53 graduates of the ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln, who specialized in Screenwriting, Directing, Creative Producing, Director of Photography, Editing Picture & Sound, VFX & Animation and Production Design, will present their final projects to representatives of the media industry today, May 3, at the ifs cinema.
Six fictional and three documentary graduation films (in excerpts) will be shown. In addition, nine scripts for full-length feature films and four animation final projects will be presented.
On the following day, the graduation films will be shown again in full length for the teams, friends and families at the Cinedom cinema.

The ifs students' graduation films have already attracted interest during the development phase: Three graduation film projects received funding from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, while two others received support from East Belgium, German-speaking Community of Belgium and Creutz & Partners, and Kim Filmkiosk.
Pauline Schläger and Julius Nerlich were nominated for the up-and-coming screenplay award at the Hannover Screenplay Festival at the end of last year with their graduation film project »Dann lieber sterben«. In the tragicomedy, a clique searches for the »right« way to deal with their friend's suicide attempt.

From the grotesque (»Die Ampel«) to the queer coming-of-age drama (»El mártir«), the episodic (»HALB ZEHN«) and the Heimatfilm (»Sündenfall (AT)«) to the classic drama (»Lange nicht gesehen«), a variety of genres is represented in the graduating class. Many of the graduating films deal with the search for one's own identity – including sexual identity – as well as for orientation and being trapped in a world that is perceived as unmanageable and rejecting.
The documentary projects look into very different life worlds: »O Chale« follows four basketball friends through the vibrant neighborhoods of Ghana's capital Accra as they face the challenges of growing up; in »SCHÜTZE« the protagonist has to deal with the traditions of the shooting club on her way to her goal of becoming German champion; the main character of »Bei meiner Seele« is caught between psychosis and trauma.

In short pitches, the graduates of the screenwriting specialization also present their final projects. The theme of liberation plays a role in many of the scripts for full-length feature films: from writer's block (»Das komplette Set«), from the traumas of the past (»Flotsam«), from a conspiracy (»Freiheit«), from painful memories (»Als wär's das letzte Mal«), from a love that seemingly has no future (»Veritas«) or from the confines of a small town in the 1950s (»Zum Städtele hinaus«). The curse and blessing of the digital world is the subject of »Abschied 2.0« and »Anima Ex Machina«.
The screenplay »Die Libau-Unternehmung« about a spy in England during World War I by Maximilian Stolz has already been nominated for Best Screenplay in the category »Schreibsüchte« of the sehsüchte Int. Student Film Festival. Excerpts of the screenplay were presented as a staged reading at »Kopfkino« during the festival in April.
Maximilian Aigner from the Creative Producing department pitches the feature film project »Dirty Pool«, a screwball gangster comedy from the Ruhr area.

The graduates of the VFX & Animation department present their creative VFX & animation projects: The hybrid drama »Little Heroes« was just presented at the Talent Schools Presentations of the FMX 2023 – Film & Media Exchange and tells the story of a fantastic and tragic escape to the edge of the universe.
Among the other animation projects are a 3D animated short film around the impact of childhood trauma on everyday life (»Hugo«), a comedy about vanity and competition in the refrigerator (»Mr. Mozzarella«), and a family film in which a little girl seeks freedom at the zoo (»Roots and Wings«).
For the second time, a cohort of production designers also graduates from the BA program, having contributed their skills to and enriched the film projects.

For more information on the final projects and their creators, visit www.filmschule.de.

Created on 03.05.2023