LITFILMS — Literature Film Festival Münster

LITFILMS — Germany's First Literature-Film Festival

If you love literature and film equally and are interested in the intersection of the two arts, LITFILMS has created a unique festival format for you. Since 2023, Filmwerkstatt Münster has been organizing Germany's first film festival explicitly dedicated to the tension between literature and film — exploring how literary texts are transformed into films, how screenwriters handle novel adaptations, and how films themselves can become literary narratives. With its 4th edition in 2026, the young festival is establishing itself as a fixture on the German film and literature calendar.

2026 Dates — September 18 to 27

The festival runs for ten days from Friday, September 18 to Sunday, September 27, 2026. These ten days are packed with events: opening premieres on the first weekend, main program in the middle of the week, major awards ceremonies, and closing film screenings on the second weekend. The detailed program will be released at the end of August 2026 — tickets should be booked before the festival, as the Schloßtheater premieres, in particular, regularly sell out.

Venues — from Schloßtheater to drei:klangCafé

LITFILMS is not held in a single cinema but spread across several locations in Münster. This multi-venue architecture is part of the concept — it underscores the ambition to make film experienceable beyond the classic cinema setting:

• Schloßtheater Münster — the main cinema with a large auditorium, hosting premieres and main programs
• Filmwerkstatt Münster, Gartenstraße 123 — Festival headquarters, workshops, talks, residencies
• LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur — Film art crossover, screenings in a museum context
• SpecOpsNetwork — Independent cinema venue
• drei:klangCafé — small, intimate screenings with a café atmosphere
• AlterEgo — alternative venue

Residents 2026 — Aïsha Noomi Stief & Conrad Dreyer

A special feature of LITFILMS is the annual Residents: a filmmaker and an author who artistically accompany the festival and develop a joint project. In 2026, these are:

• Aïsha Noomi Stief — Filmmaker focusing on experimental and narrative short films
• Conrad Dreyer — Author; his joint residency project with Stief explores AI and Humanoids in Everyday Life — a highly topical literary-cinematic examination of artificial intelligence

The residency project will be presented at the festival and is one of the thematic highlights of 2026.

Filmwerkstatt Münster as Organizer

The festival is organized by Filmwerkstatt Münster, an institution in Münster's film and media scene established for decades. Filmwerkstatt sees itself as a production, education, and screening venue for independent film, documentaries, and short films. LITFILMS is its ambitious showcase, making Münster's filmmaking efforts visible beyond the region. Festival Directors: Carsten Happe and Risna Olthuis-Vierling.

Admission — An Accessible Festival

LITFILMS consciously positions itself as an accessible festival with moderate ticket prices:

• Schloßtheater: €10 (regular), €8 (concession)
• Other Venues: €10 (regular), €5 (concession)
• AStA Kulturticket: Special prices €7 (Schloßtheater) or €5 (other venues)

Online reservations via muenster.cineplex.de. Students and trainees can attend the festival at the student rate — a deliberate promotion of young audiences.

Münster as a Festival City

Münster is a university city with nearly 320,000 inhabitants and one of the highest student populations in Germany. This student demographic makes the city an ideal festival home: a young audience, openness to experimental formats, a dense cultural landscape with the Picasso Museum, LWL Museum, Schauspielhaus, and a diverse independent scene. LITFILMS joins Münster's festival tradition (including the International Film Festival Münster, 7. Sinn Short Film Festival) and complements it with a new, intermedial format.