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© 2026 The Couch Critic
Browse 148 movies from Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln
Keywan receives a call from a woman in Iran asking him to find her son Ashkan in Cologne, whom she hasn't reached for three days. Despite having minimal interaction with Ashkan, Keywan accepts the request.
Feb 2026
6 people researching & experimenting for empowerment in their sexuality – which actions are tempting & helpful to deconstruct shame and be more self-confident?
Apr 2025
Lukas, a young schizophrenic man, has to deal with a new town, a new relationship, and the paranoia in his head.
Dec 2001
A haunted woman named Ida journeys from Germany to Jordan, to an eerie and deserted port town on the Red Sea where her partner, Ismail, recently disappeared. Wandering through desolate bars, hotels, and offices, Ida attempts to feel Ismail’s presence one last time and to say goodbye.
May 2023
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.
Nov 2001
Anna is pregnant and thinks about castrations. Katinka may not be able to become a farmer and wears her bikini in the milking parlor, but grandma's tomatoes have turned out better this year than ever before. A summer on dying German farms.
Aug 2025
Russia in 2000. The end of the post-Soviet era. The province of Ivanovo. The Mironovich family keeps a wake: their youngest son Andrej died in the war. His older brother Anton meets Andrej's last wish: He drives his motorcycle through the city at sunrise. Meanwhile, in love with Anton Vika is raped after the disco. Her mother commits a senseless murder at home. There are no guilty parties.
Oct 2017
In a hot summer during the Covid pandemic, the property management decides to renovate Karsten’s apartment and evicts him. Whether he’ll be able to quickly find something new in Cologne is uncertain. But Karsten remains relaxed. He packs his mattress into the borrowed moving van and turns it into an improvised home. Sophie and Miray also urgently need a place to live and join Karsten. For a while, their set-up seems perfect. However, a few days turn into months. Too much closeness and the impending autumn chill take a toll on the three of them.
Sep 2025
During a scorching hot summer’s day in Amman, a man prepares for a special meeting.
Nov 2020
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...
Aug 2007
In her loneliness, the young masseuse Camille experiences an everyday life, determined by rules and constraints. Not able to accept herself, she retires in isolation. Camille's controlled life changes only by the secret observation of her neighbor, who awakens her sexual fantasies, and gives her the courage to change.
Oct 2013
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.
Oct 2011
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.
Sep 2012
Student Anna suffers greatly from her constant blushing. It makes her so uncomfortable that she avoids contact with other people as much as possible. But then chance brings her together with Paulina.
Mar 2012
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.
Feb 2008
After a night of boozing, Ceren told her husband, Ali, that she has stopped taking the pill and wants a child, but Ali has a hidden secret from his past. After learning the truth, Ceren has to face some difficult personal, legal and moral decisions.
Oct 2016
An apocalyptic sound of roaring machines incessantly intrudes into the habitats of man and nature. Barren landscapes and deserted villages linger in hypnotic restlessness. A self-destructive system meets resistance.
Jan 2025
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.
Apr 2024
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.
Oct 2010
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.
Feb 2024