Esperanto music, films, radio and YouTube

Yes, there is music and film in Esperanto. Bands have recorded rock, folk, pop and rap in the language for decades, and the label Vinilkosmo has published Esperanto albums since 1990. The best-known film is Incubus (1966), a horror film starring William Shatner and shot entirely in Esperanto. Radio stations in Poland, China, Cuba and elsewhere have broadcast in Esperanto for decades.

Most of this culture is made by Esperanto speakers for Esperanto speakers. It circulates at festivals, congresses and online rather than in mainstream charts or cinemas.

#Who makes music in Esperanto?

Esperanto music covers almost every genre. A few of the best-known names:

Many Esperanto artists sing in other languages too, and some recorded only one or two albums. Esperanto also has choral music, children's songs and the anthem La Espero – see flag and symbols.

#What is Vinilkosmo?

Vinilkosmo is the main record label for Esperanto music. Floréal Martorell founded it in 1990 in Donneville, near Toulouse in France. It became a professional label in 1999 and has sold downloads since 2009. Its catalogue ranges from folk and pop to rock and hip-hop.

Before Vinilkosmo, Esperanto records were released by small national associations and individual artists. The label brought much of that music together in one catalogue.

#Where can you hear Esperanto music live?

At festivals and congresses. The Kultura Esperanto-Festivalo (KEF) began in 1986 in Uppsala, Sweden, and since 2022 has been held in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Concerts are also part of the World Esperanto Congress and of youth meetings, where evening concerts and a late-night bar are traditions.

#What films have been made in Esperanto?

Only a handful of feature films have been made entirely in Esperanto:

#Did William Shatner speak Esperanto in Incubus?

He spoke it on screen, but he did not know the language. Incubus was shot in May 1965 and released on 26 October 1966. Leslie Stevens, creator of The Outer Limits, chose Esperanto to give the film an eerie, otherworldly feel. The actors learned their lines phonetically, and Esperanto speakers have long noted their unusual pronunciation.

The film was thought lost for years. A surviving print with French subtitles turned up at the Cinémathèque française in the 1990s, and a 4K restoration was released in 2025. For people who learned Esperanto, see famous Esperanto speakers.

#Where does Esperanto appear in mainstream films and TV?

Esperanto often appears in the background, as a symbol of an international or future world:

• Idiot's Delight (1939) – characters speak Esperanto and signs are written in it.
• The Great Dictator (1940) – Charlie Chaplin's film shows shop signs in Esperanto in the ghetto scenes.
• Gattaca (1997) – public-address announcements are in Esperanto and English; Miko Sloper of the Esperanto League of North America went to the recording studio to handle the Esperanto part.
• Captain Fantastic (2016) – the father's daughters speak some Esperanto.
• Red Dwarf (British TV) – the ship's signs were bilingual in the first two series, and the character Rimmer tries to learn Esperanto.

#Is there Esperanto radio?

Yes, though much of it has moved online:

Polish Radio's service broadcast from Warsaw, Zamenhof's city, for more than half a century.

#Are there Esperanto YouTube channels and podcasts?

Yes. Since the 2010s, Esperanto speakers have published many YouTube channels, podcasts and live streams – from vlogs and language lessons to music videos and interviews with native speakers. The podcast Pola Retradio, started by former editors of Polish Radio's Esperanto service, has run since 2011. Because channels appear and disappear quickly, we do not list subscriber numbers.

The documentary The Universal Language (2011) by the American director Sam Green is a short (about 30-minute) introduction to the history and community of Esperanto.

#Common questions

#Is there music in Esperanto?

Yes. Hundreds of songs and albums exist in genres from folk to metal and rap. The label Vinilkosmo, founded in 1990, has published many of them.

#What movie is entirely in Esperanto?

The first was Angoroj (France, 1964). The most famous is Incubus (USA, 1966), starring William Shatner, who learned his lines phonetically.

#Does William Shatner speak Esperanto?

No. He performed his lines in Esperanto for Incubus (1966) but learned them by sound, without learning the language.

#Is there an Esperanto radio station?

Several stations have broadcast in Esperanto, including Polish Radio (1959–2011), China Radio International (1964–2021) and Radio Havana Cuba. Today most Esperanto audio is online, through podcasts and internet radio.

#Which Hollywood film has Esperanto in it?

Gattaca (1997) has public announcements in Esperanto, and The Great Dictator (1940) shows Esperanto signs. Incubus (1966) is the only American feature film spoken entirely in Esperanto.

#Sources

• Wikipedia, Vinilkosmo and Vikipedio, Vinilkosmo
• Vikipedio, Persone, Kultura Esperanto-Festivalo and JoMo; Wikipedia, Kajto and Jean-Marc Leclercq
• Wikipedia, Incubus (1966 film); Jonathan Rosenbaum, review of Incubus
• Wikipedia, Angoroj, Esperanto film and Esperanto in popular culture
• Wikipedia, Gattaca and The Great Dictator
• Wikipedia, Polish Radio External Service and Vikipedio, Pola Radio
• Vikipedio, Ĉina Radio Internacia; Wikipedia, Radio Havana Cuba
• The SWLing Post, Radio Havana Cuba's A-25 schedule (15 April 2025); Radio FM Esperanto, Radio Havano Kubo programme of 15 June 2025