“It seems like a fairytale that we were able to host the International Film Festival Cologne”
After chatting with Festival Director Anselm Diehl a few weeks before the inaugural edition of the IFF Cologne, we checked in again to find out how the first edition unfolded.
Back in August, we chatted with Anselm Diehl about the stress and excitement prior to the first-ever edition of the brand-new International Film Festival Cologne, a new film showcase based in Cologne, Germany. Even though launching a festival with an in-person event in a year where most festivals had to shift towards online festival editions sounded like a crazy bet, Anselm Diehl and his team managed to host the event as planned and offered a memorable event to an engaged audience!
First times are usually both stressful and exciting to the point you never forget them. How was the first edition of the IFF Cologne for you?
Anselm Diehl: Very exciting and stressful, yes! The pressure was huge, not only because I had to manage a team of 30 people plus 16 Jury-Members, but also because of all the regulations due to Corona. When I think about it now, it seems like a fairytale that we were able to host the IFFC. And I am very glad we could! And I am very glad with the amazing guests and partners that helped creating the first IFFC. It was truly unique from my point of view.
“I then realized that behind every project we reviewed and judged is a passionate and kind person.”
To what extent did the event match your expectations?
Anselm Diehl: Well, they did everywhere they needed to: nice location, amazing films, cool guests and many nice chats here and there! What overcome my expectation was the openness and kindness of all Guests and Visitors! I then realized that behind every project we reviewed and judged is a passionate and kind person. The atmosphere was amazing, everybody was kind, everybody had a chat with one another and after the screenings people sat together and had a drink until we had to close… That was truly great to see. In This moment I felt that we did something right.
What was the audience reaction to the film competition and the events?
Anselm Diehl: All the visitors I spoke with were amazed by the selection! The quality of the projects was often praised and, as I wished, people went and saw projects they might haven’t watched if we didn’t put the categories into blocks of 5 films. We did this with short films, web series, music video etc. Feature Films and other long projects had single screenings of course.
Are there any good practices you have found that you think could help other film festival organizers that you’d like to share?
Anselm Diehl: Structure. That’s a big help. I structured my Team into units, for example: „Location Design“, „Video Unit“, „Gastro Unit“, „Theater Unit“ etc. Every unit had 2-5 members with one of them being responsible and being in direct contact with me. This kind of structure is really important and of course I adapted it from the film set.
Do you already have in mind things you’d like to change or implement for next year’s edition?
Anselm Diehl: I definitely want more premieres next year! And more time! We had 3 Theaters play at the same time screening 27 hours of films in only 2 Days! So next year we will have 3-4 Days to give every project the time and attention it deserves. We will also focus on single events, like premieres for example, besides the program.
When is the 2nd edition expected, where can filmmakers submit their work and what is the deadline for submissions?
Anselm Diehl: I am planning for August of 2021, let’s see what the next months bring us. The Entries have opened and everybody can submit until June 1st, 2021. We’d love everybody to submit their great work and maybe be a part of the IFFC 2021!
Do not miss the IFFC’s call for films on FilmFreeway and make sure to connect with them on Instagram!
