“Crisis? What Crisis?” The title of the fourth LP from the band “Supertramp” would not only have been the perfect introduction to our “Courageously Utopian” thematic focus this year, it also describes a bit the challenges faced by the festival team in preparing for exground filmfest. In August, we received the news that our long-standing partner hotel in Wiesbaden would no longer be available due to insolvency. We found a worthy replacement in the Hansa Hotel. Alas, an even greater blow came when we learned, just two months before the festival opening, that the heart of exground filmfest, the Caligari FilmBühne, would not be available due to a delay in the renovation work to comply with fire safety regulations that has been ongoing since June. However, here too we were able to find three alternate locations, with the kind assistance of Wiesbaden’s cultural office. Still, troubleshooting all of this successfully has meant hundreds of hours of extra work for our small festival team. Therefore, we would like to express our gratitude first and foremost to all our team members at exground filmfest!

And this is where we appeal to you, dear audience: go to the cinema! Attend the screenings at Murnau-Filmtheater, in the Atelier at Apollo Kinocenter, at Museum Wiesbaden, in the Marktkirche crypt and also at Pupille in Frankfurt am Main. And our bar featuring lounge music is open every night in the Festival Centre. It is somewhat ironic that this year’s Festival Centre is located in our former partner hotel Achat. In short: we have gained a great deal of experience in crisis management this year.

And, of course, once again we have done everything in our power to assemble a magnificent program: highlights from the big A-list festivals, including a slew of submissions for the 2026 foreign-film Oscar, are included among the approximately 200 productions screening this year. From November 14–23, you will also have plenty of opportunities to enter into conversation with the filmmakers.

Our thanks go out to all those who have supported us in 2025. Special thanks are due to the State Capital of Wiesbaden, the Hessian State Ministry for Science and Research, Arts and Culture, Hessen Film & Medien GmbH and Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain. Our equally warm thanks go to all of our helpers, without whom we would not be able to put on the festival.

We are looking forward to ten eventful festival days full of new impressions as well as to many attendees!

Andrea Wink, Brigitte Strubel-Mattes and Gerald Pucher

(organisation team of exground filmfest)

Words of Welcome:
– WELCOME MESSAGE FROM TIMON GREMMELS
– WELCOME MESSAGE FROM DR. HENDRIK SCHMEHL
– WELCOME MESSAGE FROM DR. SUSANNE VÖLKER
– WELCOME MESSAGE FROM ANNA SCHOEPPE