SEPTEMBER AFTERNOON

Press Screening: SUN, 9.8.2026 | 19:00 | PalaCinema 3
World Premiere: MON, 10.8.2026 | 18:00 | PalaCinema 1
Screenings: www.locarnofestival.ch

70 Min. / Germany 2026 / feature

Trailer:

Director Nicolaas Schmidt is available for interviews.

SEPTEMBER AFTERNOON by writer-director Nicolaas Schmidt is worldpremiering in the Cineasti del Presente Competition at the Locarno Film Festival 2026. It marks Nicolaas Schmidt’s return to Locarno, where his mid-length film FIRST TIME [The Time for All but Sunset – VIOLET] had its world premiere in 2021 and received a Pardi di Domani Special Mention.

SEPTEMBER AFTERNOON transforms the romantic idea of the summer retreat into a portrait of contemporary resignation. Set within a landscape marked by stagnation and the slow passage of time, it explores the fragility of intimacy through everyday gestures, repetition, silence, and moments of „dead time.“ Rather than relying on dramatic events, the film finds its emotional power in duration and observation, reflecting on the longing for connection and the quiet beauty of reaching towards each other despite the absence of certainty.

SYNOPSIS
A couple refuses to accept that summer is over. For a last time, they head to the coast with the intention of spending two afternoons together between sand dunes and sea water. The temperatures have long been too cold for sandals and shorts; the blustery autumn wind is no substitute for cosy rays of summer sun. On the way to the beach, they cross paths with a woman they know loosely. Upon arrival, they look in vain for a dune to take shelter from the wind; a small dam is built and defended hard against the tide, an attempt to erect a windbreak is made. These desperate struggles against the encroaching elements are merely a brief interlude before the situation unravels into a disaster of an entirely different magnitude. A Contemporary Cosmic Catastrophe.

Nicolaas Schmidt, born in Leipzig in 1979, lives and works in Hamburg as a filmmaker, video artist, and conceptual artist. He studied Fine Arts, Time-Based Media, and Visual Communication/Film at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg (HFBK) under Michaela Melián, Corinna Schnitt, Jeanne Faust, Robert Bramkamp, Wim Wenders, and Angela Schanelec, graduating with distinction in 2016 with his final film FINAL STAGE [The Time for All but Sunset – BGYOR]. The film received a Special Jury Award at the 67th Berlinale in 2017, the First Steps Award by the German Film Academy (2017), and the German Film Critics Award (VDFK) for Best Short Film 2017. After screenings at numerous international film festivals, Schmidt was nominated in 2019 for the Film Art Award as part of the Nationalgalerie Prize. His film INFLORESCENCE premiered at Berlinale Shorts in 2020 won the main award at the Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival (2021). The short film has since continued its festival journey, including special programmes at Vienna Shorts (Austria), DokuFest Prizren (Kosovo), and was shown at various art institutions. FIRST TIME [The Time for All but Sunset – VIOLET] received a Special Mention at the Locarno Film Festival in 2021, as well as the Special Award of the German Short Film Award, and won Best Film at Festival dei Popoli in Florence, as well as at the Black Canvas Film Festival Mexico City, Athens International Film and Video Festival, and Sicilia Queer International New Visions FilmFest in 2022. His work CINÉMOON was presented as a cinematic installation performance in 2022 and 2023. LIKE HORSES STANDING IN THE RAIN premiered at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2024 with a Special Mention at the national competition. In early 2027, Nicolaas Schmidt will shoot the feature film SOMETHING NEW HAS BEGUN together with Anne Döring.

SEPTEMBER AFTERNOON is produced by Amerikafilm. Supported by MOIN Filmförderung and FFA.

Production Company:
Amerikafilm GmbH
info@amerikafilm.de
www.amerikafilm.de

World Sales:
KINO REBELDE
distribution@kinorebelde.com
https://www.kinorebelde.com

©/CREDITS:

Stills: © Amerikafilm