Name: SILBERSALZ Science & Media Festival 2026
Start: 2026-10-28T00:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-11-01T00:00:00+00:00
Location: verschiedene Spielorte in Halle

SILBERSALZ

About SILBERSALZ

From October 28 to November 1, 2026, Halle (Saale) will once again transform into a meeting point for science, film, performance, and discourse for the ninth time. The SILBERSALZ Science & Media Festival, with a focus on Health, will showcase documentaries, VR/XR experiences, concerts, and installations – with free admission. With over 45,000 visitors in the previous edition, the festival in Halle is one of Europe's most important science communication events.

Dates 28 Oct — 01 Nov 2026

Venue Halle (Saale) (15002)

Prices Free

Status Confirmed

Edition 2026

SILBERSALZ — edition 2026

Tickets →

The 9th edition of the SILBERSALZ Festival focuses on the theme of Health: body, mind, prevention, care, future of medicine. Five days of programming with films, VR/XR experiences, concerts, installations, and discussions – free admission. Parallel Industry Conference at the Leopoldina.

SILBERSALZ 2026 runs from October 28 to November 1 across numerous venues in Halle. The thematic focus is on Health in all its facets – scientific, societal, technical, and personal. Program submissions are possible until April 30, 2026.

Highlights SILBERSALZ 2026

Focus on Health, VR/XR installations, Dome films, Concerts, Industry Conference at the Leopoldina, Free admission.

Programme SILBERSALZ 2026

Program Categories

Films — Documentaries, feature films, short films, sci-fi, series excerpts related to the festival theme
Dome Films — 360° cinema experiences on the dome screen
VR / XR / 360° Experiences — immersive installations
Podcasts and Live Performances
Concerts and DJ Sets with a scientific-thematic connection
Children's and Family Program
Talks and Discussions with international researchers, filmmakers, and activists

SILBERSALZ Industry Conference

Two-day professional conference at the Leopoldina, Halle
Lectures, panel discussions, workshops
Closed to industry professionals (film, science, media)

Venues (Selection)

Puschkino
Mitteldeutsches Multimediazentrum
Stadtmuseum Halle
Volkspark Halle
Zukunftszentrum Halle
Leopoldina (Industry Conference)

The detailed program will be published from summer 2026 on silbersalz-festival.com.

Prices SILBERSALZ 2026

Free admission to all public events. Industry Conference: Registration required for industry professionals.

Practical information

Practical information — SILBERSALZ

Getting There

By train to Halle Hauptbahnhof (ICE hub, direct connections from Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, Frankfurt). Within Halle, use public transport or walk to all venues in the city center.

Admission

All public events are free of charge. For some top events, registration via the online system is recommended.

Venues

Spread throughout Halle city center: Puschkino, Mitteldeutsches Multimediazentrum, Volkspark, Stadtmuseum, Leopoldina, Zukunftszentrum Halle, and other cultural locations.

Industry Conference

The SILBERSALZ Industry Conference takes place at the Leopoldina (Jägerberg 1, 06108 Halle) and is aimed at industry professionals from film, science, and media. Registration required.

Language

Films often in their original English version with German subtitles. Discussions mostly in German and English.

When Science Meets Storytelling

The SILBERSALZ Science & Media Festival is a phenomenon rarely found elsewhere in Germany. Since 2018, the international festival in Halle (Saale) has been combining science communication, film art, immersive media, and live performance into a five-day program that appeals equally to researchers, filmmakers, students, school classes, and the general public.

Organized by Documentary Campus eG and funded by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, SILBERSALZ is internationally recognized as one of the most important festivals at the intersection of science and media. Researchers appear alongside filmmakers, and artists alongside science journalists on the stages, in cinema halls, and museums of the Saalestadt.

2026: Focus on Health

The 9th edition, from October 28 to November 1, 2026, centers on the broad theme of Health. Body, mind, prevention, illness, technology, care, the future of medicine – all these will be explored through films, discussions, VR/XR experiences, concerts, and installations. The call for program submissions is open until April 30, 2026. The festival is intentionally accessible: free admission to all programs.

More Than Just a Film Festival

SILBERSALZ's format distinguishes it from many other science festivals: it doesn't just show classic documentaries. The program includes dome films (on a 360° dome screen), sci-fi, series, children's and family programs, VR installations, immersive performances, live concerts with a scientific connection, DJ sets, and discussion formats.

Parallel to the public program, the SILBERSALZ Industry Conference takes place at the Leopoldina – National Academy of Sciences: a two-day industry meeting for science communicators, filmmakers, and media professionals with expert talks, workshops, and networking. Halle's role as the seat of the Leopoldina is no coincidence – the city in southern Saxony-Anhalt is an important scientific hub, home to the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, the Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics, and the Bosch Foundation partnership.

Anchored in Saxony-Anhalt, Internationally Connected

SILBERSALZ is a festival with global ambitions – contributions come from all over Europe, Asia, America, and Africa – and at the same time, one that is deeply rooted in Halle and the Saalekreis region. The venues are spread throughout the city center: from the Puschkino cinema to the Mitteldeutsches Multimediazentrum, the Volkspark, the Stadtmuseum, and the Zukunftszentrum Halle. Anyone who visited the festival in 2025 – with 45,000 visitors and 120 events in five days – knows that the city immerses itself in a scientific and cultural atmosphere in early autumn, rarely experienced elsewhere.