Speakers

Michael Abels

Composer

Michael Abels, the Pulitzer Prize-winning co-composer of the opera OMAR, is best known for his genre-defying scores for the Jordan Peele fiims GET OUT, US and NOPE.  The score for US won a World Soundtrack Award, the Jerry Goldsmith Award, a Critics Choice nomination, and was named “Score of the Decade” by The Wrap.  The score for NOPE was also shortlisted for the Best Original Score Oscar.  Last year he scored the Disney Plus series STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE, for which Abels co-wrote the original song “The Power Of Two” with Grammy-winners Victoria Monet and D’Mile.  Current media projects include the score for the Netflix limited series SIRENS starring Julianne Moore.

Abels’ creative output also includes many concert works, including the choral song cycle AT WAR WITH OURSELVES for the Kronos Quartet, the Grammy-nominated ISOLATION VARIATION for Hilary Hahn, and FREDERICKS FABLES, currently available on the Cedille label.  Abels concert music has been performed by the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Master Chorale and many others.  Recent commissions include EMERGE for the National Symphony, the guitar concerto BORDERS for Grammy-nominated artist Mak Grgic, and UNBOUND, a symphonic tribute to Olympic champion Jesse Owens.  His upcoming projects include commissions for Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, and the Detroit Symphony.

Abels is a frequent guest lecturer was the commencement speaker for the USC Thornton School of Music for 2024.  Abels is co-founder of the Composers Diversity Collective, an advocacy group to increase visibility of composers of color in film, gaming and streaming media.

Peter Albrecht

Composer

Peter Albrecht composes and produces music for film, television, documentaries, and commercials.
His work is defined by emotional depth, stylistic flexibility, and a strong sense for narrative structure. His credits include the feature film VENA (nominated for the German Film Award 2025), the documentary Denn dieses Leben lebst nur Du, series for ZDF and ARD, and international projects like MAJINI, produced in collaboration with filmmakers in Tanzania.

Albrecht studied musicology at Goethe University Frankfurt and later film scoring at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. During his studies, he scored over 40 films, collaborated with the Babelsberg Film Orchestra, and conducted the Žilina Symphony Orchestra in Slovakia.

He has received numerous honors for his music, including a Clio Music Award (LAMY) and Best Music at the Shorts Film Festival Offenburg (ANNA – A Tale For Tomorrow). His scores have been featured and awarded at festivals such as the Max Ophüls Festival, First Steps Award, Young Director Award, the German Business Film Award, and the BAFTA Student Awards.

Sofia degli Alessandri

Composer, Musician

Sofia degli Alessandri, AKA Drum & Lace, is a Florence-raised, London-based musician. A composer for film with degrees from the prestigious Berklee College of Music and New York University, her accolades include work with studios such as 20th Century Studios (‘Rosaline’), Lionsgate (2023’s ‘Cobweb’), NBC (‘Good Girls’ & 'Grosse Pointe Garden Society'), AppleTV+ (‘Dickinson’) and Amazon Studios (‘Red, White & Royal Blue’) amongst others. She recently scored the documentary 'Prime Minister', which won the Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary at the 2025 edition of the Sundance Film Festival. At the same time she's been releasing music outside her scoring work, using her extensive synth collection to find her voice as an electronic producer whose music recalls the likes of Kelly Lee Owens.

Drum & Lace music takes inspiration from the natural world and is scattered with field recordings, so while the work is largely electronic there is a grounding and organic nature to every track. 2022's debut album Natura found inspiration in the soil and in rolling hills, while 2023's Frost EP captured the quiet beauty of winter. Her second LP ONDA, out now via Fabrique Records, is her most dance floor-leaning record to date. It's inspired by the ocean, with motifs of shells, sand and sisterhood present throughout. The EP Tempora (2025) explores the seasons through the use of voice and synthesizers, and was recorded during live sessions in her London studio. 

Sofia has shared the stage with artists as disparate, and luminary, as William Basinski, Suzanne Ciani, Shirley Manson of Garbage, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, black midi, Sqürl and Hans-Joachim Roedelius, while the stages she's performed on include revered London venues like Café OTO and EartH, Moogfest, Public Records NY, Slingshot Festival and National Sawdust's Digital Discovery Festival in the US and Festa Dell’Opera in Italy.

Such variety is proof that Drum & Lace is confidently dipping her toes in electronic music's different pools. From an intimate and immersive ambient performance to a summer festival stage, Drum & Lace taps into both with ease.

Lejla Aliev

Film Producer, Director

Lejla Aliev initially studied art sciences at the University of Münster, followed by a study of fine arts at the Kunstakademie Münster, since 2016 in the class of Suchan Kinoshita. Parallel to her art studies with exhibitions in Europe, she joined Jan Enste as a managing partner at jae kunst und medien. After another three successful years, they decided to give the business partnership a common name, so in 2021 the rebranding to Juli Film took place, for which she works primarily as executive producer and director. Her scenic directing debut took place in 2022 for the docutainment web series ‘Preußen & Westfalen’.

