FilmInitiativ Köln e.V.

Qui sommes-nous

FilmInitiativ Köln e.V. was founded in 1988, when it set itself the objective of "arousing interest in cinematic art by screening films and giving lectures and seminars, and also to stimulate and encourage political discussions". In doing so, "primarily films that are not represented in the listings of commercial cinemas should be given a platform. These could be significant films in cinematic history or culture which document the cinematographic works of non-European filmmakers".
In the years from 1988 to 1992 we had the first film series concerning the worldwide nuclear industry ("When the Wind Blows"), independent Chinese cinema ("Electric Shadows"), films about Australian aborigines ("Aboriginality) and anti-neo-Nazi films from here in Germany ("Wehret den Anfängen", or "Resist the Beginnings")
These were later followed up by programmes on the subject of "returning from exile", a look back at the German Autumn ("Disturbing the Peace") and on "the persecution of the Jews and anti-Semitism in Cologne"

Since the beginning of the 1990s, FilmInitiativ’s work has focused on two key issues:
• Cologne in film – a film history of a city
This necessitated extensive historical research, with more than 6,000 film titles fed into a database and the results being published in a voluminous book in 2004 (Köln im Film - Filmgeschichten einer Stadt ["Cologne in Film – Film History of a City"]). A virtual Cologne film archive was subsequently created. Since the beginning of 2013 an office in the Cologne City Museum (Zeughausstraße 1-3, 50667 Köln) has been made available to the Cologne film project group. From 2014, the project that has been supported by FilmInitiativ for over two decades will be assumed and continued by an independent film association in Cologne. Contact details, general information and the Cologne film archive can be found at: www.koeln-im-film.de.
• Africa in film
The extensive presentation of African cinema with the biennial festival "Out of Europe" and special events focusing on a certain country or subject matter (documented on the website www.films-from-africa.com and in the database that has been under constant development since 2011). For example a special to celebrate "50 years of Ghanaian independence", for example, one for the revolts in North Africa, one featuring contemporary cinema in South Africa two decades after the end of Apartheid and one featuring the African Diaspora Cinema.
As of 2014, the FilmInitiativ Köln e.V. association will concentrate exclusively on this focal point of its work.
With the 15th edition from September 21 to October 1st, 2017, FilmInitiativ celebrated the 25th anniversary of the festival, which are held annually ever since, in 2018 (September 13 to 23) whit the focus "Migration within Africa" and 2019 (September 19 to 29) with the theme "Fundamentalism & Migration".
Since 1992, nearly 1000 films from 40 African countries have been screened in Cologne, and more than 200 filmmakers have been invited to present their works and hold discussions with the general public. The Africa film festival Cologne is not only unique to North Rhine-Westphalia, but also presents the most comprehensive range of contemporary African cinema to be found anywhere in Germany. As a result, the festival has grown in national and international stature in recent years. Therefore also the catalogues and this website are presented in three languages.

Sebastian Fischer is the Artistic Director / CEO of the Afrika Film Festival Köln.

For other net participants we can offer overnight facilities. Also we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.