Press Release
30th Anniversary Berlin & Beyond Film Festival will open with Köln 75 and present Spotlight Award in Acting to Mala Emde
PRESS CONTACT
For all interviews, requests and questions, please contact Steve Indig:
steve@steveindigpr.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(February 27, 2026, San Francisco) The Berlin & Beyond Film Festival, presented by the Goethe-Institut San Francisco, will honor the ongoing career achievements of German cinema, television, and stage actor Mala Emde with the Festival’s 2026 Spotlight Award in Acting. The tribute will take place at the 30th Anniversary Berlin & Beyond Film Festival Opening Night screening of “Köln 75,” making its San Francisco Premiere at the iconic Castro Theatre on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 6:00 pm.
Mala Emde is scheduled to be in person for this screening and tribute, accompanied by the film’s director Ido Fluk. Mala Emde is also scheduled to be in person for the additional showing of “Köln 75” at the Rialto Cinemas® Elmwood in Berkeley on Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 1:45 PM. The festival will show Barbara Albert’s “Blind at Heart” (“Die Mittagsfrau”), also starring Mala Emde, on Friday, March 20, 2026 at 7:30 PM at The Vogue Theater in San Francisco. Mala Emde is scheduled to be in person, together with actor Thomas Prenn.
MALA EMDE
Born in 1996, Mala Emde is considered one of the most vibrant and creative actors of her generation. Most recently, she captivated audiences in Ido Fluk’s “Köln 75,” which premiered at the 2025 Berlinale, received numerous awards, and has since screened at festivals around the globe. She has also been awarded the German Acting Prize and received a nomination for the German Film Prize.
Mala Emde garnered significant attention in Raymond Ley’s acclaimed docudrama “My Daughter Anne Frank” (2014), receiving the Bavarian Film Award’s Young Talent Award. She made her feature film debut in Florian Schnell’s “Life is Not a Bonus Level” (2016).
From 2016 to 2020, she studied acting at the renowned Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin and at the Lambda Theatre School in London. Alongside her studies, she continued to work on screen. She starred alongside Martina Gedeck and Matthias Brandt in the mystery thriller “Killing Stella” (2017), was part of the ensemble of the TV film “Katharina Luther” (2017, directed by Julia von Heinz), played the lead in the TV series “Charité” (2019), had a small but significant part in Jan-Ole Gerster’s “Lara,” and portrayed the writer’s first great love in the two-part docudrama “Brecht,” directed by Heinrich Breloer. The real-time road film “303,” for which she collaborated with director Hans Weingartner, was released in 2018, accompanied by significant media attention at its Berlinale premiere.
Her first international project was the ZDF thriller series “The Defeated,” produced in 2020. Almost simultaneously, her second collaboration with director Julia von Heinz, “And Tomorrow the Entire World,” premiered in German cinemas. The film celebrated its world premiere at the 77th Venice International Film Festival, and Mala Emde’s performance earned the Bisato d’Oro award, presented by independent film critics. Her next film, “Skin Deep” (2023, directed by Alex Schaad), starring alongside Jonas Dassler, Maryam Zaree, and Dimitrij Schaad, also premiered in Venice.
From 2021 till the end of 2024, she was a permanent member of the ensemble at Theater Basel. Alongside her stage work, she starred in the series “Oh Hell” (2022, 2023), portraying the eponymous and chaotically endearing Helene Sternberg for two seasons. In autumn 2023, “Blind at Heart” (directed by Barbara Albert) was released in cinemas. It was the film adaptation of the Julia Franck novel “Die Mittagsfrau,” in which Mala Emde played the lead role.
Mala Emde will soon be seen in the rom-com “Any Other Night,” directed by Michiel ten Horn; the Netflix production “We Are One,” directed by Markus Goller; and the TV movie “Sommer auf Asphalt” by Simon Ostermann, with whom she previously collaborated on “Oh Hell.” Furthermore, she has taken on the lead role in the comedy “Das gewisse Etwas,” directed by Marc Rothemund and slated for a 2026 release.
SPOTLIGHT AWARD IN ACTING
Mala Emde is the eighth honoree of the Berlin & Beyond Film Festival Spotlight Award in Acting. Previous honorees were Christiane Paul (2020), Bjarne Mädel (2019), Lars Eidinger (2018), Frederick Lau (2018), Julia Jentsch (2017), Tom Schilling (2016), and Ronald Zehrfeld (2015).
