On 1 December, Dr. Melanie Andernach took over the professorship for »Creative Producing« at the ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln. With this appointment, the ifs gains a nationally and internationally award-winning and experienced producer as its new professor, who will be responsible for teaching in the specialisation of Creative Producing in the future.

Dr. Melanie Andernach studied law at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn and the Université Paris II Panthéon Assas. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and the Université Paris II Panthéon Assas on the subject of copyright law. In the same year, she began her studies in Creative Producing of the BA Film programme at the ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2005. Together with Knut Losen, she founded MADE IN GERMANY Filmproduktion in 2007. MADE IN GERMANY develops and (co-)produces high-quality documentaries and feature films for German, European, and international audiences, including many award-winning films such as "Seven Winters in Tehran“ (Deutscher Filmpreis, Bayerischer Filmpreis, Berlinale Peace Prize, among others), ”Vergiss Meyn nicht“ (including nomination for Deutscher Filmpreis, Best Documentary Film at the Filmkunstfest MV), ”Lingui" (including premiere in competition at Cannes, Best co-production at the Filmfest Hamburg), “Talking About Trees” (including Panorama Audience Award at Berlinale) and “Dark Eden” (including Grimme Preis).
In addition to numerous teaching activities, she took on the position of substitute professor in 2019, focusing on television dramaturgy/creative television production at the KHM Köln. Melanie Andernach is a member of the German and European Film Academy, EAVE, EuroDoc, and ACE Producers.

Melanie Andernach describes her work as a producer and teacher at the ifs as follows: "My task as a producer is to confront the vision with reality. What is fascinating about this? The emergence of the thought, the concretization of the abstract. My goal is that, in the end, the vision is identical to what has been achieved. I would also like to convey this to the students. I am looking forward to passing on the knowledge I have gained from my many years of professional experience as a producer to a new generation of filmmakers here at the ifs, where I myself studied." 

Nadja Radojevic, Chief Executive Director of ifs: "We are delighted that the Creative Producing specialisation will be represented by such a renowned filmmaker. As a graduate of the first bachelor's degree programme at ifs, Melanie began her national and international career with us at ifs – which brings us full circle in an inspiring way."

Founded in 2000, ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln is one of the leading training and continuing education institutions for audiovisual media in Germany. Its goal is to offer film and media professionals high-quality, future-oriented training that closely combines theory and practice. Its location in Cologne, a hub for film and media, has a particular influence on its commitment to industry relevance. The ifs is a subsidiary of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW (Film and Media Foundation NRW).
The degree programs are offered in cooperation with TH Köln, and the professors are appointed by TH Köln accordingly.

A photo of Prof. Dr. Melanie Andernach can be downloaded here.
Please note the photo credit: © Marcel Wurm