The short film "Porzellan", directed by Lejla Aliev and Hanieh Bozorgnia, premiered at See The Sound Filmfestival 2020.

Baptiste Allard

Composer, Pianist, Producer

Baptiste Allard is a French composer, pianist and producer, with a solid classical training that enables him to master a wide range of specialised musical styles creating soundtracks for film, television, documentaries and advertising.
His compositions are distinguished by rich symphonic orchestral, combining both textures of modern elements, perfectly suited to the image and needs of audiovisual projects. Among his most notable achievements, Baptiste composed the original score for the documentary Les Femmes et l'Assassin, a film distributed on Netflix that traces the arrest of serial killer Guy Georges.
In parallel, Baptiste Allard now participates as a music supervisor with his collective team of composers and producers at Human Paris music house.

Florent Athenosy

Composer

Florent Athenosy grew up in Paris started music at a very early age. As his interest in both composition and jazz developed, he went on to study at the Berklee College of Music where he earned a degree in composition. While attending the college, he managed to balance his traditional composition studies by immersing himself into music technology learning and developing his skills both in sound design and in computer-based composition.
He then moved to New York and started working as a composer in various settings from Ballet music to commercials and jingles as well as short movies and TV shows.
It was then time to go home. He moved back to Paris and has since been working with various TV channels, directors, advertising companies, music supervisors as well as chamber music groups. He remains active on the New York Jazz scene as part of the band SOTL.
He is now part of the HUMAN Paris team.

Michael P. Aust

Festivaldirector SoundTrack_Cologne and Producer TelevisorTroika GmbH

Business graduate (Dipl.-Kfm.) Michael P. Aust is a German curator, organiser of cultural events and film producer born in 1965. His focal point of interest lies in the intersectionality of art forms, especially in the relationship of music and moving pictures. He heads the filmmusic festival and conference SoundTrack_Cologne that he founded in 2004 – with 850 accreditations Europe’s leading filmmusic industry event – as well as SoundTrack_Zurich since 2020. Parallel from 2014-2019 he was festivaldirector of Braunschweig International Filmfestival that grew to 28.000 admissions under his direction.

Aust has worked in the film industry for more than 25 years with producer credits for 21 feature films and feature-length documentaries, including “101 Reykjavik”, “Stumbling Block”, “Low Lights”, “Parallax Sounds Chicago”, “Eva Hesse” and “The Sound of Cologne”, focusing on music and art. His directorial debut “Can and Me”, co-produced by WDR, hit the cinemas and film festivals in spring 2023. 

Michael curates exhibitions and festivals e.g. DuKunst Media Art Festival 1992, Klangvisionen sound art exhibition 1994, StadtKlangNetz conference on cultural education 2007-2014, European Film Music Day at Cannes Film Festival 2009-2016, the highly successful The Art of Pop Video exhibition (MAKK Cologne 2011, Odessa Art Center 2012, Liverpool FACT 2013), Next Level Conference on video games 2012, PLAY!CGN exhibition and conference on video games in art 2013, Digital Distribution conference 2014, BIFF Film Criticism LAB: on the Future of Film Criticism 2015, Hostile Sisters - Interdependencies of Theatre and Film conference 2016, FxM Film meets Music Festival 2018+19. His latest project is the 30-month Re-Educating Digitisation funded by Erasmus+.

He is a voting member of the German Film Academy, Filmbüro NW and of the World Soundtrack Academy and Board Member of KulturNetzKöln and MusicFilmFestivalNetwork. He is Managing Director, Owner and Producer at TelevisorTroika GmbH, a Cologne-based company established in 1993 for film production, art events and public relations in arts.

Yevgeni Birkhoff

Composer, Sound Designer

Yevgeni Birkhoff works as a composer, music producer, and sound designer. He creates music for media and international large scale event productions, composes and produces songs, and engages in the creation of acoustic sound art. Birkhoff's musical diversity is evident in his wide-ranging repertoire, from authentic EDM tracks and Musique Concrète soundscapes to orchestral scores. He has applied his talent and expertise to create tailored music and sound designs for renowned brands and clients such as Mercedes, Porsche, Electronic Arts, the Chinese Ministry of Tourism and Emaar Properties. His sound installations have been exhibited in prestigious institutions worldwide, including the German Rock and Pop Museum in Gronau, the Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood and the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

In 2010, Birkhoff received the Peer Raben Award at "Soundtrack Cologne" for the best music in a short film. Additionally, many of the large-scale events underscored with his music have been recognized with international event industry awards, including the BrandEx Award in 2019, the German Design Award in 2016, and The Special Event 2015 Gala Award.

Recently, Yevgeni Birkhoff has been engaging with real-time media and Artificial Intelligence. He regularly holds lectures and workshops, sharing his expertise in these cutting-edge fields. In his teachings, he contributes his broad knowledge and innovative perspectives on how these technologies can be leveraged in music, audio post and event productions. His insights are highly valued in both academic institutions and industry forums.

