This year’s pitch­ing event DFFB Con­nect took place on 8 April 2025 in the Säälchen am Holz­markt. Stu­dents pitched their (grad­u­a­tion) projects, a doc­u­men­tary film and a series.

After­wards, there were quick, sev­en-minute round table dis­cus­sions with the pro­duc­ers, edi­tors and agents present, who got to know all the stu­dents and their projects even bet­ter.

Any­one inter­est­ed in the projects pre­sent­ed is wel­come to get in touch at presse@​dffb.​de.

Our post­grad­u­ate train­ing pro­gramme Ser­i­al Eyes, as part of the STREAM net­work, has demon­strat­ed fur­ther com­mit­ment to improv­ing and expand­ing the Euro­pean series land­scape.

STREAM (Series Train­ing Resources, Engage­ment and Media) con­sists of 10 of Europe’s lead­ing insti­tu­tions for fur­ther edu­ca­tion in the series indus­try. Through shared val­ues and goals, the ini­tia­tive pro­motes col­lab­o­ra­tion, knowl­edge shar­ing and inno­va­tion in the Euro­pean series land­scape to fos­ter the next gen­er­a­tion of the indus­try.

Dur­ing this year’s Series Mania Fes­ti­val in Lille, the insti­tu­tions (Series Mania Insti­tute, Den Danske Film­skole, ECAM, Inter­na­tionale Film­schule Köln, Il Cen­tro Sper­i­men­tale di Cin­e­matografia, La Fémis, Lodz Film School, MIDPOINT Insti­tute, Tori­no Film Lab, Ser­i­al Eyes), led by the French Series Mania Insti­tute, agreed on a com­mon char­ter. The val­ues and objec­tives con­tained there­in, such as a strong Euro­pean iden­ti­ty, com­mit­ment to an eth­i­cal and sus­tain­able indus­try and the strength­en­ing of inter­na­tion­al coop­er­a­tion, are intend­ed to fur­ther pro­mote coop­er­a­tion and exchange with­in the Euro­pean series indus­try.

The achtung berlin film­fes­ti­val starts soon! The 21st edi­tion runs from 2 to 9 April 2025. Eleven DFFB pro­duc­tions are includ­ed in the fes­ti­val pro­gramme and stu­dents and alum­ni have also worked on oth­er films and series. Here you can find infor­ma­tion about the pro­duc­tions and screen­ings.

Filme der DFFB

DIE FARBE DER LUFT

Wet­tbe­werb Spielfilm
(R: Oliv­er Moser, B/​P: Lin­da König & Oliv­er Moser, K: Malte Siepen, M: Isabel­la Kohl & Oliv­er Moser)

• Do, 03.04. um 17:30 Uhr, Baby­lon 1
• Fr, 04.04. um 22:15 Uhr, Baby­lon 3
• So, 06.04. um 20:45 Uhr, fsk Kino am Oranien­platz

NULPEN

Wet­tbe­werb Spielfilm
(R/​B: Sori­na Gajwes­ki, K: Hannes Schulze, M: Raf­faél­lo Lup­perg­er, P: Sab­ri­na Holzapfel)

• So, 06.04. um 18:00 Uhr, City Kino Wed­ding
• Mo, 07.04. um 17:45 Uhr, Baby­lon 3
• Di, 08.04. um 18:30 Uhr, fsk Kino am Oranien­platz
• Sa, 12.04. um 15:30 Uhr, Schuku­ra­ma Beeskow

UNGEDULD DES HERZENS

Wet­tbe­werb Spielfilm
(R: Lau­ro Cress, B:  Lau­ro Cress & Flo­ri­an Plumey­er, K: Jan David Gün­ther, P: Loren­zo Gan­dol­fo)

• Sa, 05.04. um 19:30 Uhr, Baby­lon 1
• Mo, 07.04. um 18:00 Uhr, Bali Kino
• Mi, 09.04. um 20:30 Uhr, fsk Kino am Oranien­platz

