A cultural meeting point for film, music and creative media
The Planet Earth Filmfestival is a premier independent festival that brings together filmmakers and musicians from around the world. For 2027, PEFF runs simultaneously in two countries for the first time — Bayreuth, Germany and Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Created by Artists for Artists.
Our Vision
Our vision is to establish the Planet Earth Film Festival as an international meeting place for filmmakers, musicians, artists, industry professionals, and audiences from around the world.
We believe in the power of film and music to connect people across cultural, social, and geographical boundaries. Stories can change perspectives, create understanding, and give a voice to people and subjects that might otherwise remain unseen or unheard.
The Planet Earth Film Festival is dedicated to discovering distinctive voices, supporting independent creativity, and providing emerging as well as established artists with a professional platform for their work. Artistic quality, authenticity, cultural diversity, and the courage to explore new perspectives are at the heart of our festival.
Led by filmmakers and experienced professionals from the film industry, the festival offers far more than screenings and awards. It creates a welcoming and inspiring community where ideas can be exchanged, friendships can grow, collaborations can begin, and future projects can take shape.
Rooted in Bayreuth's extraordinary cultural and artistic heritage, the Planet Earth Film Festival combines international cinema with the unique atmosphere of a city known worldwide for music, theatre, and the arts. Selected films and videos are presented at the historic Reichshof in Bayreuth, offering filmmakers and audiences a professional cinema experience in a distinctive cultural setting.
Starting with the 2027 edition, PEFF expands beyond Bayreuth for the first time: the festival now runs simultaneously in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in partnership with the newly founded Planet Earth Foundation and its cultural network across the city. One festival, two countries — the same independent, artist-led spirit presented to audiences on both sides of Europe.
Our long-term goal is to develop the Planet Earth Film Festival into a respected annual festival with international reach — a place where independent artists are seen, heard, connected, and inspired, and where Bayreuth and Plovdiv both become vibrant meeting points for contemporary film, music, and creative exchange.
PEFF Team
Nedy John Cross
Festival Director
Ute Ehrenberg
Festival Director
Barbara Baier
Program Curator
Geronimo Fuchs
Press & PR Manager
Duc Huy Ngo
Social Media
Maya Pavlova
OOH Coordinator
Christian Wedlich
Set Manager
Magdalena Aderhold
PR Manager
Kay Watermann
Team Member
Mario Oberländer
Team Member
2026 Award Highlights
Zettus der Retter
Hondamai
Those Are the Places You Will See
Bayreuth Festival Theatre
Purpose-built by Richard Wagner between 1872 and 1876 to stage his monumental Ring cycle. Today it remains exclusively dedicated to Wagner's works during the world-famous Bayreuther Festspiele each summer.
Stadtkirche Heilig Dreifaltigkeit
Standing just off the Marktplatz, the Stadtkirche is Bayreuth's main Protestant church — a Gothic structure dating back to the 14th century.
Marktplatz
Bayreuth's Marktplatz is the beating heart of the old town, a wide, open square framed by historic facades and anchored by the Stadtkirche's twin towers.
Hofgarten
Laid out in the 18th century as the palace garden of the Bayreuth Residenz, the Hofgarten is the city's most elegant green space.
Getting to Know Our New Host City
Plovdiv is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe — six millennia of history layered beneath a lively, art-filled old town. A taste of what PEFF 2027 audiences in Bulgaria will get to explore.
Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis
Built in the 1st century AD and rediscovered after a landslide in the 1970s, this Roman theatre is still used for performances today — one of the best-preserved of its kind anywhere in the world.
Roman Stadium
A 30,000-seat Roman stadium once ran straight through what is now Plovdiv's main pedestrian street — its excavated northern end still sits below street level in the heart of downtown.
Kapana District
Once a maze of craftsmen’s workshops, "Kapana" ("the trap") is now Plovdiv’s creative quarter — packed with independent galleries, studios, cafés and bars.
Old Town
Plovdiv's Old Town is a hillside tangle of cobblestone lanes lined with colourful 19th-century Bulgarian Revival houses, many now museums, galleries or guesthouses.
2027 Locations
For the first time, PEFF 2027 runs simultaneously at two venues — the established home in Bayreuth, Germany, and a new stage in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Reichshof
The Reichshof is one of Bayreuth's most beloved historic cinemas — a grand old-style theatre spread across the stalls and balcony, offering filmmakers and audiences a professional cinema experience in a distinctive cultural setting.
New for 2027
PEFF's new Plovdiv stage is organised in partnership with the Planet Earth Foundation, a cultural nonprofit working with districts across the city. The exact venue will be announced closer to the festival — check back on this page or follow us on social media for updates.
Award Winners
Official award certificates presented to the Gold, Silver, and Bronze honorees of the 2026 Bayreuth edition. 2027 winners from both Bayreuth and Plovdiv will be added here after the festival.
