Listen to Germany: 22,500 euros for four new audio projects from North Rhine-Westphalia
Four projects, four perspectives: The Film and Media Foundation NRW is funding additional new audio projects with a total of 22,500 euros. Their topics range from the often invisible traces of the Nazi past in families to the lifestyle of a constantly connected generation, to a high-rise complex in Duisburg that repeatedly becomes the scene of social debates.
All four creators are from North Rhine-Westphalia and live and work in Aachen, Cologne, Duisburg, and Bonn.
Cher Zimmerer, Head of Audio Funding at the Film and Media Foundation NRW:
“Four very different stories and four strong voices from NRW. The funded audio projects combine socially important themes with personal and emotional perspectives. They explore memory and responsibility. The stories invite listeners to experience the action up close and to gain new perspectives firsthand.”
Audio Funding Advisory Board:
Carla Swiderski (Rowohlt Publishing),
Jana Engels (Association of German Writers in North Rhine-Westphalia),
Till Krause (WDR), and
Khesrau Behroz (documentary podcaster, author, and journalist).
Manuscript Funding
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF GREAT-GRANDMOTHER FANNI – 7,500 euros
Author: Sigrid Zeevaert, Aachen
This children’s radio drama series for kids ages 10 and up tells the story of 11-year-old Emilia, her 8-year-old brother Anton, and their mother on an unusual train journey that takes them from the west, across Germany, and far to the east to a place in what is now Poland. The journey takes them back to the story of their great-great-grandmother Fanni, who suffers from dementia and was sent from war-torn Cologne to East Prussia during World War II.
Concept Grant
EVERYBODY SOUNDS FINE – 5,000 euros
Writer: Marina Zolke, Cologne
This documentary audio series explores the everyday lives of teenage protagonists between the ages of 14 and 17 who share everything publicly, reflect on themselves, are constantly connected, and yet often feel alone. Between schoolyards, Discord calls, fast-food restaurants, and walks home, they talk about friendship, loneliness, moments of happiness, growing up, insecurities, and fears.
THE WHITE GIANT – 5,000 euros
Author: Burak Yilmaz, Duisburg
In this documentary podcast series, author and podcaster Burak Yilmaz examines one of Germany’s most notorious so-called “hotspots”: the White Giant in Duisburg-Hochheide. But instead of asking what’s wrong with this place—which is synonymous with poverty, crime, and failed integration—he asks a different question: What political, economic, and media structures have made it what it is today? An intimate look at the people and an investigative exploration of stigma and social conflicts.
HADAMAR 1941 – JOSEPH FUCHS – 5,000 euros
Author: Lisa Sommerfeldt, Bonn
In this documentary radio play, it all begins with a photograph. A brother of the grandfather whom no one in the family ever spoke of. His name is Joseph Fuchs, and he was gassed in Hadamar at the age of 29 because of a disability. The radio play tells Joseph’s story and sheds light on the horror of euthanasia and how dangerous it is to draw a distinction between “valuable” and “worthless” lives. The murder and the cover-up continue to have an impact within the family to this day.