From 18 to 27 September 2026, Münster will once again be the setting for one of Germany’s most extraordinary cultural events: the Literatur Film Festival Münster (LITFILMS) is entering its fourth round. As the only festival of its kind in Germany, it places the exciting interplay between literary text and moving image at the centre of its programme. Aïsha Noomi Stief and Conrad Dreyer will be “Artists in Residence“.
In September, the Schloßtheater Münster and various other venues in the city will be transformed into a stage for literary film adaptations, film readings and film portraits of literary figures.
Residency project: Focus on human-machine interaction
A special highlight of this year’s edition is the residency scholarship, for which filmmaker Aïsha Noomi Stief and author Conrad Dreyer were selected from a total of 71 applicants. During their three-month stay in Münster and the Münsterland region, the duo will realise the project “14+1 ways to deal with robots“.
Based on the shape of a circle of sonnets, the artists are developing 14+1 texts and 14+1 short films that deal with the increasing presence of artificial intelligence and humanoid robots in our everyday lives. “In the future, the digital will find its way into the physical world autonomously, away from user interfaces. This raises the question: How do I as a human interact with a robot? And how does it deal with me? We want to answer these questions artistically with our work. Or at least contribute to answering them,” say Stief and Dreyer, explaining their project. The results of this work will be presented as an exhibition as part of the festival.
A festival builds bridges
LITFILMS alternates annually with the Münster Film Festival and has established itself as an important institution in its three editions to date. With LITFILMS, Filmwerkstatt Münster creates a platform for the lively literature and film scene in Münster, where newcomers and established stars come together. The festival has become an indispensable regional institution and also attracts a great deal of attention nationwide.
The complete festival programme will be published at the end of August.
About LITFILMS:
Since its foundation, the Literatur Film Festival Münster has been dedicated to the interplay between film and literature. It offers space for experiments, classical adaptations and a direct exchange between the art forms.
It is organised by the Filmwerkstatt Münster e.V. and supported by the Kunststiftung NRW, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the City of Münster, the Münster Foundation of Sparda-Bank West and the Berkenkamp Foundation.
