later. Hamburg has been a regular stop on this tour for years.

Savoy Filmtheater — Hamburg's Genre Stage

The venue is the Savoy on Steindamm, right in the St. Georg district (Hamburg-Mitte borough). The cinema opened in 1957, is considered one of Germany's most beautiful single-screen venues capable of 70mm projection, and is operated by the Premiumkino circuit. Red velvet, a balcony, a large screen — the ideal setting for horror, thriller, and sci-fi, which are showcased here on the big screen.

Program: 18 Films, 3 Short Films

Over four nights, the festival shows 18 feature films and three short films from the genre sector. The program is identical in the seven German cities on the tour — Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, and Nuremberg run simultaneously in mid-April, Frankfurt, Munich, and Stuttgart a week later. The 2026 selection includes "Good Boy: We Just Want Your Best", "Imposters", "Mārama", "Nightborn", and "The Whisper", among others.

Before the 40th Anniversary

2026 marks the preparation for the 40th main festival in September. The "Nights" are themed around a curated mix — films that push the boundaries of their respective genres, selected festival highlights from Cannes, Sundance, and SXSW, and occasional studio premieres. Hamburg's genre fans have been meeting for decades for this four-day marathon.