Overview

• The opening screening took place on the Parkinsel in the Rhine, where Intendant Michael Kötz welcomed Ulrike Kriener, Philipp Moog, and representatives from politics and business.
• The festival runs through 7 September with 75 productions scheduled across a 19‑day program.
• Planned honors include an honorary award for director Edgar Reitz and acting prizes for Uwe Ochsenknecht and Rainer Bock, with the Filmkunstpreis and the Rheingold audience award to close the event.
• Organizers report more than 120,000 visitors last year, positioning Ludwigshafen as the country’s most attended festival after the Berlinale.
• Rhineland-Palatinate Minister-President Alexander Schweitzer attended the opening and praised the Parkinsel setting as a place to experience film together.