When is Nippon Connection 2027?

8 to 13 June 2027, in Frankfurt am Main.

In what language are the films shown?

Mostly in the original Japanese with English subtitles (OmeU); some carry German subtitles.

Where does it take place?

Its hub is the Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm with the NAXOS next door, plus cinemas across Frankfurt.

All events

Japanese film · Frankfurt · since 2000

Nippon Connection 2027

8–13 June 2027

Nippon Connection is the largest platform for Japanese film in the world, six days each June in Frankfurt. The 27th edition runs 8 to 13 June 2027, with around 140 films, most in the Japanese original with English subtitles.

27th edition · around 140 films · original Japanese with English subtitles

What it is

Nippon Connection began in 2000 as a student project at Frankfurt's Goethe University and grew into the world's largest festival for Japanese film. The first edition expected 1,500 people and drew about 10,000. Today it shows around 140 features, documentaries, animation and shorts and draws more than 20,000 visitors, from its hub at the Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm and the neighbouring NAXOS.

The programme

New and independent Japanese cinema across several strands.

Nippon Cinema (new features)Nippon Visions (independent, competition)Nippon Docs (documentaries)Nippon Retro (classics)Nippon AnimationNippon KidsNippon Culture

More than films

Nippon Culture runs alongside the screenings: more than eighty events with Japanese food and drink, workshops, concerts, performances, exhibitions and talks, spread across the festival's venues. It is a large part of why people come, and why the festival feels less like a cinema programme and more like a week in Japan in the middle of Frankfurt.

The awards

The main prize is the Nippon Cinema Award for a feature film, worth 4,000 euros. The Nippon Visions competition gives a jury award (the free subtitling of the director's next film) and a 2,000-euro audience award; there are also awards for the best documentary and, since 2026, the best animated short. The honorary Nippon Rising Star Award goes to an emerging talent from the Japanese film industry.

Where it plays

The festival spreads across cinemas in Frankfurt. These are the ones we carry; each links to the venue and its programme. The hub is the Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, with the NAXOS next door.

Cinemas on KinoNow — tap for showtimesOther film venues — tap for the venue's site

naxos.Kino im Theater Willy Praml

See cinema

Kino des DFF – Deutsches Filmmuseum

The festival also uses the Mousonturm and other spaces across the city that are not cinemas we list.

Original with subtitles

The standard is OmeU: the original Japanese with English subtitles, so the programme is followable without German or Japanese. Some titles carry German subtitles, and the children's programme sometimes runs with a live German voiceover. The festival itself is bilingual, German and English.

OV and OmU explained More anime

Tickets and how it works

Tickets are sold per screening, with festival passes available. The full 2027 programme, guests and awards line-up are published closer to the festival.

Festival website

Common questions

When is Nippon Connection 2027?: 8 to 13 June 2027, in Frankfurt am Main.
What does it show?: Japanese film of every kind, around 140 features, documentaries, animation and shorts, plus the Nippon Culture programme.
In what language are the films shown?: Mostly in the original Japanese with English subtitles (OmeU); some carry German subtitles.
What is the main award?: The Nippon Cinema Award for a feature film, worth 4,000 euros.
Where does it take place?: Its hub is the Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm with the NAXOS next door, plus cinemas across Frankfurt.

Facts on this page checked on 3 September 2026.

Sources

nipponconnection.com