Films featuring ifs Professors take 2nd and 3rd Place in the LÜDIA Vote

At this year’s Lünen Film Festival (June 1–7, 2026), the short film »Wild Wild Westphalia« (Director: Moritz Maniera Siebert, Screenplay: Milan Buse, Producers: Leon Thieme, Luca Novelli, DoP: Samuel Dommermuth, Editing/Sound Design: Ruben Görtz, Bijan Shamel, Production Design: Michael Gärtner) from the ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln won the award for Best Short Film. Director Moritz Maniera Siebert accepted the award on Saturday evening during a festive awards ceremony. The Audience Award is endowed with €3,000, donated by Autowelt Schmidt.

The documentary »Watching People Watching Birds« (Director/Producer: Ulrike Franke, Michael Loeken) was voted into second place for the LÜDIA Grand Prize by the audience. ifs Professor Hajo Schomerus and Jörg Adams were responsible for the cinematography. Third place went to the documentary »Eine Krankheit wie ein Gedicht« (directed by Jelena Ilić), produced by ifs Professor and alumna Melanie Andernach and Knut Loosen (MADE IN GERMANY Filmproduktion) with the participation of ifs student Julian Schön as producer.

In the drama »Wild Wild Westphalia«, a small village is slated to make way for lignite mining. As the residents barricade themselves in the village pub against the corporation’s representative and all hope seems to be fading, a mysterious cowboy suddenly appears—and with him, the possibility of a final act of resistance.
»Watching People Watching Birds« is a film about birdwatching and the dramatic decline in the number and diversity of bird species. The camera remains patient, almost invisible, allowing situations to unfold that reveal more about the observers than about the animals themselves. Between nature and construction, perception becomes the central question.
In »A Disease Like a Poem«, the director explores her relationship with her father, who suffers from drug-induced psychosis. His release from a forensic psychiatric facility is drawing near. How can the director be confident that her father won’t relapse and become violent again?

This year, screenwriter Senad Halilbašić, a graduate of the ifs European Showrunner Programme, served on the acting jury.

This year’s festival focused on German-Austrian co-productions and films from Austria. Fifty films were screened at the 35th Kinofest Lünen. Prizes totaling €41,000 were awarded. The Kinofest Lünen is organized by the City of Lünen, with Fromm und Redeker Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungs GmbH serving as co-organizer. As a long-standing supporter, the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW sponsors the festival and is involved in funding many of the films screened. 

Created on 08.06.2026