The 30th Anniversary Berlin & Beyond Film Festival’s 2026 Premiere Sponsors are San Francisco Grants for the Arts and the Excelsior German Center.
FILMS
Köln 75
Keith Jarrett’s legendary performance in January 1975 nearly didn’t happen. Based on a true story, Köln 75 follows how the concert was conceived and orchestrated by the efforts of a teenage up and coming concert promoter, Vera Brandes, (played by German actress Mala Emde). Her enthusiasm set her to multitasking – from organizing the concert venue (the Cologne Opera House), promoting the event, and selling the tickets, to convincing Jarrett to perform when he almost dropped out when the Bösendorfer Imperial Grand piano he was promised was nowhere to be found. John Magaro plays Jarrett with his own intensity, a sublime counterpoint to Mala Emde’s joyful portrayal of the enthusiastic and unstoppable Vera. Köln 75 captures the compelling, entertaining and, until now, unknown back story about Jarrett’s one-hour, entirely improvised concert, which became the best-selling solo album in jazz history. A Zeitegist Films release in association with Kino Lorber.
Starring Mala Emde, John Magaro, Michael Chernus, Alexander Scheer, Ulrich Tukur, Jördis Triebel
(2025. Germany. 112 min. in German and some English with English subtitles)
Blind at Heart (Die Mittagsfrau)
Barbara Albert’s film adaptation of Julia Franck’s bestseller, “Die Mittagsfrau,” which won the German Book Prize: The touching story of a young woman at the beginning of the 20th century who becomes a mother under the most adverse circumstances. Strokes of fate and the cover-up of her Jewish ancestry during the Nazi era gradually rob her of her identity. Despite the fear, the courage to make an outrageous decision grows, moved by the hope for a new beginning. A Menemsha Films release.
Starring Mala Emde, Max von der Groeben, Thomas Prenn, Liliane Amuat, Fabienne Elaine Hollwege, Eli Wasserscheid.
(2024. Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg. 112 min. in German with English subtitles)
SHOWTIMES & TICKETS
Köln 75
Thursday, March 19, 2026, 7:00 PM
Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St, San Francisco
In Person: Male Emde (Actor), Ido Fluk (Director)
$40 general admission. No discounts.
Blind at Heart (Die Mittagsfrau)
Friday, March 20, 2026, 7:30 PM
The Vogue Theater, 3290 Sacramento Street, San Francisco
In Person: Male Emde (Actor), Thomas Prenn (Actor
$20.00 general admission, $17.00 senior (with ID) / ADA (with ID), $12.00 student (with ID – at door only)
Köln 75
Sunday, March 22, 2026, 1:45 PM
Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Ave, Berkeley
In Person: Male Emde (Actor), Ido Fluk (Director)
$30 general admission. No discounts.
Ticket release information and sales links can be found at the Official Website: berlinbeyond.com
BERLIN & BEYOND FILM FESTIVAL
Since 1996, the Berlin & Beyond Film Festival has been the leading festival of contemporary German cinema in the Americas. It has presented over 500 motion pictures to more than 200,000 attendees, alongside celebrated and distinguished figures, including Fatih Akin, Moritz Bleibtreu, Hark Bohm, Daniel Brühl, Doris Dörrie, Lars Eidinger, Hannelore Elsner, Anke Engelke, Florian David Fitz, Bruno Ganz, Werner Herzog, Frederick Lau, Maria Schrader, Dan Stevens, Peter Kurth, Christiane Paul, Tom Schilling, Michael Steiner, Barbara Sukowa, Michael Verhoeven, Wim Wenders, and Ronald Zehrfeld.
Official Website: berlinbeyond.com
Social Media: @berlinbeyond #BerlinBeyond2026 #BerlinBeyond30
THE GOETHE-INSTITUT
The Goethe-Institut is Germany’s globally active cultural institute, comprising 154 institutes in 100 countries. The Goethe-Institut is committed to fostering understanding between Germany, Europe, and the world. It enables international cultural exchange to take place, promotes access to the German language and supports the unimpeded development of culture and science. The San Francisco branch has promoted German culture and language since 1967. Its year-round cultural activities include art exhibitions, film screenings, and special events with local cultural institutions.
Official Website: goethe.de/sf
Social Media: @goetheinstitut.sanfrancisco
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PRESS INFORMATION
Press images will be available soon. Screeners for select films will be available for the press. Select films with US distribution and under territorial sales negotiations will have hold review restrictions.
For all requests / questions, please contact Steve Indig:
steve@steveindigpr.com