Dagmar Blume-Niehage

Film Producer

Sol Bondy

Producer

Sol Bondy was born in 1979 and grew up in London, Spain and Berlin. He is a multi award winning producer based in Berlin. After graduating from the Berlin film school dffb with the EFA nominated REPORTED MISSING by Jan Speckenbach, he founded his company ONE TWO FILMS in 2010. Since then, they have specialized in international co productions, of which 20 have seen the light of the silver screen. Amongst them Pan Nalin’s ANGRY INDIAN GODDESSES, which picked up Audience Awards in Toronto and Rome, Juho Kuosmanen’s THE HAPPIEST DAY IN THE LIFE OF OLLI MÄKI which won the Prix Un Certain Regard in Cannes and the European Film Award, Isabel Coixet’s Goya winner THE BOOKSHOP and Jennifer Fox’s Sundance breakout hit THE TALE starring Laura Dern, which was nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys and 3 Independent Spirit Awards. Ali Abbasi’s multi-award winning Cannes competition title HOLY SPIDER was shortlisted as Best International Feature at the Oscars, just like the 2024 Camera d’Or winner ARMAND by Halfdan Ullman Tøndel, which also won the European Discovery Award at the 2024 EFAs. In 2025, five new features are being released and the first three have all made exceptional appearances: Ira Sachs’ PETER HUJAR’S DAY premiered in Sundance and Berlin, KÖLN 75 by Ido Fluk premiered at the Berlinale as Special Gala and Kleber Mendonça Filho’s THE SECRET AGENT in Cannes competition. Bondy was previously named “Future Leader” by Screen and “10 Producers to Watch” by Variety, is a TAP and Inside Pictures alumni, teaches at various leading European film schools and is a member of the German and European Film Academy.

Jongnic Bontemps

Film composer

Jongnic "JB" Bontemps is a uniquely modern film composer who has been tapped by Paramount Pictures to score the blockbuster, sci-fi action movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts starring Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, and Michelle Yeoh for director and longtime collaborator Steven Caple Jr. His score received the inaugural NAACP Image Award for Outstanding TV/Film Score and was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award for Sci/Action Score.  He also scored the Oscar Nominated Short Documentary The Barber of Little Rock directed by John Hoffman and Christine Turner and produced by Dwayne Wade.

As a composer and creative collaborator, JB fuses a contemporary sound with timeless emotion. His music can be heard in the Thomas Kail produced Disney + feature film World’s Best, the Netflix romantic comedy Wedding Season, the CW sci-fi series 4400, and the dramatic feature Last Night in Rozzie directed by Sean Gannet. He became the go-to composer for director Steven Caple Jr. while scoring his coming-of-age drama The Land. The two then went on to collaborate on the acclaimed film Creed II, for which JB provided rousing additional music. His other projects include the thriller Jagged Mind for director Kelley Kali, The Space Race for Disney +, and the Arkane Studios video game Redfall and Choir for Disney + and Imagine Documentaries. Jongnic has also collaborated with popular artists NAS, Erykah Badu and Tobe Nwigwe on songs, fashion shows and ballets.

JB has lent his talents to a number of critically acclaimed documentary projects. He initially became known for his hip-hop infused score for the Tribeca-favorite documentary United Skates and has since gone on to collaborate with multiple award-winning documentarians on their projects, including Julie Cohen and Betsey West’s feature film My Name Is Pauli Murray; his work for which was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award. His other documentary projects include the CNN special The People vs. The Klan, director Sam Pollard’s films Citizen Ashe and Reopening Night, the Netflix documentary projects Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story and We Are: The Brooklyn Saints, and Shonda Rhimes’ Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.

JB has scored dozens of features, series and video games in all genres, including the Lifetime biopic Clarke Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel, the Toni Braxton-led drama, Faith Under Fire, the Sundance selection Leimert Park produced by Charles King (Mudbound), the BET+ original series Boomerang, and additional music for the Epix series Godfather of Harlem starring Forest Whitaker and the award winning game Call of Duty WWII.

Brooklyn born, JB learned the piano and soaked up his gospel and jazz surroundings. He studied music at Yale and later found himself at the heart of the tech industry as a software developer and entrepreneur after selling his startup to HP. He thrived there for several years, but eventually decided to pursue his deeper passion and jumped head-first into the film scoring program at USC and the Sundance Film Music Lab. He apprenticed as a programmer for numerous A-list Hollywood composers before breaking out on his own.

"Film music has to tell a story without words," JB says. "Its job is to add depth and dimension to the images and words presented on screen. That’s what attracted me to the medium; the opportunity to really express emotion with music."

Helge Borgarts

Composer, Audio Director

Detlef Bothe

Filmmaker, Actor

Detlef Bothe is a German filmmaker, actor, and founder of B-Filme, established in 2001 with the award-winning underground feature Feiertag, which earned the Special Jury Prize at the Munich Film Festival for innovation and boldness. Known for his fearless, independent approach, Bothe has written, directed, produced, and often shot numerous critically recognized films, including Meine Frau, meine Freunde und Ich (ARD debut), Neben der Spur (BR co-production), and mein (Montreal & Oldenburg festivals). His 2020 documentary Kleine große Kämpfer was supported by Nordmedia and several foundations. His latest feature, Deine schöne Hölle (2023), continues his commitment to auteur-driven cinema.

