Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln

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".

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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 ...

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.

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.

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?

Self-taught artist and independent mother Pia Antonia Klinkhammer engages in a conversation about art making and self expression with students from a German art school, who pay her a visit in her hometown. Sharing with them her life experiences, she sheds light on her unique painting style informed by her rebellion against the philistine upbringing in the suburbs of Cologne. By capturing Pia Antonia Klinkhammer's works on 16mm film, accompanied by her son's music, the students create what eventually becomes her only lifetime solo exhibition.

A courageous and determined young woman talks about her experiences going through Female Genital Mutilation and the need to undergo a reconstructive surgery on her genitals.

Hercules travels by bicycle from Krefeld on the Lower Rhine to Olympus, the throne of ancient deities. The Hercules myth, as a primal myth of male power, is questioned through biographical reflections and the staging of mythological echoes. The dramaturgical structure of the hero's journey disintegrates in a multi-material perspective into questions about male identity, ideals and remorse.

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.

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.

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.

After an accident Herman learns that the suffers from a very rare illness which causes him that the emotion "fear" falls out whereby he is forced to try out all phobias to become normal again.

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.

When a married woman discovers her husband's addiction to visiting brothels, she decides to start visiting them herself and is quickly swept up into a secret life filled with new sexual discoveries.