HÀ NỘI — The award-winning Oh, This Unspeakable Void will open the German film festival KinoFest 2026 in Hà Nội on November 5 at the National Film Centre. 

It is one of eight films presented at KinoFest, organised by the Goethe-Institut in Việt Nam in Hà Nội, HCM City and Đà Nẵng and taking place this year from November 5 to December 31. 

From historical drama and social narratives to comedy, contemplative cinema and animated adventure, the programme offers different ways of approaching life, seeking points of connection between individual destinies, historical periods and seemingly distant worlds.

Adapted from Joachim Meyerhoff’s autobiographical novel, Simon Verhoeven’s Oh, This Unspeakable Void introduces audiences to a young man's world. Humour intertwines with loss and familial affection in a coming-of-age story that feels both deeply personal and widely relatable.

The film won several awards at the German Film Awards 2026, including Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and the Bronze Prize for Best Feature Film. 

As part of KinoFest 2026, lead actor Bruno Alexander will join audiences in Hà Nội and HCM City for discussions, extending the encounter between the film and its viewers beyond the screen.

Highlights include Berlinale 2026 award winners Yellow Letters and Rose. The right to self-determination, and the price it can demand, come into sharp focus in Markus Schleinzer’s Rose and İlker Çatak’s Yellow Letters.

In Rose, the story of a woman living under a male identity in the seventeenth century raises questions about the restrictions society imposes on gender, and the possibility of overcoming them to build a different life. 

Yellow Letters, meanwhile, follows an artist couple whose family life and professional choices are put to the test by political upheaval. Artistic freedom becomes a matter of survival: defending one’s convictions and individual voice may mean putting livelihoods, safety and even one's closest relationships at risk.

With Rose earning Sandra Hüller the Silver Bear for best leading performance and Yellow Letters receiving the Golden Bear for Best Film at the Berlinale 2026, both works invite reflection on the relationship between the individual and power.

Continuing KinoFest’s recent focus on care work and education, Kilian Armando Friedrich’s I Understand Your Displeasure brings questions of choice into everyday working life. Selected for the Panorama section of the 2026 Berlinale, it centres on those who sustain society through work that often goes unseen and unrecognised. 

Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend broadens the festival’s perspective. The film invites viewers to slow down, observe and experience the world beyond habitual, human-centred perspectives.

The participation of Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Léa Seydoux also reflects how encounters across borders are helping to shape contemporary German cinema, both in its creative processes and in the stories it tells.

Other films include Luisa, In Good Faith and the animated film The Last Whale Singer. Through these eight films, KinoFest 2026 presents German cinema as a space for diverse voices, cultural experiences and ways of seeing the world. 

All screenings will be presented in the original German with English and Vietnamese subtitles. — VNS