Amine Bouhafa

Composer

With more than 100 credits for TV and films, Amine Bouhafa is one of the most prolific composers of his generation.

Amine grew up in Tunisia, then moved to Paris to continue his studies in Mathematics and classical music.

Multi awarded, Amine won the Cesar of best Original Music for his score of TIMBUKTU, and scored THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN and FOUR DAUGHTERS, both nominated for an Academy Award, as well as CLASS ACT, awarded by the BAFTA of best foreign TV Show, and THE ADVENTURES OF PADDINGTON awarded by 2 Emmy Awards.

Inspired composer, passionate worker, multi-instrumentalist, Amine Bouhafa travels in cinematographic and musical genres, from classical to world music, from independent to mainstream movies. This diversity of approaches is to be found in the double culture that is at the heart of his sincere and complex work. One feet on each continent, Amine’s music and choice of movies are a bridge between different traditions and manage to reconcile them in a unique voice.

That’s how Amine collaborated with directors such as Peter Webber, Adam Shaw, Collin Teague, Karim Ainouz, Kaouther Ben Hania, Patiricia Mazuyi, Katell Quillévéré, Tristan Séguéla, Philippe Faucon and Hafsia Herzi.

Recently, he scored THE LITTLE SISTER by Hasfia Herzi which won best female interpretation in Cannes 2025, and is currently working on PRIVILÈGES, an HBO original serie by Marie Monge and Vladimir de Fontenay, as well as on the video game APHELEON by Don't Nod.

Sandra Brandl

Film editor, producer and director.

Sandra Brandl works as a freelance film editor, producer and director.

She edits cinema documentaries, feature films and works freelance for WDR Cologne. Together with Mirjam Leuze she runs the company Topos Film.

She is a lecturer at the University of Darmstadt in the Motion Design programme and is a member of the German Federal Association of Film Editors and the German Film Academy.

Lennart Brauwers

Music Journalist

Lennart Brauwers is a freelance journalist focused on music. He writes album reviews, interviews, and features for outlets including Zeit Online, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Musikexpress, and Kaput-Mag, where he also runs a column and co-hosts a podcast. He also contributes to publications such as ALL GOOD, Stadtrevue, and Süddeutsche Zeitung, and has written program materials for the Pop-Kultur Festival. Brauwers studied Popular Music and Media at Universität Paderborn and is currently pursuing a master's in Professional Writing at Universität zu Köln.

Pierre Cattoni

Composer agent

Pierre Cattoni has 12 years of experience in the music field.

While working as a project manager for the independent music label Tot Ou tard, where he develops local and international artists such as Yael Naim, Vincent Delerm, Vianney, Albin de la Simone or Ben Howard, he starts accompanying talents as a manager.

That led him to create a composer agency in 2019, in partnership with recording and post-production studios, and collaborate with talents dedicated to film scoring.

In 2021, he joined the Troisième Auteur agency, created in 2016, before becoming its leading agent and partner in 2022. He now represents 20 composers from very various backgrounds and genres, who worked on more than 70 projects in 2024 – French and European long-feature films, TV films and documentaries, series etc. -, selected in the most prestigious festivals in France and Europe. 8 films with scores from Troisième Auteur’s composers were screened at Cannes Festival in May.

Jasin Challah

Director, Composer

Jasin Challah began his career in film and television as an actor and comedian in 2003. In the following years, he developed television and comedy formats for various channels and production companies. In 2010, he graduated from the Academy of Media Arts with his thesis film Kamakia – The Heroes of the Islands, which successfully premiered at the Berlinale.

In 2009, he co-founded the production company Puppetempire.com, through which he has developed and produced a range of crossmedia puppet-comedy formats for multiple television broadcasters. Alongside producing, he began writing and directing his own short films.

In addition to his work in film, Jasin Challah is a passionate musician. He has composed music for various films and is committed to creating the soundtracks for his own projects.

Most recently, Jasin has found his stride as a showrunner, having developed the series Rembetis – The Ghosthunters, which will premiere in July 2025 on ZDFNeo.

Clémentine Charuel

Composer

Clémentine Charuel wrote the music for many films including the feature "Cherry" by Sophie Galibert (Nominated for U2C Music Young Talent Award in 2025), the feature film "Meurtres à Mont-de-Marsan" by Jean-Marc Thérin (France 3) and many more films. Her style, at the crossroads of classical and experimental music, allows her to explore rich and varied soundscapes that enhance emotion and storytelling.

As part of the music team of more than thirty major films, Clémentine has a deep knowledge of every role in the making of film music. She is now composing the score of the feature film "My Happy Family" directed by Alkim Özmen and attended the CASA CINE residency during the Festival de Cannes 2025.

