Filmkunstmesse Leipzig

The Filmkunstmesse is run by AG Kino – Gilde deutscher Filmkunsttheater, the association of Germany's programme and arthouse cinemas. The heart of it is trade screenings of films well ahead of their German release, held at the Passage Kinos and CineStar Leipzig, with seminars and workshops on the arthouse market alongside. In the evenings some screenings open to the public at the Passage Kinos and the Schauburg.

The 26th edition ran 14–18 September 2026. The 27th is confirmed for 20–24 September 2027 in Leipzig.

For a German-language arthouse cinema this is where much of the autumn and winter slate is first seen and discussed with the distributors releasing it. Distributors register films to present; programmers watch, compare notes and talk marketing. The fair also hosts the Gilde film prizes, voted by German arthouse operators — the 49th were awarded at the 2026 edition — and the MDM's Kinoprogrammpreise Mitteldeutschland for regional cinema programmes.

For exhibitors outside the German-speaking market it is of limited direct use, since the releases discussed are German distribution slates.

Trade visitors (Fachbesucher) accredit online through the Filmkunstmesse site; for 2026 the accreditation window ran from 1 June to 1 September. Distributors register films separately. Accreditation fees were not shown on the pages we checked, and the 2027 window had not been published as of 26 September 2026.