up-and-coming is holding the 5th German Young Screenwriters’ Award. The submission deadline is June 1, 2026.

You must be 27 years old or younger, reside in Germany, and work either alone or as part of a team. Your screenplay must be written in German and must not have been made into a film at the time of submission. Only ONE screenplay may be submitted per author or team. Length, film type, and genre—anything goes.

We are looking for a text conceived and written by humans. “AI assistants” may be used for research or fact-checking purposes.

The best 20 screenplays will be selected from all submissions to form a shortlist. All authors on the shortlist will be invited to the Screenplay Festival, taking place from November 6–8, 2026, for a two-day gathering culminating in a reading and awards ceremony on November 7, 2026, at the Künstlerhaus Hannover.

The German Human Rights Film Award honors directors and screenwriters whose cinema, television, and film productions address the topic of human rights in an outstanding manner.

Productions by professional directors and writers, university students, and non-commercial filmmakers may be submitted to the competition. The submission deadline is June 15, 2026.

Eligible films include those in German or with German subtitles (or without spoken dialogue) across all genres. Films must have been completed after December 31, 2023.

The German Human Rights Film Award is an independent media competition and is currently organized, funded, and carried out by 20 civil society organizations, including Amnesty International in Germany. The award ceremony will take place on December 5, 2026, at the Tafelhalle in Nuremberg.

Here you will find competitions from other institutions and cooperation partners. We have compiled a list of links so that we can always provide the most up-to-date information. It is a selection, in which we have mainly listed offers where young people can submit entries.

Please note
If you are interested in taking part in a competition and need equipment such as video cameras, editing computers etc., please contact us. We will be happy to help and advise you. Please note our equipment rental service.