Rundgang 2025: Filme von Studierenden der KHM (Programm 4)

From Thursday to Sunday, the film program at Rundgang 2025 will present a total of 44 films by students of the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM) that have been produced over the past twelve months as part of their studies. Feature films, documentaries, animations, experimental films and hybrid forms of cinematic storytelling will be shown in 13 program blocks in the auditorium of the KHM and in the Filmforum at Museum Ludwig.

Thursday, July 17, 2025, 8 p.m.
Filmforum at the Museum Ludwig, Bischofsgartenstr. 1, 50667 Cologne
Moderation: Nicolette Krebitz, deputy professor

Shawano, 2024, 13 min.
Experimental film/documentary by Felix Bartke (director & writer), Fabian Martin Anger (cinematography)
An imitation of a western ranch in German no man's land, hidden behind bushes by the highway. In the dummy, the dream of life as a movie cowboy becomes real. Contemplation and routine work, every move seems to be right, until the cigarette smoke conjures up the ghosts of days gone by.

In case of doubt, 2025, 30 min.
Feature film by Till Gombert (director & writer), Carmen Rivadeneira (cinematography)
Sönke drives his pregnant partner Vivian home from work. But even there her pains won't stop. While she hopes that the midwife will finally call her back and stoically endures the situation, he becomes increasingly nervous - unsure about his role in her first pregnancy. Dealing with worries, fears and feelings together reveals the construction of their relationship.

Chrysanthemum, 2025, 9 min.
Animation by Jingyuan Luo
What does it mean to lose your mother to a state's invasive quarantine regime in the midst of a global pandemic? In "Chrysanthemum", Jingyuan Luo approaches this question through the case of a Chinese "suicide jumper". She repeatedly shows and relives the trauma of a death that is made invisible by the state that caused it. Like the eponymous flower of mourning, its contemplation is eerily beautiful in its shattering sadness.

ERBSCHAFT, 2024, 42 min.
Feature film by Boris Maximov (director & writer), Philipp Theiss (cinematography)
2032: After Russia's defeat in the Ukraine war, Alex, the son of Russian exiles, returns to the land of collective amnesia with his German friend to take over the inheritance of grandma's apartment. But the neighbors have long since set their sights on the vacant apartment. Only their daughter remembers the neighbor boy. Between memory, corruption and political necromancy, a grotesque about guilt, repression and the legacy of a poisoned society unfolds.

I learn, get hurt, accept, strive, fight, love, cry and laugh, 2025, 21 min.
Experimental film by Chanmin Kim
One day you asked me: Are you living your life to the full? But what does it even mean to live life to the full? Ever since I heard those words on the phone, I can't stop thinking about it. What do you mean by "living life to the fullest"? I just mean... are you really doing your best in life? Hearing these words from someone I love gives me a strange, inexplicable feeling...

After the screening, the directors, authors and image designers present will talk about the process of making their films and introduce their film teams in a discussion with the audience.