Film Screening Times
Thursday, Oct. 22 | 10:30 AM & 7:00 PM
Friday, Oct. 23 | 7:00 PM
Saturday, Oct. 24 | 1:00 PM & 6:45 PM
Sunday, Oct. 25 | 7:00 PM

October 22-25, 2026

Join us October 22-25 for the 5th annual Twin Cities German Film Festival (TCGFF), a celebration of contemporary German-language cinema inviting audiences to discover new stories and perspectives.

Produced by the Germanic-American Institute in partnership with the Goethe-Institut, the festival offers something for everyone, from family-friendly films and documentaries to compelling dramas. Films are presented in German with English subtitles at the Main Cinema in Minneapolis, a nonprofit neighborhood movie theater.

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Sponsor Benefits:

Name and logo on promotional materials and the TCGFF event page
Name and logo on screen prior to the film showings
Shout-out in GAI TCGFF social media promotions
The opportunity to introduce one of the films
5 tickets to a movie of your choice

Interested in sponsoring the TCGFF? The GAI is seeking sponsors to support this growing festival. By sponsoring the TCGFF, you will share your brand with an engaged audience and support the GAI’s mission to connect people to a broader world through German language and culture. Sponsorships are $500.

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2026 German Films

Wochenederebellen (Weekend Rebels) (2023)
Thursday, October 22 | 10:30 AM (Field trip opportunity, open to the public)
109 minutes

As ten-year-old Jason struggles to keep up in school because of his autism, his parents Mirco and Fatime struggle to keep up with him. When faced with being transferred to a special school against his will, Jason makes a deal with his dad: he’ll do his best to fit in, but to do so he’ll need a soccer team to root for, and Mirco will help him find one. But how will he decide before seeing every team play? All 56 of them, that is. Jason’s request sets him and Mirco off on weekly adventures across Germany to find the perfect team: one whose players don’t all wear different colored shoes, or whose fans don’t pour beer on each other, or whose mascots aren't too silly, or... Based on a true story, Marc Rothemund’s heartfelt film explores the quirks and passions of soccer fandom culture—its superstitions, rituals, and inner conflicts—through the eyes of a special and very discerning lover of the game. Weekend Rebels won the Youth 4 German Cinema award at the 2024 Berlin & Beyond film festival. Film in German with English subtitles.

Watch the Trailer

Watch the Trailer

Spione Unter Uns (The Spies Among Us) (2025)
Thursday, October 22 | 7:00 PM | 94 minutes, $12

THE SPIES AMONG US is a rare look into the inner workings of a data-driven surveillance state run by one of the most feared secret police forces the world has ever known – East Germany’s Stasi.

A personal investigation into family secrets by Peter Keup, a Stasi victim-turned-historian, takes a turn when he contacts the men who ran the system. These are the first dialogues between Stasi officers and a victim ever recorded on film. Through these encounters a terrifying mosaic is built of the lengths people go to maintain power in a dictatorship, as well as the indomitable human spirit that seeks truth and self-determination. Film in German with English subtitles

Watch the Trailer

Sehnsucht in Sangerhausen (Phantoms of July) (2025)

Friday, October 23 | 7:00 PM | 90 minutes, $12

Ursula and Neda, an East German waitress with a broken heart and an Iranian YouTuber with a broken arm, both feel trapped and lonely in their precarious lives. The winding paths of chance draw the two women together on an unexpected ghost hunt in the mountains... A romantic adventure film about an unlikely friendship and the longing for another life. Film in German with English subtitles.

Lene und die Geister des Waldes (Lene and the Spirits of the Forest) (2020)

Saturday, October 24 | 1:00 PM | 95 min | Tickets only $5

Initially reluctant to spend her summer holidays in the Bavarian Forest, ten-year-old Lene’s hesitance soon gives way to a great thirst for adventure, as she encounters mythical creatures, turtle races, glowing mushrooms and tree houses. And, along the way, the story touches on profound questions about humanity’s responsibilities as part of nature. Film in German with English Subtitles

Watch the Trailer

Silent Friend (2025)

Saturday, October 24 | 6:45 PM | 147 min | $12

At the heart of a German university grows a majestic ginkgo tree, its lifespan measured in centuries. As the years pass, the distinguished plant bears witness to the private lives of those who seek shade under its boundless branches, forming a nexus that connects three generations of students and teachers across time and space. Film in German with English subtitles.

Faust (1926)

Sunday, October 25 | 7:00 PM | 116 min | $17

In honor of its 100th anniversary, ten thousand lakes’ latest project is creating a score for F.W. Murnau’s masterpiece, “Faust.” The story is classic—a wager between an angel and a demon over the soul of an honorable man as the plague descends on all he loves. Considered a pinnacle of German Expressionist cinema, Murnau’s powerful, haunting, innovative visuals and special effects were far ahead of its time. ten thousand lakes is thrilled to be bringing this incredible German film to audiences in autumn, 2026.

This is a silent film show with a live musical score. Subtitles in German and English