The Film Festival Cologne (formerly called the Cologne Conference from 1991 to 2016) is an international Film and Television Festival that takes place annually in Cologne, Germany. With about 30.000 visitors, the Film Festival Cologne is considered the best attended festival of its kind worldwide. Screenings of independent films as well as debates on media politics and media aesthetic complement the event. The 34th edition of the festival will be held in 2024 from October 17 to 24.

History

The Cologne Conference was founded in 1991 by journalist and media researcher

Lutz Hachmeister Lutz Hachmeister (born 10 September 1959) is a German media historian, award-winning filmmaker and journalist. He particularly gained international attention for directing the 2005 film ''The Goebbels Experiment'', co-produced by the BBC and the ...

while he was the head of the Adolf-Grimme-Institut. In addition to the Grimme-Preis, a national award, an international television festival was originated. The TV festival was part of German media convention media forum nrw; but it soon developed a momentum of its own and an international reputation. In 1993, the competitive festival section "TopTen" was established, which was, in 2001, divided into two sections, one section for fictional TV and one for documentary TV. In 2007, these two categories were recombined to one category, the "TopTen" section. In the same year, the second competitive festival section "Look", which presents visually extraordinary film and television productions, was created. In 2009, the competitive festival section "Kino" has also become a part of the Cologne Conference. The "Kino" section offers the most interesting aspects concerning film. The presentations and discussions within the Cologne Conference "Lectures" examine the relevant developments on the media market. Beyond that, a workshop discussion with the winner of the "Film Award Cologne" has become an inherent part of the "Lectures" since 2007. Furthermore, there are retrospectives and revivals of legendary television programmes, such as '' The Monkees'', '' Twin Peaks'' or '' The Prisoner''.

Programme and Guests

One of the first TV productions presented at the Cologne Conference was

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

's mystery series '' Twin Peaks''. Later almost all groundbreaking US TV series had their German premiere at the Cologne Conference, e.g. ''Emergency Room'', '' Sex and the City'' or '' 24''. Also British television always enjoyed strong presence, for instance with ''Cracker'', '' The Office'' or '' Prime Suspect''. Besides German film and television stars, international celebrities such as Academy Award winners Paul Haggis, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and Michael Radford,

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner"' ...

, Nicolas Roeg, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, Mika Kaurismäki, Ole Bornedal,

, Todd Haynes, Paul Abbott, Tarsem Singh, Jane Campion,

Nicolas Winding Refn Nicolas Winding Refn (; born 29 September 1970), also known as Jang, is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for his collaborations with Mads Mikkelsen, Tom Hardy and Ryan Gosling. He gained great success early in ...

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

presented themselves in Cologne.

Competition and awards

From roughly 800 international submissions, a jury selects the programmes for the festival sections "Best of Cinema Fiction, "Best of Cinema Documentary", "Look" and "TopTen TV". Since 1997, the Cologne Conference awards prizes in different categories. The TV Spielfilm Award, donated by the identically named TV program magazine, is given to the best contribution of the three festival sections. Furthermore, the German Casting Award goes to the best German casting agent and The Hollywood Reporter Award, sponsored by The Nielsen Company, goes to young and aspiring individuals in the media sector. Until 2007, the award for the best screenplay, sponsored by Network Movie, was also bestowed. Amongst others, it was given to Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck in 2006, who won the Oscar for '' The Lives of Others'' in 2007. In 2007 the main award of the Cologne Conference, the "Film Award Cologne", was originated. This award honors outstanding creativity in film and TV and is worth EUR 25.000. It is bestowed upon those individuals, who best contribute "to the further development of the language of film and media". The award is presented by the Cologne Conference, along with the City of Cologne and States Film Subsidy Body "Filmstiftung NRW". The first laureate of the "Film Award Cologne" in 2007 was Canadian film director and writer Paul Haggis (''LA Crash'', '' Casino Royale'') and in 2008, the award was given to the brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne (''L'Enfant'', '' Lorna's Silence''). In 2009, the award was bestowed upon Roman Polanski (''Chinatown'', '' The Pianist'') but the Polish/French movie director was not able to receive the prize on 3 October in Cologne since he was arrested on 26 September during his journey to the Zurich Film Festival, which caused a worldwide sensation. In 2010

was presented with the "Film Award Cologne" for his groundbreaking work in television and cinema. David Simon received the TV Spielfilm Award for his critically acclaimed series '' Treme''. Todd Haynes was awarded the TV Spielfilm Award in 2011 for his extraordinary re-imagination of ''

Mildred Pierce ''Mildred Pierce'' is a psychological drama by James M. Cain published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1941. A story of “social inequity and opportunity in America" set during the Great Depression, ''Mildred Pierce'' follows the trajectory of a lower- ...