SONNENSTADT

Wet­tbe­werb Doku­men­tarfilm
(R: Kristi­na Shtu­bert, K: Han­na Mayser)

• Sa, 05.04. um 19:15 Uhr, Licht­blick-Kino
• So, 06.04. um 19:00 Uhr, ACUD­ki­no
• Mo, 07.04. um 20:00 Uhr, Baby­lon 3

EX VOTO

Wet­tbe­werb Mit­tel­langer Film
(R/​B/​M: Joze­fien van der Aelst, K: Jakob Raban Friedrich, P: Max­i­m­il­ian Sei­del)

• Do, 03.04. um 18:00 Uhr, City Kino Wed­ding
• Fr, 04.04. um 22:30 Uhr, Baby­lon 2

GARNELIUS

Wet­tbe­werb Mit­tel­langer Film
(R/​B: Julia Ketel­hut, K: Rocío Díaz Freire, P: Melvyn Zeyns & Jonas Nemela)

• Mo, 07.04. um 18:00 Uhr, City Kino Wed­ding
• Di, 08.04. um 20:00 Uhr, Baby­lon 3

HAY UN DOLOR

Wet­tbe­werb Mit­tel­langer Film
(R/​B/​M: Froilán Urza­gasti Mon­tero, K: Leo Wolters, P: Shan­ice Quauke)

• Sa, 05.04. um 20:15 Uhr, Baby­lon 2
• Di, 08.04. um 21:15 Uhr, ACUD­ki­no

AS IF MOTHER CRIED THAT NIGHT

Wet­tbe­werb Kurz­film
(R/​B: Hoda Taheri, B: Mag­dale­na Jacobs, K: Lena Thie­mann, P: Julia Rose Gostyn­s­ki, B/​M: Boris Hadži­ja, SD: Vanes­sa Heeger)

• Fr, 04.04. um 19:15 Uhr, City Kino Wed­ding
• Sa, 05.04. um 22:30 Uhr, Baby­lon 2
• So, 06.04. um 17:45 Uhr, Baby­lon 3

ICEBERGS

Wet­tbe­werb Kurz­film
(R/​B: Car­los Pereira, K: Karim Marold, P: Car­lot­ta Cornehl & Clara Puhlman, M: Vanes­sa Heeger)

• So, 06.04. um 15:45 Uhr, City Kino Wed­ding
• Mo, 07.04. um 20:15 Uhr, Baby­lon 2
• Mi, 09.04. um 17:45 Uhr, Baby­lon 3

OBEY, OBEY

Wet­tbe­werb Kurz­film
(R/​B/​M/​P: Aki­ra Kawasa­ki, K: Maayane Bouh­nik)

• Fr, 04.04. um 19:15 Uhr, City Kino Wed­ding
• Sa, 05.04. um 22:30 Uhr, Baby­lon 2
• So, 06.04. um 17:45 Uhr, Baby­lon 3

UN TORO LLAMA

Wet­tbe­werb Kurz­film
(R/​B: Nel­son Algo­me­da, K: Luis Hart­mann, P: Sinan Özarslan & Lucas Mil­holmem, M: Juan C. Bautista)

• Mo, 07.04. um 20:15 Uhr, City Kino Wed­ding
• Di, 08.04. um 22:30 Uhr, Baby­lon 2
• Mi, 09.04. um 20:00 Uhr, Baby­lon 3

Oth­er DFFB relat­ed per­sons

NINJA MOTHERF*CKING DESTRUCTION

Wet­tbe­werb Spielfilm
With stu­dents Fion Mutert (DOP), Lydia Leer­stelle (Edit­ing), Astrid Hohle-Hansen (Sound), Lisa-Marie Lutz (pro­duc­er)

• Mo, 07.04. um 17:30 Uhr, Baby­lon 1
• Di, 08.04. um 19:00 Uhr, IL KINO

SABBATICAL

Wet­tbe­werb Spielfilm
With Alum­nus Michael Kotschi (DOP)

