The 5th KinoFest - German-Language Film Festival wrapped up at the enchanting Castro Clauss in Patras. For five days (September 18-22), Greece’s oldest winery transformed into an open-air cinema, where over 1,500 attendees enjoyed free screenings of German-language short and feature films, accompanied by fine wine.

This year, for the first time, the festival introduced a competition section featuring eight films from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Luxembourg. The jury unanimously awarded the Best Film Prize to the German film When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before by Sonja Heiss. The Audience Award went to the comedy Bonjour Switzerland by Peter Luisi, winning by a large majority.

As part of the tribute to the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka's death, the 5th KinoFest hosted the poster exhibition KOMPLETT KAFKA - A Biography in Comics. The exhibition, in collaboration with artist Nicolas Mahler and the Literaturhaus Stuttgart, presented Kafka’s tumultuous life through illustrations.

Young audiences also had their moment at the festival with the screening of the children’s film Lucy Wanted.

KinoFest began as an idea to turn the historic Castro Clauss, Greece’s oldest winery, into a cinematic hub for a few days. In honor of the site’s roots, it was decided that the festival would be German-language, paying tribute to the Bavarian founder Gustav Clauss, who established Achaia Clauss 163 years ago.

KinoFest - German-Language Film Festival was founded by ABCinema in collaboration with the Goethe-Zentrum Patras to showcase the best German-language films and promote German-language audiovisual works in Greece.