HanseFiSH 2025
This year’s HanseFiSH presented itself over four evenings as a melting pot for international music, film, and literature as part of the Hanse Sail. With a total of over 3,500 guests, HanseFiSH was once again able to prove itself as an event and cultural venue. The big Hanse Sail fireworks, which took place on Thursday during HanseFiSH, also attracted thousands more visitors to the beach of Warnemünde.
The audience enjoys an impressive movie night on a big screen right at the beach with the International Ocean Film Tour. (c) Niklas Nebrich
HanseFiSH 2025, with its second edition and an even more diverse program compared to the previous year, was able to raise the bar once again. “We wanted to create an event that would be attractive both to young people from Rostock and to tourists. That’s why we decided to set three different themes on the different evenings: music, film, and literature. We are very pleased that this concept has once again worked out so wonderfully,” emphasized Christoph Krause, co-organizer of the event and owner of the WAL Strandbar.
HanseFiSH is a cooperation between the Medienwerkstatt Rostock, Hanse Sail, WAL Strandbar and the FiSH Filmfestival Rostock.
The highly anticipated Northern European Music Video Award – where music videos from nine Baltic Sea neighboring states were presented on a big screen right on the beach at the WAL Strandbar – went to the music video Avalanche by Monolink, directed by Zoe Stiletano and Vasco Alexandre from Copenhagen. “For us as filmmakers, events like HanseFiSH give us the strength and motivation to keep working hard on our projects,” said director Zoe Stiletano, who accepted the award in person together with co-director Vasco Alexandre. This marked the second year in a row that the award went to Denmark. In addition to the winning duo, Henrik Vahter (Director, Estonia), Adelīna Parma (Director, Latvia), Alūvijs (Artist, Latvia), and Theo Rosen (Artist & Director, Sweden) also attended the award ceremony. The live concert by ephraim, the previous year’s winner, as well as the spectacular Hanse Sail beach fireworks, completed the successful opening day.
In the picture: Vasco Alexandre and Zoe Stiletano from Copenhagen, Denmark (c) Niklas Nebrich
Another highlight was the International Ocean Film Tour, featuring five documentaries about the fascinating world of people and the sea. In between these movies there was even time for selected short films by up-and-coming filmmakers from the FiSH Filmfestival archive. Among other others the audience got to watch to Fishing by Andreas Dürr (16 years old, Germany), Lumber Slumber by Filip Wilkström (23 years old, Sweden), and Oddech by Aneta Siurnicka (21 years old, Poland). The impressive film program left the audience with both laughter and tears. With perfect summer weather, visitors enjoyed an international cinema evening that will be remembered for a long time.
On Saturday, the WAL Strandbar transformed into a beach club, which was particularly well received by young students, creatives and numerous tourists. The DJ Collective Sugar Crave from Rostock, with Tante Miri and Eloose, created a relaxed beach party atmosphere, where people could dance, chill and enjoy the evening at the beach in Warnemünde..
After three eventful days, HausLese am Meer, hosted by Jens Lippert and Tobias Wolff, offered a warm and humorous finale. The poets and musicians combined literature, music and performance into a poetic evening that also included the occasional cabaret-style jab. Between sunset and the sound of the waves, the audience enjoyed a special Sunday evening at the WAL Strandbar, bringing the Hanse Sail weekend to a close.
(c) Heiner Beisert (c) Heiner Beisert (c) Heiner Beisert
(c) Heiner Beisert (c) Heiner Beisert (c) Heiner Beisert
(c) Niklas Nebrich (c) Niklas Nebrich (c) Niklas Nebrich
