KFFK: Themenfokus: Liebe

In the organizer's words:

The 19th edition of the Cologne Short Film Festival (KFFK) will take place from November 19 to 23. In cooperation with the festival, we as SK Stiftung Kultur will award the first prize of 3500€ in the German competition and show our new short film program twice.

Thematic focus: LOVE

A panorama as diverse as love itself - tender, unexpected, challenging, poetic and powerful. An invitation to engage with the countless facets of human connection.
The program tells of love on the empty streets of Kyiv, in a quiet salesroom, when buying a mattress or in the relationship between two dancing twin sisters. The films tell of intimate moments between people, of family ties, helplessness and surprising tenderness.
In a time that seems to be dominated by crises and conflicts, this program provides a counterbalance: it draws attention to the unifying, the hopeful, the human.

The KFFK/Cologne Short Film Festival shows over 100 short films over six days. National and international works are presented in competitions and thematic programs. In addition to the film programs, the festival headquarters in the Filmhaus and many other cinemas in Cologne offer works for VR, programs for children, a barrier-free program, workshops and many opportunities for filmmakers and audiences to meet.

Further information on the entire festival program and tickets will follow at the beginning of November on the KFFK website

Films in the program

It's a date (UA, 2023, Nadia Parfan, documentary film, 6')
A car races through the almost empty streets of Kyiv at dawn in 2022.
A homage to Claude Lelouch's film "C'etait un rendez-vous", transported into the state of
the state of emergency of the war in Ukraine.

Sleeping Dogs (CH, 2020, Sarah Rathgeb, feature film, 16')
The purchase of a mattress raises existential questions for customer Joana and mattress salesman Antonio
existential questions, because a mattress lasts a lifetime.

The Blaze - Virile (FR, 2016, The Blaze, music video, 5')
In a sparsely furnished living room of a high-rise complex, the light is still on.
light is still on. Two men dance with each other. Their movements alternate fluidly between
masculine demonstrations of strength and poetic vulnerability.

Long Distance (CH, 2024, Nadja Tanno, animated film, 6')
A young woman living in a modern metropolis has recently started a long-distance
long-distance relationship. At first she feels lonely, but soon finds herself on a rollercoaster of emotions.
a rollercoaster of emotions. A state she tries to maintain through technology.
to maintain.

The Daughter (DE, 2019, Falk Schuster, Alexander Lahl, Max Mönch, Animation/Documentary, 6')
A father gradually loses his daughter to radical Islam and eventually even to the terrorist organization
even to the terrorist organization Islamic State. He travels after her, trying
in vain to find her. A film about radicalization and the despair of relatives.
relatives.

Growing old (CH, 2004, Andrea Bürgi, short documentary, 7')
In this multifaceted and at the same time tender portrait, filmmaker
Andrea Bürgi documents the everyday life of her 80-year-old mother. In addition to arguments with her
with her landlords, a meditative dance circle and playing the violin, she also talks about moments
moments in her life that have led her to where she is now.

Ibeyi - Sister 2 Sister (FR/CU, 2022, Colin Solal Cardo, music video, 3')
With energetic choreography and haunting imagery, the two artists of the music duo
artists of the music duo IBEYI stage their close bond as twin sisters.
The choreography tells of the challenges as well as the lightness and harmony
and harmony as brother and sister and celebrates in every movement the strength that has
has developed over the years.

Three (US, 2024, Amie Song, feature film, 18')
The protagonist has recently moved to the USA to live with her daughter. At
her own birthday party, she now tries in vain to keep her daughter's new love
from her new, conservative friends. However, not for a minute does she
not fully behind her.