Queersicht runs from 5 to 11 November 2026, and this edition is its thirtieth. The festival's programme page announces the anniversary week and gives one date that matters more than any other for planning: the programme itself appears on 12 October 2026. Until then nobody knows which films are showing, and tickets are not on sale.
The festival was founded in 1996 and calls itself the oldest queer film festival in Switzerland. It is carried by a non-profit association and organised by a volunteer committee of about twenty people. The week is built from short films, features and documentaries that do not usually reach ordinary cinema programmes, with talks and community events around the screenings. Two audience prizes called the Rosa Brille go to the short films that visitors vote for, 2,000 francs for the winner and 500 for the runner-up, so bringing an opinion is part of the arrangement.
Six cinemas, not one venue
Queersicht spreads across the city rather than taking over a single house. The festival's venue list names CineABC on Moserstrasse, Kino REX 1 on Schwanengasse, the Kellerkino in the Kramgasse, the Cinématte on Wasserwerkgasse, the Kino in der Reitschule on Neubrückstrasse and the Lichtspiel on Sandrainstrasse. Around the films there is a bar and lounge at the Stube im Progr on Waisenhausplatz, a party at the Stellwerk on Parkterrasse and a brunch at Restaurant Du Nord in the Lorraine quarter. Most of those addresses sit inside or just below the old town, so an evening of two screenings in two cinemas is a walk rather than a journey.
What to check before booking
Three things were still open when this was written on 28 August 2026. The ticket page on the festival site leads to a section marked as work in progress, so there is no advance sale yet. The programme date of 12 October leaves three weeks between the film list and the opening night, which is short notice for flights and rooms in a small capital. And the site carries a note about a follow-up series at the Filmpodium Biel/Bienne that still shows 2025 dates, so that second chance to catch a film should be treated as unconfirmed for this year.
Bern around the festival
November is off-season in Bern, which mostly works in a visitor's favour. The city's queer addresses are few and close together: QueerBooks is a queer bookshop that fits the week better than most, Comeback Bar is the bar we list in the city, and there are two saunas, Sundeck Sauna Bern and Aqualis Sauna Club. Our Switzerland country page has the legal background for travellers.
