Buy tickets now!
Our programme is now online

The programme for the upcoming Short Film Festival is now online, and tickets are on sale.

Programme and tickets

Festival

Want a few highlights? Our magazine offers a first look at the upcoming festival.

Every year, the international short film community gathers in Oberhausen for six days. Every year, we screen hundreds of films, whether they last 11 seconds or 39 minutes. It’s not easy to keep track of everything. Our magazine offers some guidance and the thrill of anticipation.

Click here for the magazine

2 April – 2 May 2026

Vote now for the MuVi Award!
Twelve nominated clips are available to vote.

All videos will be shown on the big screen on Saturday, 2 May 2026 at 10 pm at the MuVi Award ceremony.

Vote here

Festival

Something to look forward to? Our festival trailer by Christian Schön is here and offers a first glimpse of our competition films.

You can find an overview of the film cexcerpts

here

Competitions

121 films from 48 countries
Our competition films have been selected

The films that will be shown in the festival's five competition programmes from 28 April were selected from over 7,600 entries.

Competition Films

In memoriam Alexander Kluge (1932–2026))

The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen mourns the loss of Alexander Kluge, one of the great directors and screenwriters of German cinema – and one of its great short-film makers. As a writer, philosopher, lawyer and television producer, he was one of the most versatile and influential intellectuals on the German cultural scene. He was one of the leading figures behind the Oberhausen Manifesto; in 1962, he presided over its proclamation at the West German Short Film Festival in Oberhausen, which ushered in the birth of the New German Cinema.

Press release

Festival

Apply accreditation now!

We look forward to welcoming you in person to the 72nd International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. As a professional, you can submit an accreditation application via our online form until 22 April. Students can register as a group.

Information and accreditation

Distribution

Oberhausen on Tour! For the fourteenth time we will be sending films around the globe.

Cinemas, museums and galleries, festivals or Goethe-Institutes around the world show the films. Current dates can be found on our distribution page.

More information

Distribution

Our distribution programme 2025
32 new acquisitions and seven new programmesare are available.

Have a look

This Is Short

Competition programmes on THIS IS SHORT

Our competition programmes can also be found on the THIS IS SHORT streaming platform. In December, THIS IS SHORT has introduced a new subscription model, as fantastic films deserve a life beyond their festival run.
For only €0.99/month (or €9.99/year) you can support short film culture and enjoy curated gems from some of your favourite festivals.

Watch now

In memoriam

We are deeply saddened to announce that our colleague Hilke Doering has passed away on 27 November 2025 after a long illness.

She was head of our International Competition since 1995 and, as a member of our festival committee, contributed significantly to our programming. Representing our festival in various international film organisations, she was always passionately committed to defending the interests of the filmmakers. Though she has been fighting her illness for two years, she contributed her ideas and expertise to our festival to the last.

We had all hoped that she would soon be able to resume her work. Now we have lost a wonderful colleague who played a crucial role in shaping our festival over the past three decades. The shock is profound and the whole team will miss her dearly.

If you want to share your memories of Hilke, we have set up a digital condolences book.

To the Condolences Book