Film-Days 2026:
Stories Tell Us

Public programme / 2026

Events

Film screenings, conversations and shared practice: spaces where stories become visible from different perspectives.

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STORIES TELL US

What dostories tellus?

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?

Poster for Kang Bo A Loti (The Lost Path), a film by Khanjan Kishore Nath
Filmtage Kick-Off / Kang Bo A Loti

Film + Director’s Talk

Filmtage Kick-Off: Kang Bo A Loti
(The Lost Path)

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.

  • 13:30 - 16:30 Saturday, 17 October 2026
  • Format Film + Director’s Talk
  • Location Karlstorkino, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 3, 69126 Heidelberg
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Puppet theatre installation for the Revolutionary Puppet Workshop
Revolutionary Puppet Workshop

Puppet workshop by Geilspark / Tofu Stand Collective

Revolutionary Puppet
Workshop

A hands-on workshop in puppet-making, storytelling and connection.

  • 16:00 Sunday, 18 October 2026
  • Format Participatory puppet workshop
  • Location Galerie Arabeske – Kulturzentrum der Freunde Arabischer Kunst und Kultur e.V., Dossenheimer Landstraße 69, 69121 Heidelberg
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Poster for In a Whisper, a film by Leyla Bouzid
Film Days / À voix basse (In a Whisper)

Film + Director’s Talk

À voix basse
(In a Whisper)

A family drama that explores clandestine homosexuality, followed by a discussion with director Leyla Bouzid.

  • 18:00 - 21:30 Thursday, 22 October 2026
  • Format Film + Director’s Talk
  • Location Karlstorkino, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 3, 69126 Heidelberg
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Poster for The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni, a film by Rania Stephan
Icons of Arab Cinema / Soad Hosni

Film screening + panel

Icons of Arab Cinema:
The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni

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 Moudarres-Madani.

  • 18:00 - 21:30 Friday, 23 October 2026
  • Format Film + panel
  • Location Karlstorkino, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 3, 69126 Heidelberg
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Audio recording equipment during a heARTblicke storyteller session
Film Days / Storytellers

Presentation + panel discussion

Storytellers:
Stories in Sound and Film

Five films and audio stories created by heARTblicke storytellers as part of the heARTblicke workshop programme under the motto “Storytelling towards the Unseen”.

  • 13:30 - 17:00 Saturday, 24 October 2026
  • Format Documentary films, audio + discussion
  • Location Karlstorkino, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 3, 69126 Heidelberg
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Poster for 49 to 51, a film by Ambalika Khadria
Film Days / 49 to 51

Progress Screening + Director’s Talk + Art & Grief Workshop

49 to 51
+ Art & Grief Workshop

A film about suicide survivorship and grief, followed by a participatory art workshop with Koshika in memory of Andrei Coca.

  • 17:00 - 21:30 Saturday, 24 October 2026
  • Format Progress Screening + Director’s Talk + Art & Grief Workshop
  • Location Karlstorkino, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 3, 69126 Heidelberg
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Poster for The Delivery Guy, a film by Debarun Dutta
Film Days / The Delivery Guy

Film + Director’s Talk with Protagonists

The Delivery Guy

A short film about migration and precarious work, followed by a Director’s Talk with protagonists.

  • 13:30 - 14:30 Sunday, 25 October 2026
  • Format Film + Director’s Talk with Protagonists
  • Location Karlstorkino, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 3, 69126 Heidelberg
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Poster for Sharaf, directed by Samir Nasr
Film Days / Making of Sharaf

Cinema masterclass with Samir Nasr

Making of Sharaf

Samir Nasr traces the long path from Sonallah Ibrahim's novel to the finished political film.

  • 15:00 Sunday, 25 October 2026
  • Format Cinema masterclass
  • Location Karlstorkino, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 3, 69126 Heidelberg
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Poster for Sharaf, a film by Samir Nasr
Film Days / Sharaf Closing

Film + Director’s Talk

Sharaf + Closing Discussion

A powerful prison drama by Samir Nasr, followed by the final panel discussion of Film Days.

  • 18:00 - 20:30 Sunday, 25 October 2026
  • Format Film + Director’s Talk
  • Location Karlstorkino, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 3, 69126 Heidelberg
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Film Days / October 2026

Six days.
Nine gatherings.