'' and the "Film Award Cologne" was presented to Tarsem Singh.

Laureates 2007

* Film Award Cologne: Paul Haggis * TV Spielfilm Award:

for the movie '' Control'' * Writer's Award: Hannah Hollinger for her lifework * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Das perfekte Dinner In 2007, the Cologne Conference was chaired by festival founder Lutz Hachmeister, along with Maybritt Illner, Stefan Aust, Marc Conrad, Michael Schmid-Ospach and Dieter Gorny.

Laureates 2008

* Film Award Cologne: Jean-Pierre Dardenne and

Luc Dardenne Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne (; born 21 April 1951) and Luc Dardenne (born 10 March 1954), collectively referred to as the Dardenne brothers, are a Belgian filmmaking duo. They write, produce, and direct their films together. The Dardennes b ...

* TV Spielfilm Award: Abi Morgan and Hettie Macdonald for the BBC movie ''

White Girl White Girl may refer to: *A caucasian female *Slang for cocaine *'' Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl'', a painting by James Whistler Film and TV * ''The White Girl'' (1990 film), a 1990 American film * ''White Girl'' (2008 film), a 2008 Bri ...

'' * German Casting Award: Franziska Aigner-Kuhn for the movie ''Die Welle'' * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Christian Becker, Rat Pack film production * Future TV Award: ''Sex and Zaziki'' by Sascha Jenschewski and Alexander Perschel In 2008, the Cologne Conference was chaired by Lutz Hachmeister, along with, Stefan Aust, Marc Conrad, Michael Schmid-Ospach and Dieter Gorny.

Laureates 2009

* Film Award Cologne: Roman Polanski * TV Spielfilm Award: Lynda La Plante (''Above Suspicion'', ITV) * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Max Wiedemann and Quirin Berg, Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion * Casting Award: Nina Haun In 2009, the Cologne Conference was chaired by festival founder

, along with Stefan Aust, Marc Conrad, Michael Schmid-Ospach and Dieter Gorny.

Laureates 2010

* Film Award Cologne:

* TV Spielfilm Award: David Simon for the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series '' Treme'' * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss for the AMC-series '' Mad Men'' * Casting Award: Ulrike Müller for her casting work in the feature films '' When We Leave'', ''Im Schatten'' and '' The City Below''

Laureates 2011

* Film Award Cologne: Tarsem Singh * TV Spielfilm Award: Todd Haynes for the

series ''

'' * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Paul Abbott for the series '' Shameless'' and ''

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

''. * Casting Award: Sophie Molitoris for her casting work in the TV Movie '.

Laureates 2012

* Film Award Cologne: François Ozon * TV Spielfilm Award: Michael Winterbottom for the movie '' Trishna''. * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Karl Baumgartner, for his lifework. * Casting Award: Daniela Tolkien for her casting work in the movies '' Vicky and the Treasure of the Gods'', ' and '.

Laureates 2013

* Film Award Cologne: Harmony Korine * TV Spielfilm Award:

Frauke Finsterwalder Frauke Finsterwalder (born 15 December 1975) is a German film director and screenwriter. Finsterwalder has directed several shorts and documentaries and is the director of the 2013 feature film '' Finsterworld''. Her second feature film, '' Sisi ...

for the film '' Finsterworld'' * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Sibel Kekilli * Casting Award: Susanne Ritter * International Actors Award: Isabelle Huppert

Laureates 2014

* Film Award Cologne: Lars von Trier * TV Spielfilm Award: Bertrand Tavernier for the film ''Quai d'Orsay'' * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Tom Tykwer * International Actors Award: Martina Gedeck

Laureates 2015

* Film Award Cologne: Paolo Sorrentino * TV Spielfilm Award:

David Schalko David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

for the series '' Altes Geld'' * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Mathieu Amalric * International Actors Award:

Nora von Waldstätten Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian Places Australia * Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...

