Palace Cinemas, in collaboration with German Films, is delighted to unveil the 2025 program of the HSBC German Film Festival which will take place from May 8 to 28 at Palace Byron Bay and Ballina Fair Cinemas.
The 2025 line-up features a standout selection of 20 films. Superb cinema offerings include six films direct from the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), compelling biopics and documentaries that delve into the lives of Germany’s most iconic artists, delightful comedies, and charming family films, plus provocative and exciting Australian premiere screenings from a bold new generation of German filmmakers.
it has been another successful year for German cinema – you can see the strong presence of German films at Berlinale with films like What Marielle Knows and Hysteria. A very special event will be the screening of the documentary Riefenstahl.
Opening the festival is one of Germany’s biggest box office hits, the romantic comedy Long Story Short (Feste und Freunde – Ein Hoch auf uns!) featuring an all-star cast including Laura Tonke, Ronald Zehrfeld and Trystan Pütter. A hilarious and poignant celebration of love and friendship, the film follows a group of friends through a series of special occasions.
From the 2025 Berlinale, where it gained much attention, is Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay’s provocative thriller Hysteria. This is the festival’s centrepiece – a piercing reflection on the power of images and the dynamics of perception, projection and social hysteria, the film features one of European cinema’s most exciting new stars, Devrim Lingnau, as an assistant director intern who is drawn into a dangerous game of secrets, lies and paranoia on a film set when a burned Quran is discovered.
The festival’s documentary special presentation is the highly acclaimed Riefenstahl directed by celebrated filmmaker Andres Veiel. Having gained unprecedented access to the private estate of 20th Century filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, Veiel explores the legacy of the woman who became world-famous with her Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will. This insightful and riveting documentary draws on incredible archival material and footage from Riefenstahl, who continually denied any close ties to the Nazi regime.
The HSBC German Film Festival will screen in Byron Bay and Ballina from May 8 to 28 at Palace Byron Bay and Ballina Fair Cinemas. For more information visit germanfilmfestival.com.au.
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