Berlin/Hamburg, 15 April 2026 - With the new industry platform CineHamburg a key event for the German cinema and film industry continues to take shape. From the 7 to 10 July 2026 the first edition of the event will take place in Hamburg and will combine the previous formats FILM DAYS COLOGNE and the Cinema Congress KINO into a joint industry meeting point.
The organisers have now presented the first highlights of the programme: Three central panels will form the content backbone of the premiere and focus on current challenges and future issues in the cinema industry.
The event will kick off on 7 July 2026 the panel "Cinema Is Magic - And Why It Still Matters" (12:00-13:00). The focus will be on the question of what makes the cinema experience unique, even in an age of changing media usage, and how its special appeal can be preserved for future generations. The panel will be moderated by cinema aficionado and Oscar live reporter Steven Gätjen. Guests include Tim Richards (Vue International) and Nick Rush (The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa) announced. Other international voices from the industry will add to the discussion.
On the following event days in the Congress Centre Hamburg (CCH) two further large panels are planned. Under the title "Audiences in transition - understanding, inspiring, winning back" focuses on the development of cinema audiences. Strategies for long-term visitor retention and approaches to winning back lost target groups will be discussed.
The third panel "Out of the box - other industries, same questions" opens up a view beyond its own industry. Experts from different sectors of the economy will provide impulses that are transferable to the cinema industry and enable new perspectives on existing challenges.
In addition to the panels, workshops and seminars are also planned, the content of which will be published in the coming weeks. The programme for the exclusive rental presentations in the CinemaxX Dammtor is currently being finalised. Leading distribution companies will give the trade audience a preview of the cinema programme for the second half of the year. The presentation series begins on 7 July with The Walt Disney Company Germany and ends on 10 July with Warner Bros. Discovery.