Panels/Workshops

Julia Breede is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Media Studies at Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF and has been involved in curating the main program of Sehsüchte.During her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies at the University of Münster, she gained initial experience in film festival work through an internship in public relations at the International Women’s Film Festival Dortmund & Cologne, where she also developed a deeper understanding of feminist perspectives on cinema.

Leandra Lara Steiper studied in Regensburg and Hong Kong and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Media Studies at Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. Since 2023, she has been working as an assistant to the festival management of the International Short Film Week Regensburg, contributing to the curation and programming of both the International and German competitions.She works across various media fields, ranging from radio to film sets and film festivals such as Filmfest Munich, Jugendfilmfestival Oberpfalz, and Filmschoolfest Munich, where she co-curated, programmed, and moderated the DACH competition in 2024. At Sehsüchte, she is part of the curation team for the main program.

Julia Effertz is an actress, literary scholar, author, and systemic consultant. In 2019, she became Germany’s first intimacy coordinator, establishing this role in film, television, and theater productions. Since then, she has been committed to promoting professional and respectful working conditions for intimate scenes.As a lecturer, she teaches directing, acting, and production at art universities and advises on topics such as consent, boundaries, and the staging of intimacy. Her book on intimacy, Courage to Be Vulnerable, was published in 2024.

Florian Federl is an actor, stunt performer, and intimacy coordinator. He completed the Intimacy Coordination Development Program (EMEA) with Safe Sets in 2021. As a board member of the German association for intimacy coordination and stage combat (BIK), he advocates for professional standards and safe working conditions in film and television. He has worked on numerous productions, including Tatort and various Netflix projects, and regularly teaches at universities.

His work includes:

Unsere wunderbaren Jahre (ARD, 2022)

Nord bei Nordost – Aller guten Dinge (ARD, Degeto, NDR 2025)

Tatort – Gefahrengebiet (RBB, 2024)

Fall for Me (Netflix, 2024)

Cassandra (Netflix, 2023)

Holy Meat (Kinospielfilm, 2023)

European Business Development Manager for Immersive Experiences, with a focus on “Arts and Entertainment,” at EPSON. After completing his studies in Business Administration at Hochschule Mannheim in 2001, he began his career in the IT sector. Since then, he has held various positions in sales and marketing, working for companies such as SIEMENS, BARCO, and EPSON. In his role at EPSON, he has overseen several international projects in the field of Immersive Experiences, focusing on innovative projects.

Emilia is an award-winning film director and VR artist working in the animation industry. With her short movies she won the View Conference Award (Italian Mix) and the Venice Biennale 74 Giornate degli Autori (Bookciak Azione).

Ilija Brunck is Partner and CEO of the animation studio Woodblock. He is committed to fostering a creative, sustainable, and human-centered digital culture. With a strong background in animation, he has produced numerous award-winning short films, including 458nm, Loom, and Bye Bear, receiving honors such as SIGGRAPH’s “Best in Show” and the Golden Nica at Ars Electronica.

 Senior Commissioning Editor with more than a decade of experience at ARTE and rbb, commissioning and shaping a wide range of high-quality documentary, fiction, and digital projects.

Dr. Anna Luise Kiss studied Cultural Studies and Media Studies at the HFF Konrad Wolf. Since 2021, she has been President of the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin and was re-elected for a second term in 2025. Previously, she served as Vice President for Research & Transfer at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF.

Hao is a screenwriter and director. His work explores contemporary Asian-German perspectives and life in the diaspora, focusing on intergenerational themes such as war, trauma, and cultural heritage. He studied Film Directing at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. Do is a community organizer for the Berlin Asian Film Network (BAFNET) e.V., a non-profit initiative advocating for nuanced representations of Asian-German perspectives in film and television. Hao received the First Steps Award for his film Hao Are You. He is a Berlinale Talents alumnus and a Villa Aurora Fellow.

Fabian grew up in Hamburg, studied Film Production at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg, and subsequently completed the Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris. His short and feature films have screened at over 1,000 international festivals and won more than 300 awards, including at the Berlinale, Cannes, Sundance, Karlovy Vary, Venice, and the MoMA in New York. In 2016, his German-French co-production L’AVENIR – EVERYTHING THAT COMES received the Silver Bear for Best Director for Mia Hansen-Løve. His second German-French co-production, PERSONAL SHOPPER by Olivier Assayas, won the Best Director award at Cannes the same year. In 2021, success repeated with the German-French co-production ANNETTE, for which Leos Carax won the Best Director award at Cannes.