In 2024, Clémentine became a member of the Académie des César in France, and was commissioned an overture for orchestra by the Orchestre Cologne. She has also been part of several juries such as Music & Cinema Marseille Festival 2025, Paris Conservatory’s film music class 2025 and the Sesame Composer Pass from La Maison du Film in 2024.

Stephan Colli

Studio Manager, Sound Editor, Sound Designer

Starting out as a film sound assistant in 1987, Stephan Colli went through all phases of film scoring, both as a film sound engineer on set and in sound post-production as a sound editor and sound designer. In 1996, he founded together with Josef Steinbüchel and Falk Möller, first a GbR and in 1998 Torus GmbH, and has been managing one of the leading sound studios in NRW ever since.

With well over 30 years of expertise in the film industry, Stephan Colli has since worked as a studio manager on national and international cinema and television films, series, radio plays, games and commercials. Whether in sound editing and sound design, noise and voice recordings or in mixing, he often accompanies the works from the first to the last step and attaches great importance to the artistic uniqueness and technical demands of each project. This also results in long-standing collaborations with leading German production companies such as Warner Bros. ITVP Deutschland GmbH, UFA Fiction, Constantin Film and Bilduntonfabrik.

Since 2024, Torus GmbH has been shining in new splendour under the name toruspost GmbH and, in addition to film and series projects for broadcasters, also provides sound for streaming services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix. He was nominated for the best foreign film with soundtrack at the MPSE in Hollywood with ‘Whale Raider’ and ‘Lebanon’. Other well-known films with his participation ‘Knocking on heavens door’, ‘Desert Flower’, ‘Bubby Scholz Story’, ‘The Moving Man’.

toruspost GmbH is an officially certified Dolby Atmos Cinema and Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment Studio. Stephan Colli is a member of the German Film Academy, the MPSE, the German Academy for Television, the Filmbüro NW and the Professional Association for Film Sound. Together with Erhard Gießen, he represents Kinofreund eG.

Daisy Coole

Composer and saxophonist

Composer and saxophonist Daisy Coole began her career in film and television scoring in 2015, collaborating with Tom Nettleship as a composer duo under the name Two Twenty Two. Their score for the primetime drama For Her Sins earned a nomination for Best Television Score at the 2023 Music and Sound Awards. Their music has also been featured in The New York Times, at the United Nations General Assembly, and performed live at the Royal Albert Hall.

Daisy and Tom's notable projects include the TV drama The Wives, the award-winning US feature Ask For Jane (starring Sarah Steele of The Good Wife and Alison Wright of The Americans), and the 2024 BFI London Film Festival award-winning short Two Minutes. Upcoming projects include the feature film Welcome to the Fishbowl, starring Natalie Gold (Succession), Jeremy Swift (Ted Lasso), and Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel).

Daisy serves in Leadership as a board member for global organisation the Alliance for Women Film Composers, has been a juror for the BAFTA, Ivor Novello and Music and Sound Awards, was selected as a 2023 Mentee for Women in Film and TV’s prestigious Four Nations Mentoring Scheme, and is currently a mentor for the inaugural PCAM x Balance the Mix Mentorship Scheme designed to support female and gender-expansive music producers and composers.

Anthony d’Amario and Édouard Rigaudière

Composer

Anthony d’Amario and Édouard Rigaudière met through their shared passion for cinema and music. They both studied at IMEP, the French partner of Berklee College of Music, where they developed their skills as multi-instrumentalists, especially on piano and guitar.

They naturally turned to film scoring, composing for short films before discovering in each other the perfect creative partner. Known for their stylistic range and a polished, modern sound, their signature lies in writing memorable themes that capture a film’s soul while integrating sounds rooted in its cinematic universe.

Their collaboration began with director Pascal Laugier on the international movie Ghostland (2018), followed by the 2019 TV series They Were Ten (M6), where they used voices and breathing as key musical textures, highlighting their commitment to deeply integrated scores. They also experiment by turning everyday objects into instruments, as in the 2021 series Cuisine Interne, or by crafting abstract sonic landscapes from elements within the film.

In 2022 and 2023, they scored The French Mans (Disney+), then co-wrote music for Take a Chance (Prime Video) and Follow, directed by Louis Farge, which won Best Series at La Rochelle TV Festival. In 2024, they scored Under Paris, the most-watched French film on Netflix, with over 100 million views. In 2025, they reunited with Louis Farge for Log Out, winning Best Music Award at Series Mania.

Now working exclusively as a duo, they approach each project with complete creative freedom.

Dascha Dauenhauer

Composer

It was clear from an early age that music would be the defining element in Dascha Dauenhauer’s life. She began composing and playing the piano at the age of five and was taught in Composition at the Moscow Music Conservatory as a child.

After her family moved to Berlin, Dascha attended at the “Academy for exceptionally gifted children and young people” and was accepted as a young student at the “Hanns Eisler” Academy of Music in Berlin. She also received composition lessons at the Julius Stern Institute.

During this time, Dascha was already composing her own pieces, and her orchestra piece “Sinfonietta” celebrated its world premiere at the Berlin Philharmonic in 2004.
In 2006 she began her diploma studies in music theory at the UDK Berlin and subsequently studied in the master’s programme in film music at the Film University in Babelsberg.

