The Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival (Kasseler Dokfest) runs for six days each November in Kassel's Filmladen, BALi and Gloria cinemas, with an online programme that continues after the on-site days. Its film programme combines short and feature-length documentaries with artistic, experimental and hybrid documentary work; the 2025 edition presented 234 works. Alongside the screenings, the festival runs Monitoring, an exhibition of video and media installations, the interfiction symposium, the youth section junges dokfest, DokfestGeneration for older audiences and a regional section for productions from Northern Hesse. The festival has taken place every year since 1982, except 1983, and is organised by Filmladen Kassel e.V., which also runs the Filmladen cinema.
The 43rd edition takes place on 17–22 November 2026, with online screenings until 29 November 2026.
Awards and prizes
Nominations are made by the selection committees from the whole programme, and an independent jury decides each award. The prize money goes directly to the filmmakers and artists.
Golden Key (Goldener Schlüssel): EUR 2,500 for the best documentary short film up to 66 minutes and EUR 2,500 for the best documentary feature of 66 minutes or longer; the director must be no older than 35 when the work is completed.
Golden Hercules (Goldener Herkules): EUR 2,500 for the best regional work from Northern Hesse, open to all formats, genres and lengths.
Golden Cube: EUR 3,500 for the best work in the Monitoring exhibition; all exhibited works are nominated.
junges dokfest: A38 Production Grant Kassel-Halle: EUR 3,500 for travel and accommodation plus up to EUR 4,000 in material resources to realise a new film work that also addresses a younger audience.
Festival rules
Open to current artistic-experimental and/or documentary films, hybrid documentary forms and installation concepts of any length and subject, completed in the year of the festival or the year before (2025 or 2026 for the 2026 edition). There is no submission fee.
Premiere status is not required, but works broadcast on TV or available online before the festival starts are not eligible, nor are works already submitted the previous year. Films whose original language is neither German nor English need German or English subtitles. Trailers are not accepted; for rough cuts, the planned changes must be stated. Installations are submitted with a project outline, a technical list with a cost estimate (one page at most) and, where possible, video documentation and photos.
Sections open to submission: short films (up to 66 minutes), feature films (66 minutes and longer), Golden Hercules (works with a connection to Northern Hesse, any length, format or genre) and the Monitoring exhibition. junges dokfest and DokfestGeneration select from the short and feature submissions. Each section has its own selection committee; decisions are sent by email by mid-October.
