From 16 to 18 January 2026, the Postmigrant Film Days 2026 in Mönchengladbach and Krefeld will be dedicated to the topics of migration, self-determination and social participation. Migration has long been a natural part of contemporary society - but whose perspectives shape the narratives about it? The three-day film festival, organised by students at The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) under the direction of Professor Dr Ömer Alkin from the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, will address this central question. The festival is aimed at people with and without a history of migration who are interested in culture, actors from the film and education sectors and interested members of urban society. Admission to all events is free of charge.
The programme focuses on a curated selection of feature and documentary films that make post-migrant realities of life visible. Both historical film classics such as "Almanya Acı Vatan" from 1979 and current productions such as "Girls and Gods" (2025) will be shown. Thematically, the films deal with questions of self-determination, emancipation and feminism and open up diverse perspectives on social negotiation processes.
The opening of the festival will take place on Friday, 16 January 2026, at 3 pm at the Volkshochschule Mönchengladbach (Lüpertzender Straße 85, Mönchengladbach), followed by the film screenings "Almanya Acı Vatan" (4 pm) and "Gölge" (7 pm). On Saturday, 17 January 2026, the film "Hördur" (2 pm) will be shown at the St. Marien youth club (Odenkirchenerstraße 15, Mönchengladbach), before the festival comes to a degree on Sunday at the Villa Merländer (Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 42) in Krefeld with the films "Anam" (3 pm) and "Girls & Gods" (6 pm).
The film screenings will be accompanied by film talks, discussions and cultural education formats that invite people to take an advanced course. "In terms of content, the festival is based on the concept of post-migrant audiovisuals. Our aim is to promote sustainable networking between the university and urban society. Voluntary engagement in the cultural sector creates a festival by people for society that invites people to question narrow narratives and rethink social transformation processes together," explains Professor Dr Ömer Alkin. The focus is on dialogue between the audience, filmmakers and experts.
The events will take place at various cultural and educational institutions in Mönchengladbach and Krefeld. "The deliberate 'wandering' of the films takes up the idea of migration symbolically: just like people, images and stories move through different social spaces and enter into dialogue with different publics," says Prof. Dr Ömer Alkin.
Further information can be found at: https: //postmigrantische-audiovisionen.de/
