Studied theater, film and television studies, Romance studies and art history at the University of Cologne.
Since 1992 she has worked on various television and cinema films. In 1996 she founded the film production company "loekenfranke" (together with Michael Loeken). Her films have attracted international attention and have won numerous awards at home and abroad (including Best Film Award, Hot Docs Toronto; Best Film Award, One World, Prague; Grimme Prize; German Film Prize Nomination).
Numerous jury activities (Filmbüro NW, Gerd Ruge Stipendium, various festival juries) and teaching activities (Filmhaus Köln, ISFF Berlin, ZDF Medienakademie).
Project-related collaboration with artists from other disciplines (Rimini Protokoll, Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, Schauspielhaus Bochum, Theater Dortmund).
She has been a professor of auteur documentary film at the KHM in Cologne since 2017.