• So, 06.04. um 20:30 Uhr, Bali Kino
• Mo, 07.04. um 21:30 Uhr, Baby­lon 1
• Di, 08.04. um 21:00 Uhr, IL KINO

TRUTH OR DARE

Wet­tbe­werb Doku­men­tarfilm
With stu­dents Ali­na Albrecht (DOP) und Sab­ri­na Rück­er (Edit­ing)

• Sa, 05.04. um 22:00 Uhr, Baby­lon 1
• So, 06.04. um 20:15 Uhr, Baby­lon 2

CAMEL BLUES

Wet­tbe­werb Mit­tel­langer Film
With stu­dents Leo Geisler (director/​script), Regi­na Wiebe (DOP), Teri Mir­ba­ha (editing/​sound) und André Igisch (pro­duc­er)

• Mo, 07.04. um 18:00 Uhr, City Kino Wed­ding
• Di, 08.04. um 20:00 Uhr, Baby­lon 3

LA PASSERELLA DI AMELIE

Wet­tbe­werb Kurz­film
With stu­dent Arda Görkem (actor, Sound) und Alum­nus Bas­t­ian Gascho (sound)

• Mo, 07.04. um 20:15 Uhr, City Kino Wed­ding
• Di, 08.04. um 22:30 Uhr, Baby­lon 2
• Mi, 09.04. um 20:00 Uhr, Baby­lon 3

RECORDARI

Wet­tbe­werb Kurz­film
With stu­dent Eli Bör­nicke (DOP)

• Mo, 07.04. um 20:15 Uhr, City Kino Wed­ding
• Di, 08.04. um 22:30 Uhr, Baby­lon 2
• Mi, 09.04. um 20:00 Uhr, Baby­lon 3

SORBET AUF TRÜMMERN

Wet­tbe­werb Kurz­film
With stu­dent Naza­farin Has­san­pour

• So, 06.04. um 15:45 Uhr, City Kino Wed­ding
• Mo, 07.04. um 20:15 Uhr, Baby­lon 2
• Mi, 09.04. um 17:45 Uhr, Baby­lon 3

MARZAHN MON AMOUR

Berlin Series
With alum­na Clara Zoë My-Linh von Arn­im (direc­tor) und Stu­dent Raf­faél­lo Lup­perg­er (edit­ing)

• Mo, 07.04. um 19:00 Uhr, ACUD­ki­no

The 75th edi­tion of the Berli­nale is com­ing up! This year, a DFFB grad­u­a­tion film will cel­e­brate its world pre­miere in the Panora­ma and numer­ous alum­ni and lec­tur­ers will present their works to the pub­lic between 13 and 23 Feb­ru­ary 2025. Here you can find all infor­ma­tion about the events and films:

Grad­u­a­tion film DFFB

SCHWESTERHERZ/​THE GOOD SISTER

Panora­ma
R: Sarah Miro Fis­ch­er, B: Sarah Miro Fis­ch­er & Agnes Maa­gaard Petersen, K: Sel­ma von Pol­heim Gravesen, M: Ele­na Wei­he, P: Nina Bay­er-Seel & Jan­na Fodor

• Fr, 14.02. um 17:30 Uhr, Haus der Berlin­er Fest­spiele
• Sa, 15.02. um 10:00 Uhr, Cubix 9
• So, 16.02. um 13:15 Uhr, Cubix 7
• Di, 18.02. um 16:00 Uhr, Zoo Palast 2
• Sa, 22.02. um 21:30 Uhr, Zoo Palast 1
• So, 23.02. um 10:30 Uhr, Cubix 7

Films and Events with members/​alumni of DFFB

Come (Bite) Back! Wie Untote Genre neu erfind­en

Ret­ro­spek­tive Event
With alum­nus Till Klein­ert

• Mi, 19.02. um 18:30, Deutsche Kine­math­ek /​ E‑Werk

Lis­ten to Your Cre­ative Core: Why Film­mak­ing Needs Courage

Berli­nale Tal­ents
With alum­na Sara Fazi­lat 

• So, 16.02. um 17:00, HAU Hebbel am Ufer (HAU2)