Gold Award
Adult
Elina Myshanych
Breaking Our Curse
Maximilian Franz Klampfl
Breaking Our Curse
Maximilian Franz Klampfl
Dreamzoned
Lukas Geppert
Grudge
David Tabaran
Hondamai
Tila Wandollek
Hondamai
Annette Muller
Infinity Pool
David Siroy
Invitation for Return
Panayiotis K Christophorou
Isabel - The Movie
Marco Kramer-Eis
Lighting Candle
Surapong Wetsuwanmanee
Mahrokh
Amirreza Safaee
Mnemosyne
Loukia Batsi
Redemption Loop
Balaji T
Salamander's Land
Ekaterina Ulyanova
Satidevi
Laxman Subedi
The Man of the Trees
Andrea Trivero
Wenja
Daniel Klotzek
Wild Divide
Aarti Chandrakumar Shrivastava
Zettus der Retter
Kelvin Elias Gast
Zettus der Retter
Florian Ratzko
Zettus der Retter
Jonathan Goldsche
Zettus der Retter
Thomas Ernst Gost
Silver Award
59 Degrees
Matias de Sa Moreira
59 Degrees
Cyril Pinero
Chapel
Satish Kumar
Hero
Didac Avila Padro
Mundo Pájaro
Antonio Marco Marenco
Mina's Violence
Amirreza Safaee
ReEarth ...Rights of Nature
Dharma Pundarika
The Color of Henna
Laxman Subedi
The Lotus MK
Satish Kumar
Bronze Award
Mystery of the Keeper
Elina Myshanych
The Ball
Amirreza Safaee
The Painters of the Future
Kurt Poeschl
Event Gallery
57 photos from the 2026 Bayreuth edition — click any photo to view it larger. Photos from Plovdiv will join this gallery starting in 2027.
PEFF 2027 Key Dates
The 2027 programme — running simultaneously at both locations — will be announced once the submission window closes. Save these dates in the meantime.
2026 Programme Recap (Bayreuth)
Over four festival days in 2026, the programme featured short films, animated films, music videos, documentaries and feature films — complemented by encounters with filmmakers, conversations with guests, a Meet & Greet, and the official award ceremony.
Monday, 20 July — Opening
Tuesday, 21 July
Wednesday, 22 July
Thursday, 23 July — Final & Award Ceremony
Tickets
Tickets are available directly at the venue or online, for both the Bayreuth and Plovdiv legs of the festival. One ticket grants access to all screenings taking place on that day, including all premiere showings. Plovdiv ticketing details will be published closer to the festival.
Buy TicketsSubmission & Rules
Submit your film for consideration at the Planet Earth Filmfestival. Selected films are screened at both the Bayreuth and Plovdiv locations. Full submission guidelines and rules are available on FilmFreeway. Early Bird deadline: December 1, 2026. Regular deadline: June 1, 2027.
Submit on FilmFreewayImpressum
Filmpartner24 EOOD.
EIK – 208477411, Bulgaria, 4580 Batak, ul. Pionerska 6
Represented by Nedelco Alipiev
Media studio:
Josef-Orlopp-Str. 92–106, 10365 Berlin, Germany
Plovdiv programme organised in partnership with:
Planet Earth Foundation, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Privacy Policy
Last updated: September 2026
1. Overview & Controller
This Privacy Policy explains what personal data is collected when you visit planet-earth.net (the “Website”) or otherwise interact with the Planet Earth Filmfestival (“PEFF”, “we”, “us”), and what rights you have regarding that data under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The data controller responsible for this Website is:
Filmpartner24 EOOD — EIK 208477411
ul. Pionerska 6, 4580 Batak, Bulgaria
Represented by Nedelco Alipiev
Media studio (EU correspondence address): Josef-Orlopp-Str. 92–106, 10365 Berlin, Germany
Email: films@planet-earth.net
Starting with the 2027 edition, the Plovdiv, Bulgaria programme is organised in partnership with Planet Earth Foundation, a Bulgarian cultural nonprofit based in Plovdiv. Where the Foundation collects data directly in connection with the Plovdiv programme (for example, local event registration), it acts as an independent controller for that data.
2. Hosting & Server Log Files
Like almost every website, our hosting provider automatically records a standard set of technical information each time the Website is accessed: your device's IP address, the date and time of access, the pages requested, the referring page, and browser/device information (user agent). These server log files are used only to operate, secure, and troubleshoot the Website, and are kept for a limited period before being deleted or anonymised. This processing is based on our legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) in providing a stable and secure site.
3. Cookies
This Website does not set any advertising, analytics, or tracking cookies of its own. If this ever changes — for example, if we add visitor analytics in the future — we will update this policy and, where required, ask for your consent first.
4. Contacting Us by Email
If you email films@planet-earth.net or send us a direct message on social media, we process the information you provide (such as your name, email address or handle, and the content of your message) solely to respond to your enquiry. This is based on your consent to initiate contact (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) and, where relevant, on steps necessary prior to entering into a contract with you (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). We keep correspondence only as long as needed to handle your request and any follow-up.
5. Social Media
Links on this Website lead to our profiles on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, and YouTube. We do not embed tracking widgets or pixels from these platforms on our pages — the links simply open the platform in question. Once you follow a link, your interaction is governed entirely by that platform's own privacy policy and terms, over which we have no control.
6. Film Submissions (FilmFreeway)
Film submissions for PEFF are handled through FilmFreeway, an independent third-party submission platform. Any personal data or materials you submit — your name, contact details, film files, and related information — are collected and processed directly by FilmFreeway under its own privacy policy. We receive and use submission details only to programme, jury, and organise the festival, and to contact you about the status of your entry.
7. Ticket Purchases
Tickets are sold through an external ticketing provider linked from our Tickets page. We do not process or store your payment details ourselves; any personal and payment data you provide during checkout is collected and processed by that provider under its own privacy policy.
8. Your Rights
Under the GDPR, you have the right to:
- request access to the personal data we hold about you;
- request correction of inaccurate data, or completion of incomplete data;
- request erasure of your data, where applicable;
- request restriction of, or object to, our processing of your data;
- request a portable copy of data you provided to us; and
- lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at films@planet-earth.net.
9. Data Retention
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described above, or as required by applicable law (for example, statutory retention periods for business correspondence).
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to the Website or applicable law. The “Last updated” date above indicates when it was last revised.