From August 26 to 28, 2026, Bertelsmann presented three evenings of silent-film classics under the stars, accompanied by live music and set against the spectacular backdrop of Berlin’s Museum Island. 2026 marked the 15th edition of the UFA Film Nights in Berlin, dedicated to a special theme: When UFA Came to Hollywood!
The 2026 edition of the festival paid tribute to the unique period of cinematic and cultural exchange between Germany and the United States that, nearly a century ago, produced some of silent cinema’s most enduring masterpieces. The three Hollywood films by Ernst Lubitsch, Paul Leni, and Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau were accompanied live by different ensembles in what is perhaps Berlin’s most beautiful temporary open-air cinema.
