NRW Awards 140,000 Euros to Six Film Projects
In its current funding round for distribution, the Film and Media Foundation NRW is supporting sophisticated artistic cinema, thereby strengthening diversity and creative expression on the big screen. Funding is being provided for projects that showcase the full spectrum of cinematic storytelling—from personal documentaries to large-scale dramas.
KHM graduate Jelena Ilić, for example, sensitively explores her father’s mental illness and her own fears in her multi-award-winning documentary. Jacqueline Jansen delivers a compelling, award-winning autofictional debut in the form of a moving humanistic drama. With their documentary, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady impressively demonstrate how sled dogs reveal the humanity within people.
The selection also makes a strong international statement: Films from Indonesia, Colombia, and Lebanon offer new perspectives on social and family structures through their distinctive styles.
The jury members were festival organizer and film journalist Oliver Baumgarten, Veronika Greskamp, Head of Theatrical Sales at X Verleih, and Steffi Köhler, Managing Director of Filmwerkstatt Münster.
Distribution Funding
A DISEASE LIKE A POEM - 25,000 euros
Director: Jelena Ilić
Distributor: mindjazz pictures, Cologne
Theatrical Release: September 3, 2026
Jelena Ilić was awarded this year’s Audience Award at the Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival for her deeply personal documentary. Her father is in a psychiatric hospital due to a drug-induced psychosis. His release is imminent. But can his daughter trust him?
CROCODILE TEARS - 25,000 euros
Director: Tumpal Tampubolon
Distributor: CCC, Cologne
Theatrical release: February 26, 2026
The Indonesian filmmaker’s debut is a blend of coming-of-age story, social drama, and thriller. Johan runs a crocodile park with his domineering mother. When the son falls in love, the already fragile balance between mother and son is completely thrown off kilter. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
BARRIO TRISTE - 25,000 euros
Director: Stillz
Distributor: Rapid Eye Movie, Cologne
Theatrical release: May 14, 2026
The film debut of renowned Colombian photographer and music video director Stillz is characterized by a unique visual language with an experimental aesthetic. This coming-of-age story follows a group of teenage outsiders in Medellín. Stillz, whose debut premiered at the Venice Film Festival, explores the fears of young people living on the margins of society.
DO YOU LOVE ME - 25,000 euros
Director: Lana Daher
Distributor: Rapid Eye Movies, Cologne
Theatrical release: June 14, 2026
This essay film is a playful and personal journey through Lebanon’s audiovisual memory, consisting entirely of archival footage. The Lebanese director has created a love letter to Beirut that spans 70 years of film, television, home videos, and photography, exploring the collective psyche of the Lebanese people. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
SIX-WEEK GRANT - 20,000 euros
Director: Jacqueline Jansen
Distributor: Piffl, Berlin
Theatrical Release: June 18, 2026
After her mother’s death, Lore returns to her hometown, the small Rhineland town of Erkelenz. She finds herself in an unprecedented state of turmoil. So, too, is the world around her as the COVID-19 pandemic breaks out and everyone around her devolves into unempathetic lone wolves. Jansen’s feature film debut won three awards at the Munich Film Festival.
FOLKTALES – INTO LIFE WITH SLED DOGS – 20,000 euros
Directed by: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
Distributor: mindjazz pictures, Cologne
Theatrical Release: February 5, 2026
The documentary follows young people attending a traditional folk high school in the Arctic wilderness of Norway. Beyond the digital world, they rediscover courage, purpose, and community. Far removed from so-called self-improvement, they learn to drive dog sleds. In the process, the sled dogs become their teachers and mirrors.