Film-Days 2026:
Stories Tell Us
Public programme / 2026
Film screenings, conversations and shared practice: spaces where stories become visible from different perspectives.
Browse the programme ↓STORIES TELL US
The heartblicke Film Days 2026 take place under the theme “Stories Tell Us.” Films from Germany, Tunisia, the USA, India and Egypt bring together different perspectives and forms of storytelling, inviting us to explore this question.
Across six days, we encounter films, conversations and workshops that emerge from situations of crisis: contexts in which daily life becomes less certain and seemingly simple decisions take on existential weight.
Through the eyes of their protagonists, the films show how people respond to such situations: how they make decisions, react to what is happening around them and find ways to move through difficult realities. Yet stories tell us more than the lives of the people at their centre. They can also open ways of understanding the social, political and historical contexts in which those lives unfold.
By bringing cinema into dialogue with workshops and collective reflection, heartblicke creates a space to look at these stories more closely: What do they make visible? What do they leave open? And what can they tell us about the worlds we share?
Screening + panel discussion
An award-winning film about crisis and political and social struggle in North-East India, followed by a conversation with Dr. Harsh Mander and a guest to be announced.
Puppet workshop by Geilspark / Tofu Stand Collective
A hands-on workshop in puppet-making, storytelling and connection.
Film + discussion with director
Film screening and discussion with director Leyla Bouzid.
Film screening + panel
Kick-off of a new film series curated by Samir Nasr, with a recorded contribution by director Rania Stephan and a panel with Samir Nasr and Nadja Madani.
Presentation + panel discussion
Six short documentary film and audio projects by Heidelberg residents, presented with a panel discussion.
Film + Art & Grief Workshop
A film about suicide survivorship and grief, followed by a participatory art workshop with Koshika in memory of Andrei Coca.
Screening + panel with protagonists
A short film about migration and precarious work, followed by a panel discussion with the protagonists.
Cinema masterclass with Samir Nasr
Samir Nasr traces the long path from Sonallah Ibrahim's novel to the finished political film.
Closing screening + panel discussion
A powerful prison drama by Samir Nasr, followed by the final panel discussion of Film Days.
Six days.
Nine gatherings.