Friedrichshafen Film Festival - NOW OR NEVER / ZF Short Film Award 2026

Organized by the Friedrichshafen Cultural Office, the Film Festival will once again present a wide range of award‑winning and remarkable short and documentary films by young filmmakers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

The festival’s selection jury has put together an exciting programme with many current themes. As every year, there are numerous cinematic gems to discover — from short animated films and powerful short documentaries to a thirty‑minute drama, offering great thematic and cinematic diversity.

Screened at the film festival are entertaining, high-quality and socially relevant films. After the screenings, audiences have the opportunity to enjoy panel discussions with the film-makers in attendance, hosted by a moderator.

Festival Opening with Live Performance
Film and music have always been closely connected. To open the festival, artist Jörg Mandernach brings this fusion to life in new ways. On Thursday from 6:30 pm, he will present a performance combining his own short films and electric‑guitar improvisation.

Born in Saarbrücken in 1963, Mandernach explores, among other things, how to translate his graphic works into short films within his multifaceted artistic practice. Created in a kind of “stream of unconsciousness,” drawings flow into one another as animated chains of association, creating a metamorphosis of forms and content.

Jörg Mandernach, Artist in Residence of the ZF Art Foundation in 2001, has received several contemporary cultural awards. He studied art at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, where he also held a substitute professorship in painting from 2020 to 2021.

A conversation with the artist will follow the performance.

Presentation of One Way Ticket to Tbilisi by Paul Ploberger, Winner of the 2023 ZF Short Film Award
With his comedy Nackte Männer im Wald, Paul Ploberger impressed the festival audience in 2023, winning both the ZF Short Film Award and the Audience Award of the ZF Art Foundation. The prize money of EUR 15,000 motivated the young filmmaker to create a new short film: One Way Ticket to Tbilisi.

At the 2024 Film Festival, the audience was given a rare opportunity to see the then‑unfinished film in a test screening — offering unique insight into Ploberger’s creative process.

This year, the filmmaker returns to the festival with his sensitive story about friendship and coping with grief, presenting the completed final version.

One Way Ticket to Tbilisi tells the story of Lena, a young woman whose friend Joni dies while traveling in Georgia. She travels there and learns that Joni may have taken his own life. Unable to believe it, Lena begins to reconstruct Joni’s final days in Georgia. Along the way, she meets art student Nana and discovers that she and Joni share a secret.

A film discussion with director Paul Ploberger and producer Kathrin Kaisinger will follow the presentation.

Competition for the 2026 ZF Short Film Award
The Festival highlight is the competition for the ZF Short Film Award worth EUR 15,000 and the Audience Award of the ZF Art Foundation worth EUR 1,000.

The grand finale of the thrilling Kurz und Gut competition is the presentation of both prizes by Regina Michel, Executive Manager of the ZF Art Foundation, on Saturday, 14 March, at around 10:30 pm at Kiesel im k42.

Festival Opening with Live Performance, Animated short films by Jörg Mandernach, Artist in Residence ZF Art Foundation 2001, Thursday, 12 March 2026, 6:30 pm.
Admission is free! As seating at “Kiesel” is limited, tickets must still be reserved:
Ticketshop Kulturbüro Friedrichshafen – Animierte Kurzfilme von Jörg Mandernach Tickets, K42, 88045 Friedrichshafen – online bestellen

Presentation of One Way Ticket to Tbilisi by Paul Ploberger, Winner ZF Short Film Award 2023, Friday, 13 March 2026, 6:30 pm.
Admission is free! As seating at “Kiesel” is limited, tickets must still be reserved:
Ticketshop Kulturbüro Friedrichshafen – One Way Ticket to Tbilisi ­ Tickets, K42, 88045 Friedrichshafen – online bestellen

Competition for the 2026 ZF Short Film Award
Saturday, 14 March, from 4:15 pm.
Ticketshop Kulturbüro Friedrichshafen – Filmtage Friedrichshafen 2026 – Jetzt oder nie – Kurzfilmticket Tickets, K42, 88045 Friedrichshafen – online bestellen

Programme for the 2026 Friedrichshafen Film Festival
Filmtage-Friedrichshafen-2026

Friedrichshafen Film Festival Tickets
Tickets are available via the ticket service of the Cultural Office:
Ticketshop Kulturbüro Friedrichshafen – Alle Events