ISLANDS

Berli­nale Spe­cial Gala
With Alum­nus Jan-Ole Ger­ster (Regie)

• So, 16.02. um 22:00 Uhr, Zoo Palast 1
• Mo, 17.02. um 16:00 Uhr, Uber Eats Music Hall
• Di, 18.02. um 18:30 Uhr, Colos­se­um 1
• Mi, 19.02. um 10:00 Uhr, HKW 1 – Miri­am Make­ba Audi­to­ri­um

ZIRKUSKIND

Gen­er­a­tion Kplus
With Alum­na Julia Lemke (director/​script) und Alum­na Anna Koch (director/​script)

• Sa, 15.02. um 09:45 Uhr, Cubix 6
• Mo, 17.02. um 09:30 Uhr, Zoo Palast 1
• Di, 18.02. um 16:00 Uhr, Cubix 6
• Mi, 19.02. um 15:45 Uhr, Filmthe­ater am Friedrichshain
• Do, 20.02. um 12:30 Uhr, Zoo Palast 1
• Sa, 22.02. um 16:00 Uhr, Cubix 6

PATERNAL LEAVE

Gen­er­a­tion 14plus
With alum­na Cécile Tol­lu-Polonows­ki (pro­duc­er)

• Sa, 15.02. um 12:15 Uhr, Zoo Palast 1
• So, 16.02. um 18:45 Uhr, Zoo Palast 2
• Mo, 17.02. um 09:30 Uhr, Stage Blue­max The­ater
• So, 23.02. um 19:00 Uhr, HKW 1 – Miri­am Make­ba Audi­to­ri­um

WHEN LIGHTNING FLASHES OVER THE SEA

Forum
With alum­na Eva Ney­mann (director/​DOP), Alum­nus Saša Orešković (DOP) and alum­nus and lec­tur­er Kir­ill Krasovs­ki (pro­duc­er)

• Sa, 15.02. um 11:00 Uhr, Del­phi Film­palast
• So, 16.02. um 17:45 Uhr, Cin­e­ma Beton­halle @ Silent Green
• Sa, 22.02. um 12:30 Uhr, Arse­nal 1

DELICIOUS

Panora­ma
With alum­nus Jonas Dorn­bach (pro­duc­er)

• Di, 18.02. um 18:30 Uhr, Zoo Palast 1
• Mi, 19.02. um 15:30 Uhr, Ura­nia
• Do, 20.02. um 22:00 Uhr, Cubix 7
• Fr, 21.02. um 22:00 Uhr, Cubix 9
• So, 23.02. um 19:15 Uhr, Cubix 8

WELCOME HOME BABY

Panora­ma
With alum­na Car­men Tre­ichel (DOP) und Ser­i­al Eyes alum­na Daniela Baumgärtl (script)

• Do, 13.02. um 21:00 Uhr, Zoo Palast 1
• Do, 13.02. um 21:30 Uhr, Zoo Palast 2
• Fr, 14.02. um 14:30 Uhr, Uber Eats Music Hall
• Sa, 15.02. um 20:30 Uhr, City Kino Wed­ding
• Sa, 15.02. um 22:00 Uhr, Cubix 9
• So, 16.02. um 10:15 Uhr, Cubix 7
• Do, 20.02. um 22:00 Uhr, Cubix 6

MIT DER FAUST IN DIE WELT SCHLAGEN

Per­spec­tives

With alum­nus Alexan­der Wadouh (pro­duc­er), lum­na Rox­ana Richters (pro­duc­er) and alum­nus Mar­tin Heisler (pro­duc­er)

• So, 16.02. um 18:30 Uhr, Stage Blue­max The­ater
• Mo, 17.02. um 13:00 Uhr, Cubix 9
• Di, 18.02. um 21:30 Uhr, Cubix 8
• Do, 20.02. um 15:30 Uhr, Colos­se­um 1
• Fr, 21.02. um 14:45 Uhr, Cubix 9

