After a one-year break, Screenforce has announced the return of its festival for 2026. According to the initiative's official Research and Event Roadmap 2025, the festival will once again take place in Düsseldorf and provide the central platform for media makers, advertisers and content producers in the DACH region.
In recent years, the Screenforce Festival has established itself as an industry meeting point for TV and streaming marketers. It combines programme presentations, trend analyses and networking in a compact live format. For the film and media industry, it is therefore not only a showcase for reach and advertising opportunities, but also a place where strategic decisions for the production, distribution and marketing of moving image content are prepared.
In 2025, the festival was cancelled because, according to Screenforce, the advertising market required new priorities "with the available budget". Instead, the initiative focused on its established formats for research, further education and compact stage presentations, for example at the DMEXCO trade fair. The return of the classic festival format is planned for 2026, including screenings of current TV and streaming programmes and presentations of relevant marketing highlights.
For film producers, agencies and media decision-makers, the festival is therefore a fixed date in the calendar. It not only offers insights into market trends, but also direct contact opportunities with broadcasters, streaming providers and advertisers. For producers of moving image content in particular, the festival is an opportunity to strategically plan the reach and positioning of their projects.
The resumption of the festival emphasises the importance of live events for the media industry. At a time when digital networking dominates, face-to-face dialogue remains a decisive factor for successful projects in TV, streaming and advertising. The Screenforce Festival 2026 therefore promises to once again become the central industry event for the German moving image industry.