FIKTIVA

Media-Art Festival

Düsseldorf Altstadt · 2026

Call for Submissions Open

Submit Your Film

The Festival

The Parcours

FIKTIVA is a media-art festival where film, video-art, performances/theatre plays and fine arts converge. The "parcours" (round tour) aims to dissolve the urban routine in Düsseldorf's Old Town district and overcome the boundaries between reality and fiction.

Open Access

The artistic offer on the streets of the old-district, free admission, and inclusion of all social classes without age restriction creates a new experience for many. We promote socially friendly encounters between artists and visitors.

URSPRUNG / Origin

This year's theme explores origins—where art begins, where reality meets fiction, and where imagination transforms into creative expression. Every kind of art dissociates itself from reality in favor of fiction. Without imagination, there is no work of art.

2025 Winners

Celebrating the extraordinary artists who dissolved boundaries between reality and fiction in our 2025 edition themed URSPRUNG (Origin).

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Best Fiction Feature

Grenzland

Dir. Matthias Weber

A haunting exploration of identity along the Rhine, blurring the lines between memory and present-day Düsseldorf.

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Best Fiction Short

Nachtschicht

Dir. Sarah Hoffmann

A surreal night shift worker discovers alternate realities within the industrial heart of NRW.

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Best Documentary Feature

Rheinwärts

Dir. Klaus Bergmann

An intimate portrait of artists finding their origins along the banks of the Rhine.

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Best Documentary Short

Altstadt Echo

Dir. Emma Schneider

Voices of the Old Town reveal stories buried beneath centuries of cobblestones.

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Best Animated Short

Ursprung

Dir. Lisa Wagner

An abstract animation tracing the birth of creativity from the city's artistic pulse.

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Best Experimental Short

Fragmente

Dir. Tom Fischer & Julia Krause

A sensory deconstruction of urban space where reality fragments into pure visual poetry.

Submit to 2026 Edition

Awards & Prizes

🎬 Best Fiction Feature

🎥 Best Fiction Short

📽️ Best Documentary Feature

📹 Best Documentary Short

✨ Best Animated Short

🎨 Best Experimental Short

Submit to FIKTIVA 2026

Submit via FilmFreeway
Now Accepting Submissions for 2026!
Submit your work through FilmFreeway. Key Requirement: The relationship between your artistic work (film art, video art, fine art, dance and theatre-performance) and the City Düsseldorf (or the state NRW) must be plausible.

Who Can Submit?

Anyone who would like to submit their work related to film/video art. We are accepting submissions from everywhere. The person submitting must have had a major creative role in the production of the work submitted.

Submission Methods

Primary Method - FilmFreeway: Submit your work digitally through our FilmFreeway page at filmfreeway.com/FIKTIVA

Alternative Physical Format: BETACAM, DIGICAM, or Blu-ray sent via mail. DVDs and DCPs from laptop can be accepted. Copy of 35mm will only be accepted within Germany.

Selection Process

Members of the Filmmuseum Düsseldorf, the Düsseldorf Cultural Affairs Office, Institut Français, and TFF TheaterFilmFest gUG will make proper decisions and measures. We will likely screen all submissions, based on the amount and length we receive.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for any genre and style of film & video art that connects with our URSPRUNG theme and has a relationship to Düsseldorf or NRW.

What's In It For You?

Partners

Filmmuseum Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf Cultural Affairs Office

Institut Français

TFF TheaterFilmFest gUG

EFFE – Europe for Festivals

Get In Touch

Festival Office

TFF TheaterFilmFest gUG
Düsseldorf, Germany

Submissions

For submission inquiries and guidelines,
please contact us directly.

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