LUCAS is Germany's oldest film festival for young audiences and presents award-winning cinema for everyone aged four to 18+. Families and film fans of all ages can look forward to outstanding cinema experiences in Frankfurt, Offenbach, and Wiesbaden.

At the heart of LUCAS are the competitions in the "Kids," "Teens," and "Youngsters" sections. In addition to the competition program, the festival shows classics from film history, short films for the very youngest, and other programs, some of which are designed by children and young people.

During the festival week, there is a special focus on film discussions, in which filmmakers from all over the world engage in dialogue with the audience.

At LUCAS, participation means "getting involved!" Young people are invited to help shape the festival in a variety of ways, as moderators, jury members, film critics, festival reporters, or curators.

For representatives of the film industry, there are conferences and panel discussions dealing with topics related to film education and current trends in children's and youth film production.

LUCAS – International Festival for Young Film Fans is organized by the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum e.V.

Admission is EUR 5.00 per student, with two accompanying adults admitted free of charge.

Registration is handled by the Media Center.

It is currently being reviewed whether Wiesbaden will once again be one of the festival locations in 2026.

At the German Television Thriller Festival, which is organized by the Cultural Office of the state capital Wiesbaden, everything revolves around the sophisticated television thriller.

Since 2005, around two morning screenings have been offered for schoolchildren as part of the festival. The jury takes care to select crime thrillers that deal with topics relevant to young people, actors and actresses or an innovative cinematic realization of the material that appeals to the young audience. A special highlight are the guests, who usually come in large numbers and are also available for discussions, background information and anecdotes after the school screenings.

Admission to the TV crime events is free. Registration is via the media center.

On Thursday, April 23, Medienzentrum Wiesbaden e.V. and goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film – invite school classes and interested parties to the Caligari FilmBühne. The Wiesbaden premiere of the documentary "No Spring for a Long Time – My Father, Romania, and Me" will be shown at 10 a.m. as part of the goKids series.

We are delighted that Wiesbaden-born director Alexandra Bidian will be talking to goEast festival director Rebecca Heiler and the audience afterwards. Starting in 2008, the former Gutenberg School student gained practical filmmaking experience in the short film project filmreif at Medienzentrum Wiesbaden e.V. – now she is presenting her 90-minute debut documentary film.

Registration for school classes is already open. Individuals can purchase advance tickets via the festival website starting April 2.

The Festival of Central and Eastern European Film, which has been organized by the German Institute for Film Studies (DIF) and its partners in Wiesbaden since 2001, will show classics and current film productions from Central and Eastern Europe in two school screenings.

It is particularly exciting that animated films are traditionally widespread in Eastern Europe and often receive new impulses from Eastern Europe.

Younger and older students alike can therefore look forward to particularly original animated films as well as classics of the genre.

Admission is EUR 5.00 per student, with two accompanying adults admitted free of charge.

Registration is handled by the media center.

Wiesbaden's oldest and voluntarily organized film festival exground has been showing a selection of current youth films from international cinema in its own youth section for over ten years, which are presented as entries in the "Youth days - International Youth Film Competition".

Since 2007, an event has also been held in cooperation with the Medienzentrum Wiesbaden e.V. as part of the Youth days. In close cooperation with the head of the youth section, a film is selected for each event, which usually deals with identity-relevant themes of young people on the threshold of adulthood.

Admission is EUR 5.00 per pupil, 2 accompanying persons are free.

Registration is via the media center.