news / Alumni

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News from alumni in June 2026

The drama »I spy with my little eye« by Alisa Kolosova will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York

At the Stuttgart International Animation Film Festival,  »Dreamers – The Hunt for Shadowclaw« won the German Animation Screenplay Award. The writing team includes alumnus Dominik Hochwald. Congratulations! 

The tragicomedy »Sommer auf Asphalt« will be screened on 3 June as the opening film at the Emden Film Festival and will be released in theaters on 4 June. The film was produced by, among others, by Levin Hübner.

The Drama »I spy with my little eye« (photo) will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on June 7. It was directed by ifs alumna Alisa Kolosova. The film will be released in theaters on 9 September.

The animation short film »Armer weißer Kater« by alumnus Alexander Conrads und Emily Ufken will have its international premiere at the FEST New Directors New Films Festival in Portugal.

The three-part documentary series »Mission Sommermärchen – Deutschlands Weg zur WM 2006« is available in the ZDF media library. The editing was handled, among others, by alumnus Jan Henrik Pusch.

The short film »Degree of Certainty« by Alumnus Simon Schneider is on the shortlist of the Young Director Award 2026 in the category »FILM SCHOOL – 10 min. and over«. Die award ceremony takes place on 25 June in Cannes.

The Seriencamp, featuring a conference and festival, will take place soon in Cologne. Once again this year, numerous alumni will be featured in the film program with their projects, as well as serving as panelists and moderators.

Seriencamp Festival:

All Heroes Are Bastards 
Screenplay: among others Lena Tusche

Back for more 
Art Director: Jan Zinn
Set Decorator: Christiane Krumwiede
Props Assistent: Luca Wirtz
Food Stylist: Daniel Brodt
Production Coordinator: Elisabeth Feltes
Location Manager: Daniela Pennekamp

Club der roten Bänder – Die neue Generation
Head Author: Adrian Spring
Junior Producer: Nick Julius Schuck
Lighting Assistant: Ann-Katrin Pauly
Production Design Assistant: Dominique Kleen
Set Dresser: Luisa Buchholz

Mermaid to lovers
Producer: Anne Maschlanka
Production Design: Luisa Buchholz, Benedikt Runkel
2. Assistant Director: Finn Neubert

The Flaws/Das Manko
Editing: Benjamin Ikes
Winner of the Official Competition, Award for Best International Series

The Game of Keys
Props Assistant: Alice Jamin
 

Seriencamp Conference:

Writing Youth: Who gets it Right?
09.06.26 | 12.00 – 13.00
Moderation: Alumna Ljubica Luković 
Creators like Bryan Elsley (SKINS), Kirsten Loose (CLUB DER ROTEN BÄNDER) und Lia Zebra (FROM MERMAIDS TO LOVERS) discuss what it means today to tell stories for a young audience.

The New Pulse of Medical Drama
09.06.26 | 13.30 – 14.30
Moderation: Alumnus Marvin Meiendresch
Luisa Hardenberg (PUSH), Samuel Jefferson (KRANK BERLIN) und Ivar Khøn (STILL BREATHING) will talk about the comeback of medical drama.

I Just Came Up With It / Kill Your Darlings?
09.06.26 | 13.30 – 16.00
Alumna Maria Hinterköerner other writers discuss how TV series development works today and how to balance market logic with creative vision. The focus is on questions of risk, timing, and decision-making: When is an idea too early, and when is it too late?

Co-Production Pitch
26.06.09 | 14.15 – 15.45 
Among the 11 selected series projects that will be pitched is ARMADILLO by screenwriter and alumnus Matti Laine.

Work in Progress / Next from … ARTE
09.06.26 | 15:20 – 16:45
among others the projects DRONELAND and THE TRAP will be presented.
DRONELAND 
Editing: Alumnus Lucas Seeberger (Folgen 1, 2, 6)
THE TRAP
Production Design: Alumna Cordula Jedamski
Prop Master: Alumna Ricci Becker
On-Set Dresser: Alumna Ann Katrin Hölz
Set Dresser: Alumnus Carsten Wesche-Böttcher
Editing: Alumna Nicole Kortlüke, Alumna Renata Salazar Ivancan

Writers’ Vision Pitch
10.06.26 | 10.15 – 11.15
Among the eight series projects presented are VENUS by screenwriter and alumna Maria Hinterköerner  as well as EUROPEAN DREAMERS by creator, head writer, and alumna Kerstin Höckel, a project by alumni of the ifs European Showrunner Programme.