Dascha has been working as a film composer since 2015, collaborating on numerous feature films. The film Jibril (by Henrika Kull) had its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2018, just like Burhan Qurbani’s celebrated work Berlin Alexanderplatz in 2020. „Evolution" by Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó - was selected for Cannes International Film Festival in 2021.

Dascha can already look back on an award-winning career: in 2018 she was nominated in three categories for the German Film Music Award and won in the category „Best short film“ and „Newcomer“. In 2020, she won the inter alia German Film Award as well as the European Film Award for her music for Berlin Alexnaderplatz. In 2022 she received the GEMA Music Authors’ Prize in the category Composition Audiovisual Media and received the prestigious Best Music Award for the Series „Souls“ at the Cannes International Series Festival.

Dascha composed the music for the series The Swarm, which was premiered in February 2023 at the International Film Festival in Berlin as well as the Film Golda (starring Helen Mirren) directed by Guy Nattiv.

Most recently, Dascha has been nominated twice for the German Film Award for her scores in Islands (directed by Jan Ole Gerster) and No beast. So fierce. (Directed by Burhan Qurbani) and won for her score in Islands.

Enrico Delamboye

Musician, Conductor

Enrico Delamboye was born in Wiesbaden and is a Dutch citizen. He studied piano with Joop Celis, orchestral conducting with Jan Stulen and viola as a minor subject at the Maastricht Conservatory. In 1999, he made his opera debut at the International May Festival at the Wiesbaden State Theatre with Benjamin Britten's ‘The Rape of Lucretia’.

He has worked as a conductor and solo repetiteur at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Staatstheater Mainz, Wuppertaler Bühnen and the Cologne Opera, among others. From 2007 to 2014, he also worked as a lecturer in orchestral conducting at the Maastricht Conservatory. Between 2009 and 2019, Enrico Delamboye was chief conductor at the Koblenz Theatre. Since 2023, he has been associated with the International Opera Academy in Ghent (B) as a lecturer in conducting techniques.

He has a long-standing collaboration with the WDR Funkhausorchester in Cologne. He was appointed 1st guest conductor of the orchestra at the start of the 2018/19 season.

Guest appearances have taken him to the Komische Oper Berlin, the Basel Theatre, the Volksoper Vienna, the Konzert Theater Bern, the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon, the ballet of the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, the Opera Zuid and the Zomeropera, the Braunschweig State Theatre, the Darmstadt State Theatre and the Bonn Theatre, among others. He has also performed with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, the Deutsche Staatsphiharmonie Ludwigshafen, the Munich and Nuremberg Symphony Orchestras, the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie in Koblenz, the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, the Sinfonieorchester Basel, the Bern Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon, the Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra Lodz and the Philharmonie Zuidnederland.

Enrico Delamboye's symphonic and operatic repertoire covers a wide range from baroque to modern.

Olivier Derivière

Composer

Olivier Derivière is a composer who’s spent the last 20 years redefining how music interacts with video games. Known for his emotionally driven scores and innovative use of interactive music, he’s worked on acclaimed titles like A Plague Tale: Innocence and Requiem, Dying Light 2, Streets of Rage 4, and Remember Me. His approach isn’t just about writing music, it’s about making it respond, evolve, and breathe with the player’s actions. Whether blending electronic textures with live orchestras or incorporating local musical traditions, Deriviere always puts storytelling first. His latest work on South of Midnight continues that vision, weaving a haunting Southern musical landscape that adapts in real time to the game’s dark and magical world.

Professor Frank Döhmann

Line Producer, Executive Producer

At the moment working as Line Producer and Executive Producer for Film and Television.

Working with BOOGIE ENTERTAINMENT from 2017 to 2025 as Head of Production, developing international drama series with ZDF STUDIOS and partners from France (France Television Distribution), New Zealand and Japan (NHK).

Professor since summer 2001 to 2023 at the ACADEMY OF MEDIA ARTS COLOGNE in the subject of „creative producing” and as Deputy Rector of KHM – Academy of Media ArtsCologne from 2014 to 2018.

As CEO and shareholder of BADLANDS FILM with Lars Kraume, Jürgen Vogel and Matthias Glasner from 2009 to 2013.

As CEO of NOVAFILM and NOSTRO FILM in Berlin from 2006 to 2009.

As CEO of STUDIO HAMBURG PRODUKTION in 2005.

As CEO of COLONIA MEDIA and FIRST ENTERTAINMENT, Cologne from 1997 to 2004 Head of Production/ Executive Producer for COLUMBIA-TRISTAR Film- and Television
Production, Cologne from 1995 to 1997.

Head of Production at GEMINI-FILM and COLOGNE-FILM, supervising numerous international television plays and feature film productions in co-production with Italy, France, United States, Spain, Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, England and Poland from 1987 to 1995.

