The Programme for the 67th Nordic Film Days Lübeck is now online

Lübeck, October 9, 2025. At today’s press conference for the 67th Nordic Film Days Lübeck at the Haus der Kaufmannschaft, festival directors Susanne Kasimir (festival management) and Thomas Hailer (artistic director) joined the city-state’s senator of culture and education Monika Frank and the curators of the festival sections on the podium to present the full line-up for the festival that turns Lübeck into the European hub for Nordic and Baltic films From November 5 to 9.

The festival will open with the German premiere of “Den Sidste Viking” (“The Last Viking”). It is the sixth film from Danish director Anders Thomas Jensen, who has used his signature black humour to once again showcase a superb ensemble of stars, with Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen and Sofie Gråbøl.

“While the world around us spins from one crisis to the next and political solutions are a rarity, the filmmakers at our festival are creating worlds full of inspiration”, says artistic director Thomas Hailer, “turning cinema into a laboratory of hope, where change can emerge from divided visions”. The NFL will screen 191 films in 205 public screenings at Lübeck venues during the festival. About 60 percent of that line-up will be available for streaming by audiences all over Germany.

Managing director Susanne Kasimir emphasised how important the new ticking system is to the further development of the Nordic Film Days. “For the first time, our audiences will be able to take advantage of a modern ticking system tailored to their needs. It will make it far easier for any audience segment to access the NFL’s increasingly diverse slate of films and events on offer”.

As part of the festival, twelve jury and audience prizes will be awarded with a total endowment of € 67,500. The unendowed Honorary Award this year goes to Norwegian director Bent Hamer and will be conferred during the festival’s opening ceremony on November 5. The new recipients of the Lübeck Script Development grant will also be announced on opening night. All the other prizes will be awarded at the closing gala on November 8 at the Theater Lübeck.

The film programme is divided into nine sections, comprising features and short films, episodic television, and immersive works from northern and northeastern Europe. The Narrative Film Competition encompasses 13 films, and the Documentary Competition section 12. In the Nordic Shorts section, five programme blocs will show 23 short films, including 10 documentaries. The Filmforum will screen 41 productions from Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, 14 features and 27 short films. For audiences as young as four, the Young Audience section has 33 films for viewing both in regular programmes and as special school class screenings.

And in the Series section, seven new productions underline the fascinating diversity of TV storytelling. The series curator will offer audiences in the theatres “what happened in between” recaps of episodes we are not screening.

Selected innovative works above and beyond classic movie theatre cinema will be presented in the Immersion 360° section in the Infinity Dome at Klingenberg Square. One highlight of this year’s 360° programme is the German premiere of “Life in the Generation Ship”, the latest piece by the internationally renowned artist Yael Bartana. The 3D installation was presented at the 2024 Venice Biennale and unfurls a visionary narrative about belonging, political rituals, and the dream of a collective utopia. Bartana created a Fulldome version specifically for the Nordic Film Days, so the piece is showing in Lübeck for the first time and with free admission.

Inspired by Nordic painting and painters, this year’s Retrospective presents 31 films that feature “Magic Lights and Enchanting Colours. Pictorial influences on Nordic cinema”. The spectrum of artworks that the films reference runs from idyllic drawings of rural life in the 19th century to experimental modernist work. The cinematic styles on exhibit are as varied as the paintings themselves.

Lübeck Meetings is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and has grown to be far more than just another industry get-together. This year, as always, selected events will be open to interested lay visitors. In its third year, the Future North Programme is the beating heart of the Lübeck Meetings. It fills us with great pride that three alumni of the programme are represented in this year’s competition sections – Johannes Vang, Gabrielé Urbonaité and Jackie Gillies.

Advance ticket sales begin on October 25, 2025 at 3 pm in Theater Lübeck and online at the festival website. Ticket sales at Theater Lübeck will run until November 4, 2025 in the foyer of the Kammerspiel theatre. After that, tickets can be purchased at the CineStar Stadhalle cinema from Nov. 5 – 9, 2025. Box office sales at the individual venues are non-cash and will be run by Nordic Film Days personnel. Selected films will be available to stream from November 05, 19:00 pm, through November 16.

Press material

Film stills for the festival films will be available by writing to presse@nordische-filmtage.de, and successively in the download area on the NFL website. Details of the films and the complete screening schedule is available on the festival homepage www.nordische-filmtage.de. Additional information and news can be found on Facebook and Instagram.

The Nordic Film Days Lübeck is an event organised by Hansestadt Lübeck and is supported by the State of Schleswig-Holstein, Creative Europe MEDIA, the Lübeck foundations – Possehl-Stiftung, Gemeinnützige Sparkassenstiftung and Wessel Stiftungen –, by Freundeskreis der Nordischen Filmtage e. V. and NDR as media partner. There are also numerous other partners and sponsors: CineStar, Stadtwerke Lübeck, STAWAG Stadtwerke Aachen AG, Finnlines, Moinsener, KOLK17, Europäische Hansemuseum, skanbo, Grundstücks-Gesellschaft TRAVE, Convotis and Waldzimmer.