MINIMALS IN A TITANIC WORLD

Forum
With alum­nus Alexan­der Wadouh (pro­duc­er) and alum­na Rox­ana Richters (pro­duc­er)

• Mi, 19.02. um 21:00 Uhr, Del­phi Film­palast
• Do, 20.02. um 15:30 Uhr, Stage Blue­max The­ater
• Fr, 21.02. um 10:00 Uhr Arse­nal 1
• Sa, 22.02. um 13:00 Uhr, Cubix 8

KÖLN 75

Berli­nale Spe­cial Gala
With alum­nus Sol Bondy (pro­duc­er) und alum­nus Fred Burle (pro­duc­er)

• So, 16.02. um 14:00 Uhr, Haus der Berlin­er Fest­spiele
• Mo, 17.02. um 16:00 Uhr, Akademie der Kün­ste
• Di, 18.02. um 20:00 Uhr, Odeon
• Di, 18.02. um 21:30 Uhr, Colos­se­um 1
• Fr, 21.02. um 15:15 Uhr, Haus der Berlin­er Fest­spiele
• So, 23.02. um 10:00 Uhr, Uber Eats Music Hall

PETER HUJAR’S DAY

Panora­ma
With alum­nus Sol Bondy (pro­duc­er) und alum­nus Fred Burle (pro­duc­er)

• Fr, 14.02. um 18:30 Uhr, Zoo Palast 1
• Sa, 15.02. um 15:30 Uhr, Ura­nia
• So, 16.02. um 22:00 Uhr, Cubix 7
• Mo, 17.02. um 21:45 Uhr, Filmthe­ater am Friedrichshain
• Sa, 22.02. um 12:30 Uhr, Cubix 9

THE NATURE OF INVISIBLE THINGS

Gen­er­a­tion Kplus
With alum­nus Fred Burle (pro­duc­er)

• Fr, 14.02. um 15:30 Uhr, HKW 1 – Miri­am Make­ba Audi­to­ri­um
• Sa, 15.02. um 10:00 Uhr, Zoo Palast 2
• Sa, 15.02. um 11:30 Uhr, Cubix 6
• So, 16.02. um 16:00 Uhr, Cubix 6
• Do, 20.02. um 13:00 Uhr, Zoo Palast 2
• Fr, 21.02. um 09:30 Uhr, Zoo Palast 1

UNSERE ZEIT WIRD KOMMEN

Forum
With alum­nus and lec­tur­er Frank Amann (DOP)

• So, 16.02. um 14:00 Uhr, Del­phi Film­palast
• Mi, 19.02. um 18:15 Uhr, Kino Beton­halle @ Silent Green
• Fr, 21.02. um 10:00 Uhr, Cubix 8

19 Going on 20: Short Films from 19 Years of Forum Expand­ed

Forum Expand­ed Jubiläum
With alum­nus Harun Faroc­ki (Direc­tor ZUR BAUWEISE DES FILMS BEI GRIFFITH)

• So, 16.02. um 12:00 Uhr, SAVVY Con­tem­po­rary
• Mo, 17.02. um 12:00 Uhr, Silent Green Kul­turquarti­er
• Di, 18.02. um 12:00 Uhr, SINEMA TRANSTOPIA

EINER VON UNS BEIDEN

Ret­ro­spek­tive
With alum­nus Wolf­gang Petersen (direc­tor)

• Fr, 14.02. um 22:00 Uhr, Akademie der Kün­ste
• Mo, 17.02. um 21:30 Uhr, Akademie der Kün­ste

DFFB members/​alumni at the Ger­man Film Crit­ics’ Award

The Ger­man Film Crit­ics’ Asso­ci­a­tion has nom­i­nat­ed the DFFB grad­u­a­tion film WAS HAST DU GESTERN GETRÄUMT, PARAJANOV? by alum­nus Faraz Fes­hara­ki (C: Faraz Fes­hara­ki & Moritz Friese, P: Eweli­na Rosin­s­ka & Luise Hauschild & Mari­am Shat­berashvili) in the cat­e­go­ry “Best Doc­u­men­tary Film” of the year 2024.

