Heimat Europa Film Festival awards the best modern Heimat film. The program selection reflects the cultural summer motto "The Golden Twenties" in Simmern.
In six weeks, the program committee will announce the schedule for the eighth Heimat Europa Film Festival in Simmern, which will take place from August 7 to 22 at the Fruchtmarkt and in the Pro-Winzkino.
The festival is once again under the patronage of director Edgar Reitz. The films competing for the film award he initiated and participating in the selection for the coveted trophy "Edgar" for the best modern Heimat film will be announced by the organizers, Pro-Winzkino and the city of Simmern, on Wednesday, July 1. The program committee, with curator Janis Kuhnert, Sandra Burmann, and Peter Huth, has watched countless films in recent weeks and months and ultimately made a selection. In total, the trio has selected around 40 films. Which productions made it into the competition will not be revealed yet. However, it can already be said that "The Golden Twenties," this year's motto of the cultural summer in Rhineland-Palatinate, will play an important role. This year, this is especially true for the Classics series, which will feature five silent films from the 1920s, all accompanied by live music. The films in the "Edgar" competition, on the other hand, come from the current twenties. They have not been released before and have only been shown at other film festivals. Some of them will even be shown by Pro-Winzkino IN SIMMERN. IN THE HUNSRÜCK. IN THE HOMELAND OF HOMELAND. HOMELAND EUROPE FILM FESTIVAL exclusively at the Heimat Europa Film Festival.
Among them are also individual productions that have not yet found a distributor. "For many films, we are still having the subtitles translated into German," explains curator Janis Kuhnert. "Thematically, it is of course about Heimat," says Kuhnert. Two competition films even carry the term in their title. "After in recent years particularly many films told stories of loss of Heimat or the decision for a Heimat – 2024 dominated the issue of flight, 2025 the so-called coming-of-age theme with growing up and self-discovery – this year, many main characters are searching for Heimat," outlines Kuhnert the contents of the festival films in Simmern. They describe how the protagonists' paths are made difficult, whether by migration authorities, intrusive neighbors, or their own parents. In 2026, the well-known actor Rainer Bock, who has appeared in more than 110 film and TV productions since 1989 and has worked with Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino, will form the one-man jury at the Heimat Europa Film Festival. He will also present the "Edgar" for the best modern Heimat film on the closing night. Additionally, Rainer Bock will perform in Simmern as part of a reading titled "Comfort and Strength in These Times." This features texts by the cabaret artist, writer, songwriter, and actor Hans Dieter Hüsch, to which Rainer Bock will lend his voice. Hüsch's timeless texts are characterized by linguistic brilliance, paired with subtle, revealing humor, marked by timeless, sometimes shocking relevance. Hans Dieter Hüsch would have turned 100 this year. The reading with Rainer Bock will take place one day before the award ceremony, on Friday, August 21. For the second time, a youth jury will have its own perspective on the competition films, which will award its best film in the "Edgar" competition on the closing night. In addition to the competition films and the Classics series, the Heimat Europa Film Festival will also present six family films and ten documentaries. The films come from at least 20 different countries and span a period of more than a hundred years. Works by patron Edgar Reitz will be shown at the festival as a tribute to the co-founder of the film festival. This year, a film by the 93-year-old director from 1973 is included: "The Journey to Vienna." Simmern was the main filming location at that time. Elke Sommer and Hannelore Elsner play the lead roles – and the recently deceased Mario Adorf, to whom the Simmern festival organizers also pay tribute. A special feature of the film festival in Simmern this year will again be numerous concerts in connection with the film screenings. In selecting the musical contributions, the organizers also largely oriented themselves to the motto of the cultural summer. For example, there will be a reunion with the Koblenz guitar virtuoso Lulo Reinhardt, who this time will present samples of Gypsy Jazz on the Fruchtmarkt stage together with Mike Reinhardt and two other musicians, a music genre that began its triumph in the 1920s. The same applies to the blues, which also became popular during this time through the first sound recordings from the Mississippi Delta. From the beginnings of this music genre, the Downhome Percolators from Frankfurt will not only offer captivating songs but also provide the audience with much information about the genre, without which there would be neither rock 'n' roll nor heavy metal today. The silent films are also musically well-cast. Christine Marx, cantor of the St. Stephen's Church, will be part of the event again. "What is special is that we are offering a total of five live concerts for silent films. All with different musicians, who come from the region as well as work internationally," reports Janis Kuhnert. The section will be opened by a panel discussion on the aesthetics of German film in the Weimar Republic (with critic Rüdiger Suchsland and art historian Alexandra Vinzenz). This continues the successful collaboration with the Hunsrück Museum. The audience can also look forward to the sensitive trio Maier Motzki Schärf, the exciting Bigband Unlimited, and the Golden Heimat Grammofoniker. The latter consists of Ralph "Mosch" Himmler (trumpet) and Wolf Dobberthin (piano), who will launch a 20s program for the opening. The Heimat Europa Film Festival will conclude on Saturday, August 22, with the award ceremony, accompanied by the a cappella group German Gents, who will also musically provide a grand finale in the style of the Comedian Harmonists. The finale, as well as the opening night, will be moderated by SWR speaker Holger Wienpahl. For the first time, four workshops will take place in cooperation with schools in the summer, the results of which will be presented during the film festival. A short feature film, a documentary film, a panel discussion, and an exhibition of images are expected to enrich the program and involve the younger generation in the Heimat Europa Film Festival. The room9, affiliated with Pro-Winzkino, has established itself as a meeting point and event hall at the Heimat Europa Film Festival, and this year the Ava Arthouse will also be part of the event and will present itself for the first time as a contact point for the festival audience. Readings, informative film discussions with actors and directors of the festival films will again be part of the festival program, as well as the popular matinee breakfast or brunch, and last but not least, the delicious festival soup.
