德国重要的电影节之一。展映影片广泛，票房电影，艺术电影，主流电影，公路电影，喜剧、情景剧，惊悚片，西部片，儿童电影。
1992年，第一届德国汉堡电影节举办。此前有漫长的相关历史：

The 50s
The Hamburg "Filmtage" ("film days"), "Filmwochen" ("film weeks") and "Kinotage" ("cinema days") already existed in the Nineteen Fifties. They were organized and arranged by Hamburg's film economy - Real-Film, above all - together with German distribution companies.

In 1968, young filmmakers got together and organized the　"1. Hamburger Filmschau" ("1st Hamburg film show"), a weekend that has entered the history books of the young German film as a 'film-happening'.

The 70s
A few years later, various repertory theatres from all over the republic founded the "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kino" ("cinema association"), whose headquarters have since remained in Hamburg, where they have been organizing the annual "Hamburger Kinotage" since 1974.

1979
In the "Hamburger Erklärung" ("Hamburg declaration"), filmmakers Hark Bohm, Werner Herzog, Volker Schlöndorff and Wim Wenders, a.o., opposed heteronomy of the German film by "committees, institutions and interest groups" and initiated the "Filmfest der Filmemacher" ("filmmakers' filmfestival").

1986
On 29.10.1979 the "Hamburger Filmbüro e.V." ("Hamburg film office - reg. assoc.") was founded by filmmakers from Hamburg, which brought the (since 1986) internationally significant "Europäische Low Budget Film Forum" into existence; a film show and film discussion with participating directors and producers who were still unknown at the time, such as Derek Jarman, Stephen Frears and Lars von Trier.

1991
In order to bundle energies and put dwindling public funds to more effective use, the Low Budget Film Forum and the Kinotage joined forces end 1991, to coexist in the future as "Filmfest Hamburg". Founding partners were the AG Kino e.V. and the Hamburger Filmbüro e.V. .

1992
The Filmfest Hamburg took place for the first time in 1992, under the direction of Rosemarie Schatter.

1994
1994, the film producer Gerhard von Halem took over as festival director. Despite deliberate references to its predecessor-events, this "new" Hamburg festival was something entirely different to the Kinotage or the Low Budget Film Forum. While "young cinema" and "independent film" still took up central positions, the atmosphere of Filmfest Hamburg has been increasingly characterized by stars and glamour since 1994.

1995
Josef Wutz took over the festival in 1995-2002. Under his direction, the festival was continually elaborated and was established within the industry and the audience as a festival for independent films. Furthermore, the festival now supplied film productions from Hamburg with their own display window. Also, the new media and their businesses received a platform for presentation and discussion at the Filmfest Hamburg.

2003
Early January 2003, Albert Wiederspiel took over the direction of Filmfest Hamburg.