Our alum­nus Thomas Arslan (VERBRANNTE ERDE) is nom­i­nat­ed in the ‘Best Fea­ture Film’ cat­e­go­ry. And alum­ni Ramon Zürcher and Alex Haßk­erl are nom­i­nat­ed for ‘Best Screen­play’, ‘Best Edit­ing’ and ‘Best Visu­al Design’ (DER SPATZ IM KAMIN).

The award cer­e­mo­ny will take place on Sun­day, 16 Feb­ru­ary 2025 at the Akademie der Kün­ste in Berlin.

DFFB members/​alumni at Euro­pean Film Mar­ket

This year, the Euro­pean Film Mar­ket (EFM) will once again take place along­side the Berli­nale. Our stu­dent Yusuf Çelik is also on the jury for the Gen Z Audi­ence Award, which will be pre­sent­ed for the first time. The prize is award­ed by the jury of film stu­dents to a pro­duc­tion that appears par­tic­u­lar­ly inter­est­ing for an audi­ence aged 20–28.

The DFFB was rep­re­sent­ed with sev­er­al pro­duc­tions at this year’s Max Ophüls Prize in Saar­brück­en, one of the most impor­tant film fes­ti­vals for Ger­man-lan­guage new­com­er films — and was delight­ed to receive some remark­able awards.

UNGEDULD DES HERZENS: Best Fea­ture Film, two awards for Best Young Actor

Our copro­duc­tion with rbb and Schi­wa­go Film UNGEDULD DES HERZENS (D: Lau­ro Cress, S: Lau­ro Cress & Flo­ri­an Plumey­er, C: Jan David Gun­ther, P: Loren­zo Gan­dol­fo) won the main prize for Best Fea­ture Film, endowed with 36,000 euros.

The film tells the sto­ry of a sol­dier who is torn between his social role and his per­son­al feel­ings. In atmos­pher­i­cal­ly dense images, the film address­es ques­tions of class, iden­ti­ty and the pow­er of com­pas­sion.

In addi­tion, the lead­ing actors Giulio Brizzi and Lad­i­na von Frisching were each hon­oured with awards for Best New Act­ing for their out­stand­ing per­for­mances.

GARNELIUS: Best Medi­um Length Film

GARNELIUS (R/​B: Julia Ketel­hut, K: Rocío Díaz Freire, P: Melvyn Zeyns & Jonas Nemela) received the prize in the cat­e­go­ry Best Medi­um-Length Film, endowed with 5,000 euros.

The film com­bines mag­i­cal real­ism with a pro­found exam­i­na­tion of a dif­fi­cult father-son rela­tion­ship, gen­er­a­tional con­flicts and the search for iden­ti­ty in the after­math of Ger­man reuni­fi­ca­tion.

ROTE STERNE ÜBERM FELD: Film Crit­ics’ Award

In addi­tion to the DFFB pro­duc­tions, ROTE STERNE ÜBERM FELD (direc­tor: Lau­ra Laabs) was also a big suc­cess. The film, on which DFFB stu­dents Daria Wich­mann and Lisa Rol­ing worked, was award­ed the Film Crit­ics’ Prize for Best Fea­ture Film.

We are very pleased about the strong pres­ence of our stu­dents and alum­ni at the Max Ophüls Prize 2025. Con­grat­u­la­tions to all the award win­ners and the cre­ative teams behind the impres­sive works.

Our grad­u­a­tion film SCHWESTERHERHERZ (D: Sarah Miro Fis­ch­er, B: Sarah Miro Fis­ch­er & Agnes Maa­gard Petersen, C: Sel­ma von Pohlheim Gravesen, M: Ele­na Wei­he, P: Jan­na Fodor & Nina Sophie Bay­er-Seel) will cel­e­brate its world pre­miere as part of the Panora­ma pro­gramme of this years Berli­nale!

