40th Internationales Frauen Film Fest Dortmund+Köln: anniversary edition begins in Dortmund on 18 April

The Internationales Frauen Film Fest Dortmund+Köln will open its doors for the 40th time on Tuesday, 18 April, and show around 130 films from 34 countries presented in seven sections until 23 April. The anniversary edition of the biennial festival will be largely taking place in Dortmund which is hosting all of the sections for the very first time. Individual films will also be shown at Cologne’s Filmforum. The French competition entry "Angry Annie" will open the festival. 

Sections and prizes

Four prizes will be awarded in a total of seven sections. They include the prize of 15,000 Euros for the winning film in the International Feature Film Competition. This year’s jury is made up of the actress, producer and co-founder of the MaLisa Foundation Maria Furtwängler, the writer-director Helke Sander and the producer and actress Sara Fazilat. The Shoot – KHM & IFFF Dortmund+Köln Award for Female Artists of the KHM is endowed with 1,000 Euros, as is the Audience Award. Other sections are: Panorama, desired! – filmlust & queer, Spot on, NRW! IFFF Revisited and other Specials. The theme for this year’s Focus is "Accomplices" with the festival inviting the audience to be inspired by feminist solidarity through the history of cinema. In addition, 18 films will be shown in the"Programme for Kids and Young Adults" where the Short Film Award of the "European Children’s Film Association" (ECFA) has been presented since 2020.

Panorama section with two Filmstiftung-backed films

The films invited to screen in the Panorama section address women’s rights and gender-specific issues under the heading of "Invisible". The line-up includes the Filmstiftung-backed production "Seven Winters in Tehran" by Steffi Niederzoll, which celebrated its highly acclaimed premiere at the 73rd Berlinale in February and was awarded the Perspektive Prize, among others. Produced by Cologne-based Made in Germany,  the documentary centres on Reyhaneh Jabbari who was sentenced to death in Iran at the age of only 26. The Filmstiftung-backed  documentary "Helke Sander: Cleaning House" by Claudia Richarz will celebrate its world premiere in the Panorama. The film sees Richarz portraying this year’s jury member Helke Sander, one of the first activists of the new women’s movement launched in 1968.

The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW is one of the IFFF’s long-standing backers. Other supporters are the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, City of Cologne, City of Dortmund, Sparkasse Dortmund, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

More information at www.frauenfilmfest.com