On 19 January, the 47th Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival will open with the German-Swiss film ‘Sie glauben an Engel, Herr Drowak?’ (Do You Believe in Angels, Mr Drowak?) by Nicolas Steiner. The director's feature film debut is about a student (Luna Wedler) who works as a writing therapist and a lonely, misanthropic alcoholic (Karl Markovics) who turns out to be a literary talent.
The Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival is dedicated to young German-language filmmakers. The 2026 programme comprises 146 films, which will be shown in four competitions (feature film, documentary film, medium-length film and short film) as well as several side series. As a tribute to Saarbrücken-born director Wolfgang Staudte (1906-1984), his 1964 film ‘Herrenpartie’ will be shown. Marcel Ophüls, who died last year, will be honoured with several screenings of his restored four-and-a-half-hour documentary ‘The Memory of Justice’ from 1975, which deals with the Nuremberg Trials and the issues raised in them.
The Ecumenical Jury will award its €2,500 prize to a film from the feature film competition, which comprises 11 entries.