The fea­ture film SCHWESTERHERHERZ, which is inter­na­tion­al­ly known as THE GOOD SISTER, deals with the close rela­tion­ship Rose has with her old­er broth­er Sam. When Sam is accused of rape, Rose is asked to tes­ti­fy as a wit­ness. This puts both the sib­lings’ rela­tion­ship and Rose’s moral integri­ty to the test. The film focus­es on the com­plex human­i­ty of the char­ac­ters. They all have long­ings, desires and hurts, make mis­takes and push bound­aries. Nev­er­the­less, Sam’s act is no sim­ple mis­take. It is so pow­er­ful and so destruc­tive that the con­se­quences he caus­es go far beyond the char­ac­ters direct­ly affect­ed by the act. SCHWESTERHERZ is a film about sib­lings, inti­ma­cy and the ques­tion of what influ­ence our actions have on the peo­ple around us, direct­ly or indi­rect­ly.

The Berlinale’s Panora­ma pro­gramme shows films that make peo­ple think about pol­i­tics, val­ues and soci­ety. As part of the selec­tion, SCHWESTERHERHERZ could win the Panora­ma Audi­ence Award as well as sev­er­al cross-sec­tion prizes. These include, for exam­ple, the Hein­er Carow Prize, the FIPRESCI Jury Prize and the CICAE Art Cin­e­ma Award.

We are keep­ing our fin­gers crossed for the entire team

It is with great sad­ness that we bid farewell to alum­nus Wolf­gang Beck­er, who passed away on 13 Decem­ber at the age of 70. He was best known for his film GOOD BYE LENIN!, which was not only an inter­na­tion­al suc­cess, but also shaped the image of an entire gen­er­a­tion.

Wolf­gang Beck­er was born in Hemer in 1954 and devel­oped a pas­sion for film­mak­ing at an ear­ly age. After begin­ning his stud­ies at the Free Uni­ver­si­ty of Berlin, he trans­ferred to the DFFB in 1981. He won the Stu­dent Acad­e­my Award and the Gold­en Leop­ard in Locarno with his grad­u­a­tion film BUTTERFLIES.

Becker’s influ­ence on the Ger­man film land­scape is unde­ni­able. He has set stan­dards not only with his tal­ent, but also with his abil­i­ty to com­bine com­plex emo­tions and his­tor­i­cal con­texts. His work was char­ac­terised by sub­tle humour and a pro­found exam­i­na­tion of social issues.

He was a found­ing mem­ber of the Ger­man Film Acad­e­my and the Berlin pro­duc­tion com­pa­ny X Filme.

His death leaves a huge gap in the world of film. We will remem­ber Wolf­gang Beck­er as a cre­ative mind and sen­si­tive sto­ry­teller. Our sym­pa­thies go out to his fam­i­ly, his friends and the team at X Filme.

Foto Copy­right: Flo­ri­an Schnei­der

The doc­u­men­tary film SONNENSTADT by direc­tor Kristi­na Shtu­bert (C: Han­na Mayser) cel­e­brates its world pre­miere in the Ger­man Doc­u­men­tary Com­pe­ti­tion of the renowned DOK Leipzig.

The DFFB grad­u­a­tion film, sup­port­ed by Leucht­stoff sup­port in coop­er­a­tion with rbb and Medi­en­board Berlin-Bran­den­burg, fol­lows a group of peo­ple who found a utopi­an soci­ety in the seclu­sion of the Siber­ian taiga under the lead­er­ship of the self-pro­claimed mes­si­ah Vis­sar­i­on. It sheds light on the search for a new way of life in a world that is per­ceived as increas­ing­ly con­fus­ing and threat­en­ing. With no clear judge­ment, SONNENSTADT leaves room for the audi­ence to form their own opin­ion of the strengths and weak­ness­es of this utopia.

The film has been nom­i­nat­ed for sev­er­al awards, includ­ing the ver.di Prize for Sol­i­dar­i­ty, Human­i­ty and Fair­ness and the MDR Film Prize.

We wish you good screen­ings and keep our fin­gers crossed for the award cer­e­mo­ny!