* Phoenix Award: Joshua Oppenheimer

Laureates 2016

* Film Award Cologne: Claire Denis * NRW Film Award for the best documentary: ''Family Business'' (Director: Christiane Büchner, producer: Tobias Büchner, Büchner.Filmproduktion) * NRW Film Award for the best movie: ''

Toni Erdmann Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Nor ...

'' (Director: Maren Ade, producer: Janine Jackowski, Jonas Dornbach, Maren Ade, Komplizen Film) * TV Spielfilm Award: Lucie Borleteau for the series ''Cannabis'' * The Hollywood Reporter Award:

Christopher Doyle Christopher Doyle, also known as Dù Kěfēng (Mandarin) or Dou Ho-Fung (Cantonese) () (born 2 May 1952) is an Australian-Hong Kong cinematographer. He has worked on over fifty Chinese-language films, being best known for his collaborations ...

* International Actors Award:

Peter Simonischek Peter Simonischek (born 6 August 1946) is an Austrian people, Austrian actor. He is a celebrated stage performer and has been a regular ensemble member of the Burgtheater since 1999. He often appears at the Salzburg Festival and has played the ti ...

* Phoenix Award:

Pieter-Jan De Pue Pieter-Jan de Pue (1982, Ghent) is a photographer and film director from Belgium. He studied at the visual arts school RITS. His first film documentary is " The Land of the Enlightened" which won a World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Be ...

Laureates 2017

* Film Award Cologne: Jane Campion * NRW Film Award for the best documentary: ''Peter Handke – Bin im Wald. Kann sein, dass ich mich verspäte...'' (Director: Corinna Belz, producer: Thomas Kufus, zero one film) * NRW Film Award for the best movie: '' Der traumhafte Weg'' (Director:

Angela Schanelec Angela Schanelec (; born 14 February 1962) is a German actress, film director and screenwriter. Her film '' Places in Cities'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. At the 69th Berlin International Fil ...

) * TV Spielfilm Award: Margarethe von Trotta for ''

Forget About Nick ''Forget About Nick'' is a 2017 German romantic comedy drama film directed by Margarethe von Trotta and starring Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Katja Riemann and Haluk Bilginer. Cast *Ingrid Bolsø Berdal as Jade *Katja Riemann as Maria *Haluk Bilginer as ...

'' * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Sean Bean * International Actors Award: Juliette Binoche * Phoenix Award: Kevin Macdonald

Laureates 2018

* Film Award Cologne: Luca Guadagnino * NRW Film Award for the best documentary: ''Lucica und ihre sechs Kinder'' (Director/producer: Bettina Braun) * NRW Film Award for the best movie: ''Wintermärchen'' (Producer:

Bettina Brokemper Bettina is a female name predominantly found in the Italian and German languages. This name has various interpreted meanings and origins. In Italian, Bettina originated as a diminutive of the names Elisabetta and Benedetta. Benedetta is the Ital ...

, director: Jan Bonny) * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Paweł Pawlikowski * International Actors Award: Lars Eidinger * Phoenix Award: Chris Martin (British television journalist and filmmaker)

Laureates 2019

* Film Award Cologne:

* NRW Film Award: ''Easy Love'' (Producer: Lino Rettinger, director: Tamer Jandali) * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Abel Ferrara for his film '' Tommaso'' * International Actors Award:

August Diehl August Diehl (; born 4 January 1976) is a German actor, primarily known to international audiences for playing Gestapo major Dieter Hellstrom in Quentin Tarantino's ''Inglourious Basterds'' and Michael "Mike" Krause, Evelyn Salt's husband, in the ...

* Cologne Creative Award:

Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer, director, producer and writer. He is regarded as an auteur of video games. He developed a strong passion for action/adventure cinema and literature during his childhood and adolescence. In 1986, he was hired ...

* Phoenix Award: Nanfu Wang for her film '' One Child Nation''

Laureates 2020

* Film Award Cologne: Dominik Graf * NRW Film Award: ''Mit eigenen Augen'' (Producer: Harry Flöter, Regina Jorissen and Jörg Siepmann, director: Miguel Müller-Frank) * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Thomas Vinterberg for his film '' Another Round'' * International Actors Award:

Mads Mikkelsen Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen, (; born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor. Originally a gymnast and dancer, he rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the ''Pusher'' film trilogy (1996, 2004), Det ...

