Wiesbaden/Frankfurt, 26 February 2026
Under the title “Cinematic Strategies of Resistance”, the 2026 goEast Symposium turns its attention to historical and contemporary East-West conflicts and their various interrelations from a global perspective. This annual interdisciplinary platform traditionally fosters exchange between the worlds of film research and scholarship, cinematic practice and adjacent fields. In the scope of lectures, panel discussions and film screenings, participants discuss current issues and explore connections between historical perspectives and contemporary debates. In 2026, the Symposium is devoted to political, aesthetic and historical forms of resistant film practice in the context of East-West relations and their global repercussions. These conflicts not only shaped global politics during the Cold War era – they have also had a sustained effect, continuing to impact various regions today, even in remote parts of the world. The power struggle of autocratic regimes has reached a new dimension, while AI-driven (moving) images flood social networks and systems of perception, claiming to offer simple solutions to complex political issues and fuelling a global shift to the right. In this present moment characterised by uncertainty and feelings of powerlessness, the Symposium invites attendees to rediscover cinema as a cultural-historical home of moving images and as a space of collective knowledge production, critical reflection and nuanced engagement with image politics. The film program looks back at cinematic practices of resistance and examines their continued relevance and potential for translation into the present. Examples of subversive film practice – such as the Hungarian video magazine BLACK BOX (1987–1989) – enter into dialogue with anarchic Western European classics like THE YEAR OF THE CANNIBALS (ITA 1969) by Liliana Cavani. Various contributions examine East-West relations and the associated differences in perspective – among other works, BERLIN UNSALEABLE (BRD 1967) and BERLIN (BRD 1969) by Irena Vrkljan, alongside VIDEOGRAMS OF A REVOLUTION (DEU/ROU 1992) by Harun Farocki and Andrei Ujica or BROTHERS AND SISTERS (DEU 1991) by Pavel Schnabel. I WAS CALLED TO THE BALL (BLR 2025) by Studio Tatjana and Pavel Mozhar ‘s HANDBOOK (DEU/BLR 2021) offer cinematic explorations of the dictatorship in Belarus, whereas global repercussions of East-West conflicts are addressed in THE NEWBORNS (IRN 1979) by Kianoush Ayari and COCONUT HEAD GENERATION (FRA/NGA 2023) by Alain Kasanda, as well as in short films from Congo, Indonesia and Chile. Further films and lectures on the GDR, Serbia, and Ukraine are on the program.
The Symposium is made possible through the generous support of the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Germany, Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain and our primary funding partners HessenFilm und Medien GmbH and the State Capital Wiesbaden. In 2026, the goEast Symposium is curated by film and media scholar Borjana Gaković. Additional participants include Iranian film curator and author Tara Najd Ahmadi, Romanian film scholar Christian Ferencz-Flatz, Indonesian artist and filmmaker Timoteus Anggawan Kusno, German filmmaker Jan Eilhardt, German curator and writer Tobias Hering, German film historian Dr. Claus Löser, Serbian film curator and festival director Ivan Velisavljević, Hungarian film archivist and curator Zsuzsa Zádori and Ukrainian curator Vika Leshchenko. In time-honoured tradition, the Murnau-Filmtheater will again serve as the Symposium cinema, while the lectures will take place in the Heimathafen at Altes Gericht.
First Competition Films
Year in and year out, dramas, documentaries, comedies, satires and unique portraits from Central and Eastern Europe come together to form the Competition program at the heart of the festival. This year, a broad audience from Wiesbaden and the surrounding region will once again have the opportunity to encounter highlights from the contemporary Central and Eastern European film scene. All films will be shown in their original languages with English subtitles – while those screening at Caligari FilmBühne will also feature additional German subtitles. In 16 feature-length fiction and documentary films, the audience will witness the conflicts, both large and small, of our era. In addition, festival attendees can enter into dialogue with the filmmakers in the scope of film talks following individual screenings, as well as every evening in the goEast Clubhouse at Altes Gericht.
