Belief on Screen

communicating religion, faith and ethics

21st European Festival for religious and ethical Television and Online Programmes

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September, 23rd to 25th, 2026 Copenhagen

Update: 18 films from across Europe in the programme

Our TV festival is now in its final stages. The preselection team has done a great job and, from a total of 75 entries submitted from 22 countries, has selected 18 outstanding films to be screened over the two days of the festival.  The festival begins on Wednesday evening, 23 September, with a highlight: at 6 pm there will be a welcome reception at Copenhagen’s ‘Our Lady’ Cathedral on Norregade street (city centre). Following this, the festival will screen Carl Theodor Dreyer’s historic black-and-white film “La passion de Jeanne d’Arc” from 1928 in the cathedral, accompanied live by organ music. On Thursday and Friday, the festival’s activities will move to the Danish Film Institute (DFI), also in the city centre, where venues await us for the screening sessions as well as for socializing, networking and discussions. The closing gala dinner and awards ceremony is also scheduled to take place there on Friday evening at 7 pm – and, weather permitting, we will bring the TV Festival to a close on the Film Institute’s roof terrace, overlooking the rooftops of Copenhagen. We look forward to meeting you in Copenhagen. 

PROGRAMME

Wednesday 23.09.26
Wednesday 23.09.26
18:00
Opening Ceremony

Cathedral "Our Lady"

Norregade (Inner City)

Welcoming the participants by Christoffer Emil Bruun (President)

Light Dinner
19:00
Film Screening

Cathedral "Our Lady"

(1928) by Carl Theodor Dreyer
Introduced by Peter Skov-Jakobsen (Bishop of Copenhagen)

Thursday 24.09.26
Thursday 24.09.26
09:00
Welcome Coffee

Danish Film Institute

Gothersgade 55 (City)
09:30
Screening 1 · 87 min
11:00
Coffee Break
11:30
Screening 2 · 90 min
13:00
Lunch Break
14:00
Screening 3 · 90 min
15:30
Coffee Break
16:00
Screening 4 · 58 min

18:00
Social Event

BIBLIARIUM

Labyrinth Experience Centre
Sct. Andreas Kirke
Gothersgade 148
Light Dinner & Talks
Friday 25.09.26
Friday 25.09.26
09:00
Welcome Coffee

Danish Film Institute

Gothersgade 55 (City)
09:30
Screening 5 · 91 min
11:00
Coffee Break
11:30
Screening 6 · 100 min
13:00
Lunch Break
14:00
Screening 7 · 98 min
15:30
Coffee Break
19:00
Final Awards Ceremony - Let’s say goodbye above the rooftops of Copenhagen until midnight on the roof terrace

Danish Film Institute

Festive Dinner and Awards Ceremony - Let’s say goodbye above the rooftops of Copenhagen until midnight on the roof terrace

Jury

Catia Barone

(Italy)

Journalist and documentary filmmaker at Italy’s national public broadcaster, RAI. She has written and directed award-winning documentaries, including Breathless, winner of Best TV Documentary at the ABU Prizes 2021, with special mentions at SIGNIS Prix Italia and the Japan Prize. Her work combines investigative journalism with visual storytelling on social, environmental, ethical and spiritual issues, including for RAI’s historic Protestant programme, Protestantesimo.

Jim McDonnell

(England)

Jim McDonnell has been working in the field of religious broadcasting since the1990s. Between 1995 and 2023 he helped to promote and organize nine TV festivals. Over the years, in collaboration with SIGNIS and WACC, he has worked to promote the best of European religious broadcasting in TV festivals, most recently the Belief on Screen Festival in Berlin, 2023. This year, for the first time, he is looking forward to simply being a member of the Festival jury! 

