Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln

Jakob is really a woman, but the superstitious villagers are obsessed with the idea that Jakob has to be a man in order to protect the village from a great calamity. Jakob has never been in any doubt about this destiny. She lives an isolated existence on a lonely farm. One day Jakob takes on Tom at the farm. Tentatively, the two come closer...

Two sixteen-year-old boys, Marcos and Johannes, spend their days racing, wrestling, hanging out, watching videos and playing hide-and-seek at nights. A closeness develops between the two of them, which soon starts to become a calamity to their friendship.

Lukas, a young schizophrenic man, has to deal with a new town, a new relationship, and the paranoia in his head.

Jakob Hansen is a very engaged trainee teacher, who faces his final practical exam for becoming a teacher. Some girls are crushing on him, which brings the soon-to-be teacher into trouble. Two students vent their frustration on him and thus put the ideals of the educator to the test. On the day of the exam, the showdown happens.

Lea is desperately searching for stability, a warm relationship and a reason for living. But she is floundering. Her life is meaningless, restless and aggressive. A brief encounter with Lukas develops into a closer relationship that takes her on a journey to a forgotten place, where the couple try to find out who they are, and recall a long-lost time.

Jakarta, a 21-year-old Indonesian, is obsessed with the legendary stories his father told him as a child. Just like in those stories, he wants to create something special. When he falls in love with a mysterious, blue-haired hairdresser, he decides to gather all his friends and create the greatest magic trick ever seen.

In a cold future world everybody who is single drops dead. Which means that Tim - who recently got dumped by his girlfriend - has a serious problem. None of the women he meets at a speed dating event strike a chord with him. His last chance is Denise - or better said a typo called Dennis. As to Tim being straight, hey, there's a pill for that. Or is there?

A Japanese business traveler is completely exhausted at a German airport. There, Mr. Oshima seems already to be expected by a businessman and his translator, from whom he spontaneously abducts himself to the foreign city. In his surreal odyssey through the night, however, he loses himself more and more, until he finally disappears without a trace and nothing remains of him as this story.

Oray speaks in a quarrel with his wife Burcu three times 'talaq', the islamic formula for repudiation. The imam informs him about the consequences: he has to divorce his wife. Now Oray is in a dilemma: Should he stay with Burcu or with the community?

The regular life of chimney sweep Marvin is shaken up. A new woman, a forbidden love. The ghosts he calls haunt him, in dreams, in delusions, during the day. And even his deceased father will not give him peace. A sooty story above the rooftops of Cologne.

Friends Toro and Victor struggle with drug addiction and male prostitution in a hostile environment. When they lose all their money, their longstanding friendship is put to the test.

A man is unable to sleep and decides to count his dreams in order to fall asleep.

Twenty-year-old Dora works as a maid in a hotel and has access to all of the guests' belongings while they are away. This time she is interested in the suitcase of a guest in room 34 ...

East Germany 1992: Moritz Schmidtke (12) is spending his holidays at the same campground as every year. His parent’s problems, the changes made by a new political system, and brutal swimming lessons have left their mark. When Enrico has an accident, Moritz is inspired to take matters into his own hands, and to no longer be a victim of his environment. LYCHEN 92 is an adaptation of the short story ELMER by Andreas Steinhöfel, set in the post-reign of East Germany.

The tower block area "Am Kölnberg" has a bad reputation. People who - for any number of reasons - ended up on the edge of society, live here alongside refugee families and immigrants from all over the world. Unemployment, drug abuse and prostitution are part of everyday life for many of them. The film accompanies 4 people over a period of two years and portrays their life at "Kölnberg" with ups and downs. One thing they all have in common: The dream of leading a fulfilled life, far away from "Kölnberg".

After an argument with his mother, 12-year-old Dan, who suffers from scoliosis, seeks love and intimacy from 17-year-old Anna, who is supposed to look after him. While his mother, who works for a security company, is on the night shift, Dan and Anna cross set boundaries.

6 people researching & experimenting for empowerment in their sexuality – which actions are tempting & helpful to deconstruct shame and be more self-confident?

At a busy train station, a person stumbles upon an old newspaper that opens a portal to a world of different stories, all happening during the war in Ukraine. Crafted from newspaper clippings, the film explores the resilience and everyday lives of people striving to find meaning in times of war.

David has already endured multiple unsuccessful attempts at detox, and his latest stay in a clinic ends with yet another dropout. Just when he finds a fleeting sense of freedom, his return to addiction is abruptly derailed when all the doors that once were open to him suddenly slam shut. Overwhelmed by debt, he loses his apartment, and his depressed mother withdraws all support as a form of self-protection. He is lacking both money and drugs, and even his social worker, Stefan, only grudgingly allows him to stay overnight — merely with the intent of returning him to rehab the next day. In search of escape, David dives into a night of excess that leads to a monumental blackout.

A tourist exposed to heat in an all-inclusive hotel; a family father injured in his masculinity; and a packer who succumbs to a Sisyphean task while delivering a closet. Three short events merge to a novel about powerlessness during summer season at the Turkish Aegean Sea, where overheating, shame and class conditions belong to the burden of everyday life in a deeply divided society.