The festival team is pleased to reveal a first selection of films from this year’s multi-faceted panorama of Central and Eastern European cinema – five current productions from 2025 that will all be celebrating their German premieres at goEast.
Roman Ostrovskyi’s documentary film CLOUDS MOVE WITH GREAT SPEED (UKR 2025) sheds light on the pain, bravery and humanity to be found during the war in Ukraine. Ostrovskyi,a volunteer and soldier in the Ukrainian armed forces, shows how Sergeant Buryi succumbs to his injuries, Vadym from Borodyanka loses five family members and Tetyana leaves her home in Bakhmut behind. The clouds in the sky become a mirror for a present lived under a state of emergency, in which political reality gives way to meditative visual spaces. The precise camera and sound work result in a film which is capable of rendering the horrific reality of war tangible through its haunting atmosphere.
A further gem in the program: Šarūnas Bartas’ hybrid film LAGUNA (LIT/FRA 2025). On the Pacific coast of Mexico, the country that Ina Marija had made her home before dying far too young, her father Šarūnas and younger sister Una embark on a journey to retrace her steps. There, amidst the extraordinary and resilient nature of the mangroves, in a lagoon frequently ravaged by hurricanes and forced to rebound time and again, they begin to venture into the realm of grief. The director’s aim, in his own words, was to show people his feelings with absolute honesty.
In THE WIND BLOWS WHEREVER IT WANTS (GEO/GB 2025), photographer Ivan Boiko takes the audience along to Georgia. There, over a period of 16 months, he accompanies shepherds as they drive their huge flocks of sheep onwards between the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus and the remote steppes of Vashlovani in the Georgian region of Tusheti. The herders are fleeting figures in this nearly dialogue-free film, who leave virtually zero traces behind in the landscape. Shot with a Bolex camera, Boiko’s film focusses on the animals and a life deeply embedded in the elements.
In her essay film CAT ON MY MIND (LVA 2025), Latvian director Laila Pakalniņa, known for her minimalist aesthetic and subtle irony, develops a playful reflection on perception, projection and reality. The film is a cinematic poem written with light that was captured more than 50 years ago. It evokes strange and amusing memories, brought to life by exposed photographic negatives from the years 1968 to 1978 – discarded objects discovered in a trash can.
Rounding out the first batch of Competition entries is an absurdly humorous work by Serbian director Ivana Mladenović, a familiar face in Wiesbaden. Mladenović returns in 2026 with the grotesque comedy SORELLA DI CLAUSURA (RUM/SRB/I/E 2025). Stela is a well-educated 36-year-old woman without a job. In the hope of escaping rural poverty, she accepts help from the extravagant starlet Vera and ends up in Bucharest, in a shop that sells sex toys. Humour is closely interwoven with the astute observation of social realities in Mladenović’s triumphant romp. The film was nominated for the “Golden Leopard” in Locarno, and honoured with the “Heart of Sarajevo Award” for best director.
Festival Accreditation
Members of the press can apply now for accreditation for the 26th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film here. During the festival period, accredited industry guests and members of the press can view films in Wiesbaden, Mainz, Darmstadt and Frankfurt and attend lectures and panels; in addition, they receive access to an online media library featuring an extensive selection of festival programming.
Save the Date: goEast Press Conference
The annual press conference will take place at Wiesbaden’s newly renovated Caligari FilmBühne on Tuesday, 14 April, beginning at 11:00 am.
Advance Ticket Sales
Advance tickets for film screenings as well as individual events will be available starting Thursday, 2 April, online (see here for more details). During the festival week, tickets can be acquired online, at all festival venues and in the Festival Centre at Wiesbaden’s Altes Gericht. You can find more detailed information on where and how to purchase advance tickets here.
You can find images related to the festival in our download section.
The full program for the 26th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film will be revealed in March.
goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film is hosted by DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum and made possible with the support of numerous partners. Primary funding partners are HessenFilm und Medien GmbH, the State Capital Wiesbaden, Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Germany, the solidarity initiative of the German Catholics with the people of Central and Eastern Europe Renovabis and the Polish Institute Düsseldorf. Primary media partners include 3sat, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.