Kristian Danholm

(Denmark)

Journalist and Historian. Head of press, Diocese of Copenhagen. Previously worked as reporter, editor and developer at Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) and Radio 24syv. Also as Head of communications at Copenhagen Police. Member of the Radio and Television Board under the Ministry of Culture

THE AWARDS

The festival jury awards three prizes

  • Award for the Best Film of the Festival
  • Special Award for Innovation and Creativity
  • Audience Award

Festivalort

Hauptort des TV-Festivals ist das Babylon, eines der traditionsreichsten Kinos in Berlins belebter Stadtmitte (www.babylonberlin.de). Dort treffen sich die Festivalgäste an drei Tagen zu Vorführungen und Gedankenaustausch. Daneben gibt es abendliche Empfänge und eine festliche Abschlussgala an repräsentativen Orten in der Nähe.
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BELIEF ON SCREEN, COPENHAGEN 2026

Being more alone in the world than for many years, Europe needs to understand its own values and its own faith. It is crucial for the continent that we keep on having conversations about our belief and values as part of our culture. Europe needs a festival that encourage thoughts, discussions and exchange of ideas on religion and ethics as topics for mass communication. Therefore we are pleased to make this announcement: The next European Festival for Religious TV Programs, „Belief On Screen,“ will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, from September 23 to 25, 2026. It is aimed at filmmakers, producers and editors from public and private TV stations and online platforms across Europe who are responsible for spiritual, ethical or religious programs. In addition, the films shown are open to interested audiences. The traditional festival, which takes place every three years in different European countries, is organized by the international churchmedia organizations SIGNIS Europe and WACC Europe, in cooperation with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). Other partners include the Danish Film Institute (DFI), the Diocese of Copenhagen, and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

HISTORY AND OUTLOOK

When founded, the content of the festival focused on christian belief. After some years it opened up to other religions. Now the ambition is to open it even more, so that the festival covers both religion and ethics. The name of the festival will then be ‘Belief on Screen – communicating religion, faith and ethics’. Until now participators of Belief on Screen have been producers and broadcasters working with TV and documentaries. Now we open the festival to the public. TV-programmes and documentaries will be shown at venues open to everybody. Partners for Belief on Screen are WACC (World Association for Christian Communication) and SIGNIS (World Catholic Association for Communication), who historically have contributed organizing and funding the festival. Apart from these two organizations the festival is working with local partners. The Diocese of Copenhagen will host a contemporary organization, that runs the festival. DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation) and The Danish Film Institute will both be local partners for Belief on Screen ’26. ‘Filmhuset’ (The Film house) under The Danish Film Institute (DFI) will be the main venue. European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is about to establish a new network for producers and editors among EBU members, working with religion, faith and ethics. This network will gather the at the first day of the festival to share information about their programme portfolios (covering digital and linear output), challenges and learnings, and discuss wider opportunities to collaborate through the EBU network.

Registration of Participants

Please register using the registration form by clicking on the registration button.

• Early bird (up to 15. February 2026): € 300
• Full price: € 350

A reduced fee for students and low-income earners is available on request. In exceptional cases it is possible to reimburse the fee.

This fee includes lunches, receptions, social events and screenings for the whole period of the festival. The fee doesn’t include the cost for accommodation/hotels.

Register now!

For any further questions of any kind, please contact info@beliefonscreen.tv.

Submission of Programmes (Submissions are now closed)

We invite national and European television producers from both public-service and commercial broadcasters, as well as television-related online content providers, to submit their productions for the competition. All genres are welcome, ranging from editorial documentaries and fictional programmes to children’s and family programming, comedy formats, and devotional broadcasts such as worship services or reflections. Entries with innovative approaches to religion, faith and spirituality are particularly encouraged.

The Festival accepts programmes that were broadcast between September 2023 and September 2026 on a European public-service or commercial TV channel, or were made publicly available on European-based online platforms.

For each individual programme submitted, an entry fee of 100 € (incl. VAT) must be paid. Payment is made via FilmFreeway as part of the submission process and is non-refundable.

Submissions are open now and must be received no later than 31st May 2026.

There is no limit to the number of programme entries that may be submitted.

Programmes that are discriminatory or religiously intolerant will not be accepted.

Further information and details on competition submissions can be downloaded below:

Rules and terms

Submissions can be entered via FilmFreeway.com only. Please follow the instructions on the website. It’s easy! 