Greenlight, What Now? From Pitch to Production
10.06.26 | 13:30 – 14:30
Moderation: alumna Anna Richards
The discussion will focus on the long and often unpredictable journey from pitch to production, using FIND ME (WT) as an example: the adaptation of a novel, the development of a “female gaze” approach for the New Adult genre, the preparations for filming in Tenerife, and the process of building the right creative and production partnerships along the way.

Turn The Screen? Vertical & Microdrama and the Future of Storytelling
10.06.26 | 14.00 – 17.00 
Alumna Kerstin Höckel is a panelist in the discussion on the key differences between vertical social media content—which is characterized by algorithm-driven platforms and open distribution—and micro-dramas, which are designed for dedicated, subscription-based platforms with their own narrative logic and business models.
 

At the end of June many alumni will be at Filmfest München with their projects:

DAS GEHEIMNIS DER GESTOHLENEN MASKE
Director: Nancy Mac Granaky-Quaye
Sound Designer: Luiz Melo Paiva e Silva

BLACKBIRD
Production and Production Management: Roshanak Khodabakhsh

DIE BALLADE VON MITTWOCH AUF DONNERSTAG
DoP: Montell Taraschewski
Camera Operator: Ruben Götz
Sound Design: ifs student Karl Römming
Sound Effects Artist: ifs student Thomas Ostermann, János Derks, João Wolf May, Karl Römming
Sound Effects Editors: Thomas Ostermann, János Derks, Karl Römming

WAS HABEN WIR GELACHT
Editing: Yana Höhnerbach
Editing Assistent: Leon Jendrejewski

BÄRENJAGEN
Production Manager: Mathias Krämer

SELLNG SEX
Sound Designer: Jascha Viehl
2. Editing Assistant: Jonas Thoma

WAKE UP
Screenplay: a. o. Mar B. Alves, Dominik Hochwald, Christoph Mathieu
Colorist: Zoltan Geller
Art Director: Samuel Jaeger
Videooperator: Muriel Wolf
Editing Assistant: Jonas Thoma

23000 LEBEN
Art Director: Daniel Chour    
Assistant Art Director: Cedric Engelbrecht

BLOCK 10
Art Director NRW: Markus Schütz

DIE GÄSTE
Costume Design: Genoveva Kylburg
Costume Design Assistant: Vanessa Horsmann
Set Costume: Mandy Becker
Production Design: Jutta Freyer 

IDENTITTI
Colorist: Zoltan Geller
Editing Assistant: Jonas Thoma
Set Dresser: Maren Buchholz
On-Set Dresser: Jan Feil

IM SPIEGEL MEINER MUTTER
Colorist: Zoltan Geller
Production Design Assistant: Dominik Schmitz

ELODIE
Set Decorator: Heike Steen
Prop Master: Daniel Kolarov
2. Assistant Director: Ilja Nienaber

MIMI UND ICH
Videooperator: Muriel Wolf
Grip Assistant: Fine Susanna Gumpert
Production Design Assistant: Dominik Schmitz
Set Dresser: Carsten Wesche-Böttcher
Set Dresser: Ricci Becker

DAS VERGESSEN
Set Decorator: Marei Hitzler

SPAZIERGANG NACH SYRAKUS
Production Assistant: ifs-Studentin Giuliana Modolo

DIE KLEINEN UND DIE GROSSEN LÜGEN
Screenplay and Creative Producer: ifs-Prof. Magnus Vattrodt
Production Design: ifs Prof. Sebastian Soukup 
On-Set Dresser: Zoe Lee Saba Krappen
Videooperator: Muriel Wolf  

VIRGINIA WOOLF‘S NIGHT & DAY
Assistant Art Director: Jan Zinn
VFX Executive Producer: ifs-Prof. Rolf Muetze
Compositing Artist: Matthias Backmann, Justus Maus
Lead Compositing Artist: Christian Heynert
DI Digital Intermediate Supervisor: Jan Pfitzner