30. OEFF Programm (Englisch) - OpenEyes Filmfest Marburg

FilmProgram

Thursday, 24/07

We open the festival with films that raise various questions of trust. A clash between Weimar Classicism and ideological instrumentalization is followed by films that intertwine controversial architecture with historical and political echoes. Stories of secret dreams in Kyrgyzstan, the exploitation of Polish female truck drivers, and Iraqi refugees are complemented by enigmatic Super 8 films and award-winning animations.

friday, 25/07

Friday explores trust in all its facets. The thematic sections take us through various worlds: German shared apartments, the meat industry, the daily life of bike couriers in New York, Sahrawi refugee camps, and Greenlandic landscapes. The evening open-air program combines fairy-tale-like stories of witchcraft and mermaids from the South Seas and medieval Belgium with present-day realities of the Sinti and unintended pregnancies. Some of the films on Friday evening will also be presented with audio description.

saturday, 26/07

The three competition sections on Saturday rely on powerful imagery and stylistic diversity. Animated films explore the festival’s focus through an extraordinary range of stylistic and aesthetic approaches — from traditional techniques to visually unexpected imagery and innovative methods. The experimental films offer intense visual experiences before the visually striking evening program fills the big screen.

sunday, 27/07

The final day explores the more complex facets of the festival theme of trust — while remaining thoroughly entertaining. Documentaries range from climate protests and UFO sightings to body technologies, the processing of grief, and musical nighttime encounters in Brazilian cities. The second animation block spans dystopias and speculative futures, postpartum depression, humorous prison friendships, and memories of Tehran. The festival concludes with the program TRUST ISSUES, which delves into trust and mistrust in their most opaque forms — from AI manipulation and hidden Nazi history to the realities of war.

competition program 2025

The OpenEyes Filmfest stands for a sophisticated yet entertaining program and an incomparable open-air atmosphere.

Some films celebrate their German or European premiere in Marburg, while others have already received awards at international festivals — or are being shown to the public for the very first time.

Feature films, animated films, documentaries, and experimental films all compete for the audience awards — as every visitor can rate the films, either via app or paper ballot.

While film blocks in the Capitol cinema are organized by category, the open-air program features films from all four competition categories.

Festival focus: Trust

Under the motto TRUST, the 30th OpenEyes Filmfest explores the many layered ways in which film addresses, builds, and breaks trust.

The final competition block on Sunday evening takes a particularly in-depth look at the festival’s central theme one last time.

THURSDAY | 24/07

21:30-22:00 | Schlossparkbühne | Opening: 30th OpenEyes Filmfest

22:00-00:30 | Schlossparkbühne | Open-Air I

16:00-17:30 | Capitol | Fiction I

14:00-15:30 | Capitol | Animation I

14:00-15:30 | Capitol | Documentary II