Mitglieder der Vorauswahljury

Mitglieder der Internationalen Festival-Jury

Michaela Pilters

Theologin und Journalistin

Michaela Pilters (Deutschland) ist Theologin und Journalistin. Langjährige Leiterin der katholischen Redaktion des Zweiten Deutschen Fernsehens (ZDF) von 1985 bis 2018. Vorstandsmitglied verschiedener EBU-Religionskonferenzen in Prag; Organisatorin des SIGNIS/WACC-Religions-TV-Festivals in Berlin 2010; langjährige Vorsitzende der Gemeinschaft Katholischer Publizisten Deutschlands (GKP); Mitglied der Jury des Katholischen Medienpreises.

Marion Klaseie

arbeitete bei verschiedenen TV-Produktionsfirmen

Marion Klaseie (Norwegen) arbeitete bei verschiedenen TV-Produktionsfirmen, sowohl als Angestellte als auch als Freiberuflerin, als Technikerin, Produzentin und Managerin, und als Gründerin einer lokalen TV-Firma. 1999-2019: Projektmanagerin, Produzentin und Entwicklerin für den nationalen Öffentlich-Rechtlichen Rundfunk in Norwegen (NRK) mit Verantwortung für Religions-, Ethik- und Verkündigungsprogramme.

Judith Colell

Filmregisseurin, Vizedekanin für Wirtschaft und Nachhaltigkeit am FCRI

Judith Colell (Spanien) ist Filmregisseurin, Vizedekanin für Wirtschaft und Nachhaltigkeit am FCRI Blanquerna URL und Präsidentin der Katalanischen Filmakademie. Sie führte bei 9 Spielfilmen Regie, darunter "Elisa K", "15 Stunden" und "53 Tage Winter", und gewann unter anderem den Sonderpreis der Jury des Filmfestivals von San Sebastián und den Nationalen Filmpreis 2011. Sie hat einen PhD in Kommunikation und ist ehemalige Vizepräsidentin der spanischen Filmakademie.

Diana Adomaitienė

Fernseh- und Radiojournalistin und arbeitet in der kirchlichen Öffentlichkeitsarbeit

Diana Adomaitienė (Litauen) ist Fernseh- und Radiojournalistin und arbeitet in der kirchlichen Öffentlichkeitsarbeit. Als Absolventin der Litauischen Akademie für Musik und Theater (Film- und Fernsehregie) begann ihre berufliche Laufbahn beim lokalen Fernsehsender "Kaunas plus TV". Später wurde sie zunächst Moderatorin der täglichen Morgen-Live-Sendung beim nationalen Fernsehsender LNK und wechselte dann zur Moderation der Primetime-Abendsendung. Seit 2020 ist sie Leiterin der Stiftung Litauische Kirchenchronik.

Unterbringung

Berlin bietet ein Vielzahl von Hotels und Quartieren aller Preisklassen. Wir empfehlen die Häuser von Motel One (Berlin-Hackescher Markt, Berlin-Alexanderplatz, Berlin-Spittelmarkt und Berlin-Hauptbahnhof) sowie weitere Hotels und Unterbringungsmöglichkeiten in der Nähe.

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Organisatoren

Das Festival für religiöse Fernseh- und Online-Programme 2023 in Berlin wird gemeinsam verantwortet von den internationalen Medienorganisationen WACC (World Association of Christian Communication) für die evangelische und SIGNIS (World Catholic Association for Communication) für die katholische Kirche. Kooperationspartner sind die EKD (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland) und die katholische Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (DBK).

Für die örtliche Durchführung zeichnet ein Team unter Leitung von Festival-Geschäftsführer Joachim Opahle (Tel: +49 (0)172 38 85 782, info@beliefonscreen.tv verantwortlich

Registration

This is to certify that I have registered my participation in the TV-festival Belief on Screen from 23rd – 25th September 2026 in Copenhagen

Fees:

  • Early bird (up to 15th February 2026): € 300

  • Normal fee: € 350

Payment

Payment should be made to the following bank account via electronic transfer:

Name of bank: Nordea 
Account holder: BELIEF ON SCREEN 2026
Account number: 9047 146914
IBAN: DK 82 2000 9047 1469 14
BIC: NDEADKKKXXX

Please indicate in the reference/message field: „TV-festival/ Participant’s name“.

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