 Neele Siemann works as a Visual Effects and Virtual Production generalist for film and television productions. In addition, she supports projects as an academic staff member at the Creative Exchange Studio of the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, focusing on digitalization, usability, and the contextualization of cultural heritage.

She completed her Master’s degree in scenography/VFX at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF in spring 2024. In her final thesis, she explored the integration of machine learning into post-production, with a focus on style transfer and generative artificial intelligence.

 Lillian has been specializing for almost two decades as a writer, director, and producer in documentary films that have been screened and awarded at international festivals. Bringing socio-political projects to life is her passion, which she has successfully pursued in various constellations. She is currently combining her professional experience and socio-political engagement with academic research in a doctoral thesis at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. Her topic is: How can the production conditions for social impact documentaries in Germany be developed? Through this work, she is a central part of the research project “Film as a Catalyst for Social Transformation,” collaborating with partners such as AG DOK, AG Verleih, Jetzt & Morgen, Planet Narratives, and Mission Wertvoll/Maja Göpel, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. In addition, Lillian Rosa serves as a jury member, guest lecturer at universities, and speaker at panel discussions.

 Saskia studied Film and Television Studies at Ruhr University before starting her career as a Marketing Manager at X Verleih. In 2004, she moved to the film marketing and full-service agency Entertainment Kombinat, becoming its Managing Director in 2007. For the next nine years, she was responsible for release, PR, and marketing campaigns for the leading film distributors across Germany. She then held a senior position at the film distributor Port au Prince Pictures before co-founding her own agency, JETZT & MORGEN, with Gesine Mannheimer in 2018. Since 2022, she has also served as Managing Director of AG Verleih – the Association of Independent Film Distributors in Germany – alongside Gesine Mannheimer, representing the interests of 40 mid-sized film distributors. She is a deputy member of the FFA Board of Trustees and a practical partner of the HFF research project “Film as a Catalyst for Social Transformation.”

Frithjof is a producer and line production coordinator with a focus on international film and television projects. After studying at Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, he currently works at Arkanum Pictures and Schiwago Film, where he oversees projects across all stages of production as a line producer and line production coordinator. Together with Jannis Alexander Kiefer, he founded the short film agency “shortlisted.” in 2024 and advises short film projects on festival strategy and distribution.

Maximilian Ahrens is a filmmaker and cultural scholar specializing in political documentaries. His latest feature film, No Country for Anyone (Kein Land für Niemand), reached over 40,000 viewers and sparked broad discussion in societal debates. His current thematic focus includes migration, social inequality, and the authoritarian shift in Germany.

How can politics, emotions, and values be communicated effectively?

This question has shaped Max’s path from his early work in theatre and film to advertising and political social media. Today, he works as an advisor for political communication in the German Bundestag while also writing a book about his work. His current focus lies on video-based communication design and the question of how digital formats can not only represent solidarity but actively foster it.

Hanne Homrighausen is board member of QueerScope, the association of independent queer film festivals in Germany. QueerScope is part of the German network “Film & Democracy”, an alliance of stakeholders from the film and media sectors in business, education, and culture who are committed to countering the influence of the far right and right-wing populists on media professionals, media content, and media culture.

With a Bachelor’s in Visual Communication and a Master’s in Film and Television Production, she seamlessly blends visual conceptualization with strong project management skills. She is driven by a central question: how can creative ideas truly find their audience? During her Master’s thesis, she specialized in the practical side of sustainability, exploring the specific challenges film universities face when implementing ecological standards.

The Filmuniversity Babelsberg is the largest and oldest film school in Germany. At the start of Susanne Stürmer’s first term in July 2014, the university underwent a change of status, becoming both an art school and a university. Since then, as President, Susanne Stürmer has been shaping the process of developing the university’s academic profile, together with its governing bodies and all members of the institution.

Born in 1991 and raised near Wuppertal, Henning studied directing at Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. His films (Fossil, Off Season, Five Things I Don’t Understand) have been screened in cinemas, at international festivals, and on television. He was a fellow at the Berlinale Script Station, the Munich Screenwriting Workshop, the Résidence du Festival de Cannes, Villa Kamogawa, and the Wim Wenders Fellowship. In addition to his work as a filmmaker, he is active in the German Directors’ Association and the German Cultural Council. He is a member of both the German and European Film Academies and has served on juries, including the Berlinale.