At this years Agrikulturfestival in Freiburg, we showed two movies from last year’s selection. Despite the excellent weather, more than 40 people watched the movies “The Pickers” by Elke Sasse und “Im Land der Wölfe” by Ralf Bücheler with us. Über 40 interessierte Gäste haben, trotz prächtigem Wetter, den Weg in unseren dunklen Kinosaal gefunden. Toll, dass ihr da wart!

We hope to see many of you again in November at our festival. Currently, we are putting on the last touches to our programme and hope to be able to present it to you very soon. Wir hoffen, möglichst viele von euch im November beim Festival wiederzusehen. Gerade befinden wir uns in den letzten Zügen der Programmplanung, sodass wir euch schon bald unsere Filme und weiteren spannenden Programmpunkte präsentieren können. Wir freuen uns schon riesig auf das Festival – und vor allem auf euch.

(Picture by Tobias Schächtele)

The submission period for this year’s festival has ended. We are happy to have received over 250 movies in our various categories. Now, we are working hard to review all the great films we have received and selecting the programme for the festival. Already we are looking forward to showing inspiring, educational and moving films at our festival in November. A huge Thank You to all of the film makers and distributors that have sent us their movies to review this year!

If you are a film maker or distributor and have not had the chance to submit you film in time, you can always hand in your movie during next year’s submission period, which starts on the 15th of February 2026. More infos on our categories and the terms and conditions can be found on our page for filmmakers.

(Picture from “We Are Guardians” co-winner of the audience award 2024 by Chelsea Greene, Rob Grobman & Edivan Guajajara)

We are happy to announce this year’s special topic which focuses on recognising the planet and its resources as limited as well as acknowledging how we need to rethink global and local processes as something more circular.

Our world has long been characterised by the idea that prosperity for all can be achieved through limitless growth. Growth is inherently embedded into our most commonly used measurements of success and power. The hope that technological innovation and economic expansion will lead us to a prosperous future has, however, led to a linear economic system, often at the expense of our planet.

The Green Revolution for instance, with technology-driven agricultural transformation in the 1940s-60s greatly increased food production. Yet in doing so, sustainable farming practices have been ignored, placing severe pressure on our natural systems to sustain this growth. Likewise, due to increased production capabilities, many goods are now designed for single use or short lifespans before being disposed of – and with them the natural resources that were needed to make them. Additionally, the amount of single-use plastic in the oceans and landfills, which has a disastrous impact on human and environmental health, especially in the Global South, is growing by the day. The lifespan of products such as clothing is getting shorter and shorter, encouraging a throwaway culture. Even supposedly ecological products such as electric car batteries are contributing to the problem, as their production requires rare earths and materials which are recycled far too rarely after use.

However, this consumption has limits. With the concept of ‘Planetary Boundaries’, environmental scientists have identified nine critical limits that must not be exceeded if the Earth is to avoid rapid and catastrophic environmental change. Six of these boundaries – including biodiversity loss, land use change and climate change – have already been exceeded. Even more alarmingly, if our way of life continues unchecked, we will pass an identified ‘threshold of no-return’.The findings make it clear that the ecological balance on Earth has always depended on complex cycles that ensure that the available resources can serve again and again as the basis of life for all kinds of life forms. The linear lifestyle and economy of humans is breaking these cycles and jeopardising the planet’s age-old balance.

Still there is hope: the successful regeneration of the ozone layer shows that global action can be effective – with the “Stratospheric ozone depletion” being the one Planetary Boundary already in recovery. Change is necessary – and possible. Switching to a circular economy in which resources are used efficiently, recycled and integrated into natural systems offers a real alternative to a throwaway culture. However, this change requires not only individual action, but also structural changes. It requires a political framework, economic incentives and a social consensus.

At this year’s edition of the Greenmotions Film Festival, we want to tell stories that make this change tangible: Documentaries about innovative solutions and visionary projects that show that moving away from a linear to a circular way of living and consumption is possible. Films that inspire, challenge and motivate people to take action. Let’s work together to shape the future within the Planetary Boundaries – cyclical, regenerative and sustainable.