From 22 to 24 May 2026, the Queer Film Festival will take place for the third time at the BALi cinemas in Kassel’s Kulturbahnhof, creating a vibrant hub for film enthusiasts, culture lovers and the queer community. From documentary portraits and retrospectives to satanic pigs and visions of a queer utopia – the themes of this year’s Queer Film Festival are diverse. The focus is on seven feature films, two short film programmes and an extensive supporting programme that invites visitors to explore, network and discuss.
The festival opens on Friday evening with the documentary Queer Me! (France, 2025), in which Irene Bailo Carramiñana documents life in a squatted house and temporary home for queers in Toulouse. The film’s producer, Odile Méndez-Bonito, will be in attendance for a post-screening discussion. Together with a drag show by the Kassel-based drag collective Samt & Seuche, opening speeches and the short film 130218 by Casjen & Melina Griesel, this evening marks the start of a diverse festival weekend.
After the opening, we’ll toast as usual with sparkling wine and soft drinks and celebrate together at the Queerfilmfest Celebration, this year at the Caricatura Bar. Those who’d rather sing than dance will be right at home at the cinema karaoke in the large BALi, also on Friday evening after the opening.
The feature film programme offers further highlights: in the documentary *Orlando, My Political Biography* (France, 2023), drawing on Virginia Woolf’s famous fictional character Orlando, 26 biographies of “modern Orlandos” are presented, offering insights into real-life trans biographies. The film is being screened in cooperation with the Literaturhaus Kassel. In *Bixa Travesty* (Brazil, 2018), artist Linn Da Quebrada delivers the soundtrack for Black trans visibility in an act of radical self-expression. The film Satanische Sau (Germany, 2025), shown in cooperation with Film und Bewegtbild (Kunsthochschule Kassel), is a captivating tribute to the late filmmaker and activist Rosa von Praunheim. Lead actor Armin Dallapiccola will be present for a post-screening discussion. You can actually smell John Waters’ film Polyester (USA, 1981)! For the olfactory accompaniment, “Odorama” scratch cards are available for this scent cinema, which is being screened in collaboration with Randfilm. The Queer Film Festival is also collaborating once again this year with Dynamo Windrad e.V. as part of the animated documentary Flee (Denmark, France, Sweden, Norway, 2021). This film centres on the story of 36-year-old Amin’s flight and the question of finding a place for one’s own queer identity. The festival concludes with the film Days (Taiwan, 2020), which explores the sensual encounter between Kang and Non during a night spent together in Bangkok. Before the film, there will be a dance performance entitled Queer Waters by the Kassel-based dancers Juno Harrer, Eva Eyrich, Janina Rohlik and Sophie Sengle.
The three short film programmes Hot & Short: Do It Yourself, Life and Survival, and Transition in Focus round off the film programme with diverse perspectives from local and international filmmakers, some of whom will be present for on-site film discussions.
A lucky find in the archives and a highlight of this year’s festival is the programme Rosa Seifenblasen, which aired on Offener Kanal Kassel in the 1990s. This best-of compilation focuses on the Kassel queer scene of the 1990s. Co-creator Christof Ahrendt and other contributors discuss the production and queer Kassel then and now. Episodes of the programme will also be on display in the exhibition For The Record – Queer in Kassel 1996 and 2026 in the foyer of Offener Kanal, alongside a photography project by Heraku e.V., in which young artists offer insights into their current lives. Another exhibition featuring queer artists from Kassel and around the world will once again take place under the motto ‘Queer Reclaiming of Spaces’ in the display cases of the BALi cinemas in the station concourse.
Information on the programme, content notes, accessibility and awareness from 10 May at:
www.queerfilmfest-kassel.de
3rd Queer Film Festival Kassel
22–24 May 2026
BALi Cinemas at the Kulturbahnhof
Rainer-Dierichs-Platz 1, 34117 Kassel
Admission prices per event
Standard admission: €5
Support ticket: €12
(supports the queer film programme at BALi and the Soli tickets)
Soli ticket: €0 (limited allocation, no proof of need required)
The supporting programme is free of charge.
The organisers
Queerfilmfest Kassel e.V. was founded in 2024 and is organising the region’s unique Queerfilmfest Kassel for the third time in 2026. The festival is organised in cooperation with the BALi cinemas at the Kulturbahnhof in Kassel and is supported by, amongst others, QueerScope – Association of Independent Queer Film Festivals in Germany e.V., Hessen Film & Medien and the Cultural Office of the City of Kassel.
The BALi Cinemas at the Kulturbahnhof have been an important cultural institution in Kassel since 1995. Every year, they host events such as the internationally renowned Kassel Documentary and Video Festival, the Randfilmfest, and the Trickreich exhibition of works by the animation class at theKunsthochschule Kassel.