Gateways to the World

The Power of Ports

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Seas Connect

Continents, people, ideas – and at the Bremen Film Festival, cinema with the world outside.

Ports and shipping once again take center stage and become starting points for stories about movement, exchange, and global connections. Under the title “Gateways to the World – The Power of Ports”, this international competition is part of the festival for the second time, consistently reflecting Bremen’s maritime identity. Here, water, harbor, city, and culture simply belong together.

Ports are places of transition: arrival meets departure. They bring together economic interests, cultural diversity, and political questions. As interfaces between land and sea, they shape not only global trade but also our ideas of cosmopolitanism, responsibility, and the future. This complexity makes ports powerful cinematic motifs and provides a thematic framework that addresses both current debates and personal stories.

For centuries, Bremen has seen itself as a gateway to the world. This attitude is reflected in the film festival, which highlights international perspectives and seeks dialogue between local experiences and global developments. Gateways to the World stands for cinema that observes, connects, and opens new perspectives – and this is exactly what we, as Bremen’s port management company, fully support.

With this competition, ports, shipping, and the people who work and live in them return to the screen not just as a backdrop but as a central theme – making the Bremen Film Festival once again a place where global stories find their stage.

In this spirit, I wish all film festival enthusiasts inspiring cinema experiences, powerful images, and fresh perspectives on the screens and in their minds. Enjoy the Bremen Film Festival and Gateways to the World!

 

Yours, Robert Howe

managing director bremenports

 

Robert Howe – managing director bremenports

Gateways to the World puts 10 films in the running for the Best Feature and Short Film awards. On Thursday, April 16, 2026, the competition kicks off with the premiere of the documentary Salz und Wasser at the Cinespace at the Waterfront Bremen, right by the city’s former industrial harbors.

Awards

 

Best Feature Film
endowed with 2,000 EUR

 

Best Short Film
endowed with 500 EUR

 

Our jury awards the prizes to the winning films at Theater Bremen, Kleines Haus, on April 19th 2026.

Nominated  Films In 2026

Wild Waterfront

 

About the Dream to be Unsinkable

 

Salt and Water

 

© Photo: Ines Reinisch
One Hundred Four

 

Nominated Short Films 2026

Deep Waters – Gateways Short Films

 

With My Thoughts on the Sea

 

Jury 2026

 Jacqueline van Vugt 

 

 

Jacqueline van Vugt studied architecture at the TU Delft followed by camera at the Dutch Film and Television Academy in 1991. She graduated as Director of Photography with a Tuschinski Award
Jacqueline van Vugt developed,produced and directed her own documentary and feature films in addition to her work as a cinematographer.
Her documentary BORDERS won several awards including the FIPRESCI Award 2014,
Como el Viento, Jacqueline’s Feature Film, premiered at the Warsaw International Film Festival official selection in October 2023, Como el Viento toured many festivals and won Best Cast at the Montreal International Film Festival and  wonGateways to the World at Bremen International Film Festival.

Irina Feller

 

 

Irina Feller is the Web & Content Manager at bremenports. While she is fascinated by technology, layout, and web content, the harbor has been a constant presence throughout her life. Having grown up in Wilhelmshaven, she knows the most beautiful moments by the sea from more than just movies. These multifaceted experiences sparked her passion for film, as it is the only medium capable of capturing and staging moments as intensely and impressively as life itself.

Ruth Schilling

 

 

Ruth Schilling is the Exective Head of the German Maritime Museum/ Leibniz-Institute for Maritime History (Bremerhaven). She investigates and teaches about Maritime History at the University of Bremen. Shealso worked as a researcher and museum curator in Berlin, Venice, Paris and Cambridge (UK). 

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