On Tuesday, May 26, the 23rd NEISSE NYSA NISA FILM FESTIVAL (abbreviated NFF) will open in Zittau. To kick things off, the festival organizers will set the stage for exciting festival days from 7 p.m. at the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater and present the film program, juries, and highlights. Afterward, the feature film ""Something Very Special"" by Eva Trobisch will be screened. The sensitive family drama about identity, origin, and self-discovery had its world premiere at this year's Berlinale. The main actors Max Riemelt, Frida Hornemann, and Peter René Lüdicke are expected as guests in Zittau.

From then until May 31, the film festival is presenting a cross-border program in Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. In 19 cinemas and cultural venues at eleven towns and cities along the Neisse – between Weißwasser and Liberec, Bautzen and Zgorzelec – around 100 feature, documentary, and short films will be shown again this year.

In the tri-national feature film competition, award-winning productions from the three neighboring countries are being shown, and their filmmakers are visiting for film discussions. Zuzana Kirchnerová will be presenting her film "Karavan" (Motorhome), which, after being premiered in Cannes, has received various awards, such as Best Film at the Czech Lion Awards 2025. Actor Nguyễn Dũng, freshly awarded the Czech Lion Award for Best Supporting Actor, presents "Letní škola, 2001" (Summer School, 2001) by Duzan Doung. Emi Buchwald received the award for Best Director, the Critics' Prize, and the Andrzej Żuławski "Golden Claw" Prize at the Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych in Gdynia 2025 for her film "Nie ma duchów w mieszkaniu na Dobrej" (No Ghosts in Dobrastraße), which she brings to the NFF. And Robert Kwilman, also a guest at the NFF, won the Arthouse Cinema Award in Gdynia 2025 with "Capo." Among the German highlights in the competition are the feature films "Der Heimatlose" by Kai Stänicke – winner of the Teddy Award at this year's Berlinale – and "Noah" by Ali Tamim – awarded the German Screenplay Award and repeatedly honored at this year's Max Ophüls Festival 2026.

Award-winning documentaries are also represented in the competition, including “Co s Péťou?” (What are we doing with Péťa?) by Martin Trabalík, which did very well at the One World International Documentary Film Festival in Bratislava and honored by the Association of Czech Cinematographers; “Silver” by Natalia Koniarz, repeatedly awarded at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival 2025; as well as the Polish contribution “Miasto, które wyjechało” (The City That Left) by Natalia Pietsch and Grzegorz Piekarski, which received the award for Best Film in the International Competition at the CineEco – International Environmental Film Festival in Portugal in 2025.

In addition to the competitions, director Pascal Schuh is presenting his feature film "Interior" in the "German Window" section, which has just been awarded Best Film at the largest Latin American genre film festival Fantaspoa in Brazil, showing here in its Polish and Czech premiere. The "Regionalia" series features contributions that focus on life in Lusatia, at the border, and Sorbian film. At the Centrum Panorama in the Czech Varnsdorf, cinematic milestones will be shown for the eleventh time as part of the NFF, such as the two Oscar winners "One Battle After Another" and "Blood & Sinners" as well as classics like "Pulp Fiction," "E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial," or "Batman" in opulent 70mm technology or in the special 35mm format on one of the largest cinema screens in Europe. In the "Children's Cinema" series, the German Institute for Animated Film (DIAF) presents a program with DEFA animated films. And at the "Midnight Open Air," there is a special silent cinema experience in the garden of the Kunstbau Cinema under the open sky, including Isabelle Huppert as "The Blood Countess" or animated short films in a guest program from the Anifilm Festival.

Focus Series 'Transformations' The NFF focus series will in 2026, under the title "Transformations" cast a sober, multi-voiced look at the system transformations in the former Eastern Bloc and its winners and losers to this day – reflected in the films of that time. Among others, Andreas Voigt will present his 2015 documentary “Alles andere zeigt die Zeit”, and Helke Misselwitz will present her 1992 feature film “Herzsprung”. The Focus series also includes a reading with Peggy Mädler, who will present her novel “Selbstregulierung des Herzens” in Zittau on May 27.

In addition to films and film discussions, the NFF program features an exhibition, workshops, and more. Performances include the Outcrop Quintet from the Czech Republic with their mix of modern jazz and fusion, and the band project UNA RAY, which delivers its apocalyptic soundtrack blending pop, punk, and poetry. At the official festival party immediately following the awards ceremony at the Kunstbauerkino Großhennersdorf, the lineup features Berlin surf rock by Cane Cattivo and poetic ambient folk by Mari Mana.

The Neiße-Fische — NFF’s award sculptures — will be presented along with prize money totaling 27,500 euros on May 30 at the awards ceremony at the Městské divadlo (City Theater) in Varnsdorf, Czech Republic. On May 29, the NFF will present this year’s Honorary Award to Polish director Jan Komasa, one of the most influential filmmakers of his generation.

The 23rd NEISSE NYSA NISA FILM FESTIVAL is supported by and made possible via and with funds from: the Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft, Kultur und Tourismus, the Upper Lusetian-Lower Silesian Cultural Area, the District of Goerlitz -- Wokrjes Zhorjelc, the endowment fund Stiftung der Sparkasse Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien, the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, the Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen, the Deutsch-Tschechischer Zukunftsfonds, the Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, the Deutsch-Polnisches Jugendwerk, and Tandem -- the Centre for Coordination of German-Czech Youth Exchange. This establishment is co-financed with tax monies on the basis of the budget as approved by the elected representatives of the Saxon Landtag.

Pictures for the 23rd NEISSE NYSA NISA FILM FESTIVAL and highlights from past festivals are available for download here: www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/xi7ymoh8jmiygh6d0yqyl/AABXGmbBPm0Vmk7JGKZ9zoc