* International Actress Award: Sandra Hüller * Cologne Creative Award: CD Projekt Red * Phoenix Award:

Radu Ciorniciuc Radu may refer to: People * Radu (given name), Romanian masculine given name * Radu (surname), Romanian surname * Rulers of Wallachia, see * Prince Radu of Romania (born 1960), disputed pretender to the former Romanian throne Other uses * Radu ( ...

for her film ''

Acasă, my Home ''Acasă, My Home'' is a 2020 German/Romanian/Finnish documentary film directed by Radu Ciorniciuc. The film is about nine children and their parents who lived in harmony with nature in the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta for 20 years until the ...

'' * Manfred Stelzer Award: Richard Huber for his film ''Der König von Köln'' * NRW Media Award for developmental policy commitment: Reporter ohne Grenzen ''(The Uncensored Library)'', Fridays for Future ''(#weekforclimate 2019)'' and Viva con Agua ''(#streamforwater)''

Laureates 2021

* Film Award Cologne:

* NRW Film Award: Dokumentarfilm ''Auf Anfang'' by Georg Nonnenmacher and Mike Schlömer * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Gaspar Noé für his film '' Vortex'' * International Actors Award: Albrecht Schuch * Phoenix Award:

Phil Grabsky Phil Grabsky is a BAFTA-winning British documentary filmmaker who has received multiple awards for his directing, writing, producing and cinematography. He and his company Seventh Art Productions are behind cinema films such as ''Muhammad A ...

for his film '' My Childhood, My Country: 20 Years in Afghanistan'' * Manfred Stelzer Award: Maria Schrader for her film '' I'm Your Man'' * NRW Media Award for developmental policy commitment: ''WHAT IF...? In 80 Fragen um die Welt'', ''YouTopia – Gemeinsam für die Umwelt'' and ''Der Stoff, aus dem die Träume sind''

Laureates 2022

* Film Award Cologne: Michel Hazanavicius * NRW Film Award: ''A Room of My Own'' by Ioseb Bliadze * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Mia Hansen-Løve for her film ''

One Fine Morning One Fine Morning may refer to: * ''One Fine Morning'' (film), 2022 film directed by Mia Hansen-Løve * "One Fine Morning" (song), 1971 song by Lighthouse {{disambiguation ...

'' * International Actors Award: Nina Hoss * Phoenix Award: Benedetta Argentieri for her film ''The Matchmaker'' * Manfred Stelzer Award: Nana Neul for her film ''Daughters (Töchter)'' * NRW Media Award for developmental policy commitment: ''The Truth Wins'' ( Reporter ohne Grenzen), ''Gamechanger Week'' (

Kindernothilfe Kindernothilfe (KNH) is a charity organization and was founded in 1959 by a group of Christians in Duisburg, Germany, in order to help needy children in India. Over time, it has become one of the largest Christian organizations in Europe for ch ...

e. V.) and ''Nachschlag'' (Utopia.de)

Laureates 2023

* Film Award Cologne:

Justine Triet Justine Triet (born 17 July 1978) is a French film director, screenwriter and editor. She is a graduate of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts. Her debut feature, ''Age of Panic'', was presented as part of the ACID programme at the 2 ...

* NRW Film Award: ''A Good Place'' by ''Katharina Huber'' * The Hollywood Reporter Award: Xavier Dolan for his series

The Night Logan Woke Up ''The Night Logan Woke Up'' (french: La nuit où Laurier Gaudreault s'est réveillé) is a Canadian thriller drama limited television series, directed by Xavier Dolan and released in 2022.T'Cha Dunlevy"Xavier Dolan reawakens fans' interest with fi ...

* International Actors Award: Oliver Masucci * Phoenix Award: Kaouther Ben Hania (Filmemacherin) for Four Daughters * Manfred Stelzer Award:

Sonja Heiss Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Son ...

for directing When Will it Finally Be Like it Never Was Again? * NRW Media Award for developmental policy commitment: The World’s Most Dangerous Show ( Florida Entertainment für

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

), ''Periodic Power'' ( World Vision Germany) und ''Waterproof - Dance4WASH'' (

Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli (english: Live with Water) is a charity founded in 2006 in the Hamburg quarter of St. Pauli. Viva con Agua is a network of people and organizations committed to establish access to clean drinking water and basic sanita ...

)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Website Film Festival Cologne
Film festivals in Germany Festivals in Cologne 1991 establishments in Germany Recurring events established in 1991 Annual events in Germany