Started long time ago with his own company DR MUSCHNIK FILM & THEATER PRODUCTION based in Essen. Three feature films were produced: „My heart is overcome
with terror” (Co-Director + Producer), „Fünf Flaschen für Angelika“ (Co-Director + Producer) und „Strommberg – die letzte Nacht“ (Producer).

Frank Döhmann, born in Bochum, Germany, attended after his A-Levels Cologne University to study medical science.

Stefan Döring

Composer

Marc du Moulin

ECSA Secretary General

Marc du Moulin is Secretary General of ECSA (European Composer and Songwriter Alliance). He has an in-depth understanding of the functioning of the creative industries and an extensive experience in European Affairs.

He previously worked for the European Film Agency Directors, the Motion Picture Association, the European Commission (DG CNECT) and for Eurocinema. 

Marc holds a master's degree in UK-EU-US Copyright Law from King’s College London and a master's in European Studies from the Catholic Institute of Paris. 

Hamish Duff

Agent

Hamish Duff manages the European office of Music talent agency First Artists (FAM) representing Composers, Music Editors and Music Supervisors, based in London. The roster of composer clients include OSCAR, Emmy and BAFTA winners and nominees such as Carter Burwell, Rael Jones, Hannah Peel and Robin Carolan through to a diverse mix of emerging talent. In 2022 the FAM UK office spearheaded by Duff launched the inaugural Composer and Assistant Mentor Programme (C.A.M.P.) to help provide opportunities for young composers from underrepresented groups to break into the industry. 

Before joining First Artists in 2019 Duff founded artist & composer agency Blue Top Music in 2013, which became part of the Involved Productions group. The agency was known for managing a new generation of talent that crossed over between commercial music and media composition. Before founding Blue Top Music other previous roles included consulting for publishing company Boosey & Hawkes and three years at music and events start up Sofar Sounds, where he project managed the commercial partnerships and booked talent including James Bay, George The Poet and George Ezra. 

After graduating from University College London Hamish’s career in music started with producing and managing tours. Initially working in house at Sanctuary Records, in 2008 after the label was bought and disbanded by Universal Duff joined forces with independent agency Tour Logistics, working on tours for Vampire Weekend, The xx, Little Boots, Ratatat and many others. 

Dr. Yati Durant

Composer, Lecturer, Musician

Dr. Yati Durant is a U.S. born composer, lecturer, trumpeter and conductor. His musical background began with composition and jazz music from the age of 7. He was a founding member of the experimental jazz ensemble Honey Junkie and The Yati Durant Project Band in the 1990s. He studied with Portland trumpeter (and Grammy winner) Thara Memory before moving to New York, where he began a successful stint as a TV and film music composer. Yati holds a PhD in Composition from the University of Edinburgh along with a prestigious Konzertexam Meisterklasse in composition under the composer Krzysztof Meyer at the State Conservatory of Music in Cologne, Germany, and a Diploma in Electronic Composition under Hans Ulrich Humpert. He has also studied with George Crumb, Philip Lasser, Narcis Bonet, Lee Konitz and conducting with Jonathan Brett. From 2010 - 2019 Yati was a Lecturer and Programme Director of the MSc Composition for Screen Programme at the University of Edinburgh. His compositions and films have received many prizes from International festivals, including a Panorama Prize at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival for Erika Rabau – Der Puck von Berlin and a BAFA National Commerce Film Award nomination for the WDR/ARD documentary Ein Klavier geht um die Welt. 
He is a finalist of the 2009 Concorso Giovani Musicisti Europei in Aosta, Italy with his score to C. Chaplin’s The Vagabond. His contemporary compositions have been commissioned and performed in New York, Seattle, Berlin, Edinburgh, Cologne and Sao Paolo, released on CD and DVD by Film Dienst/Normal Records, Filmmuseum München and he remains an active performer of jazz, with regular appearances and recordings throughout Europe and USA. His TV and Film credits include work for WDR, ARD, HBO, MTV, Disney and many others. He was Orchestra Mentor-in-residence for the WDR Funkhausorchester Köln from 2021 - 2023, and currently composes, performs and directs the MSCN Film Music Festivals Academy at film music festivals worldwide.

Prof. Michael Edwards

Composer, Improvisor, Software Developer

Michael Edwards is a composer, improvisor, software developer, and since 2017 Professor of Electronic Composition at ICEM, Folkwang University of the Arts, Essen. His compositional interests lie mainly in the development of structures for hybrid electro-instrumental pieces through the integration of algorithmically produced scored materials with similarly generated computer-processed sound. Michael Edwards ist member of the head of Landesmusikrat NRW.

Högni Egilsson

Composer, Performer, Producer

Högni Egilsson is widely regarded as one of Iceland’s foremost musical voices. As a composer, performer, and producer, his work has garnered growing acclaim over the past two decades. His music—distinctive in both sound and sensibility—resonates with a broad audience, from classical aficionados to more mainstream listeners, drawn in by his unique sonic language and captivating performance style.

Since his breakout with the indie-rock band Hjaltalín in 2007, Högni has continuously pushed the boundaries of genre, crafting music that drifts between melodic beauty and textural mystery. His compositions are often shaped as much by tone and atmosphere as by harmony and form, creating immersive sound worlds that defy easy categorization.

A multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and graduate of the Icelandic Academy of the Arts, Högni premiered his first violin concerto in Reykjavík in 2010. The following year, he joined the acclaimed electronic group GusGus, touring internationally both with the band and as a solo artist.

Over the past decade, Högni has become one of Iceland’s leading composers for film, television, and theatre. In 2021, he was awarded the Icelandic Academy Award (Edda) as Composer of the Year. His recent screen work includes the score for Netflix’s first Icelandic original series Katla, directed by Baltasar Kormákur, and the 2024 Focus Features film Touch, also helmed by Kormákur. He recently completed the score for the CBS historical drama King and Conqueror, set in England in 1066, and is currently working on Apex, a Netflix thriller starring Charlize Theron.

His concert music includes collaborations with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, most notably the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 – Eternal Return in 2022. In the summer of 2025, Högni is recording Prosodia, a song cycle for cello and piano that explores the poetic and emotional cadence hidden within musical language.

Anita Elsani

Producer

In 2003, Anita Elsani founded the Cologne-based production company elsani film and has since successfully produced national and international film and TV productions. Since 1994, Elsani has worked for various production companies and built up the Cologne headquarters of Wüste Film West, for which she was involved in projects such as "Head-On" and "Solino." In the early 2000s, she participated in the UCLA Producers Program and the IFS International Producing Workshop. Elsani film's first feature film, "VIVERE," screened at the Tribeca Film Festival. This was followed by "Eleanor & Colette" (directed by Bille August) with Helena Bonham Carter and Hilary Swank (world sales: Sony), "Luana's Oath" (Warsaw IFF, German Screenplay Award - Nominated) and the feature film "Operation Napoleon," produced jointly with Splendid Entertainment and starring Iain Glen, among others.In 2025, "American Sweatshop," starring Lili Reinhart, celebrated its world premiere at the SXSW Festival in Austin.The German premiere will follow in May 2025 in the CineCoPro competition at the Munich Film Festival.

Jan Enste / Juli Film

Producer, Director

Juli Film is operating regionally and internationally. Its focus is on individually conceived film production and its own artistic film work. It works in in-house production, developing ideas for films that are important to tell - in the documentary or fictional field. Juli Film aims to develop artistically ambitious formats, whether for cinema, exhibition or the web. The in-house production of art house films by interesting international talents is to be expanded and consolidated in the coming years. In 2024, Juli Film has been awarded a scholarship for media producers by the Mediengründerzentrum NRW.

Eye Got U Films

Producers, Directors, Writers

EYE GOT U FILMS is a film and series production company based in Cologne, Germany. The company follows a distinctly queer-feminist approach to filmmaking and is committed to creating discrimination-free working conditions. Both in its content and its internal practices they strive to tell a diverse range of stories while fostering an environment that encourages authenticity among all team members. EYE GOT U FILMS is dedicated to amplifying voices that have traditionally been underrepresented in the film industry. In 2024, EYE GOT U FILMS has been awarded a scholarship for media producers by the Mediengründerzentrum NRW.

André Feldhaus

Film Music Composer

Verena Fink

Director

Verena Fink is the managing director of the strategy consulting firm Woodpecker Finch. Through numerous publications and lectures, she is one of the thought leaders of the emerging AI economy. She supports companies in implementing digitization strategies and artificial intelligence. 

As the author of specialist books such as “KI einfach machen” (Making AI Easy) and “Künstliche Intelligenz in der Personalarbeit” (Artificial Intelligence in Human Resources), she is committed to the practical, responsible use of AI in organizations. Her mission: to bring people and machines together in a way that creates real sustainability – through digital sovereignty, ethical reflection, and entrepreneurial courage.

Jürgen Geuter

Sociotechnologist, Research Director

Jürgen Geuter/tante studied Computer Science and Philosophy and works on the conceptualization, implementation and testing of new technologies as Research Director in a studio for spatial new media. As freelance consultant, writer, sociotechnologist and keynote speaker he focuses on issues at the intersection of technology, society and politics. He’s a founding member of the interdisciplinary Otherwise Network, which connects experts from different domains as a platform working on the changes that digital technologies have brought. He writes for many German and international publications (DER SPIEGEL, VICE, DIE ZEIT among others) and advises NGOs, political parties as well as the German parliament.

Dominik Giesriegl

Composer, Lecturer

Dominik Giesriegl, *1986, is an Austrian composer who lives in Munich and Vienna.
He has composed the music for over 70 television and feature films (including The School of Magical Animals, The Shadow, Tatort). 

He is a lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich as well as at the Technical University of Munich.

Marco Gilles

Producer

Melissa Graj

Executive Producer

Melissa Graj joined Warner Bros. ITVP Germany in 2017. Melissa Graj has worked for the successful ZDF crime series "Wilsberg" and "Friesland" since 2018 and for the RTL Tuesday crime series „Alpentod“ in 2024/2025. She is currently working as executive producer of the ZDF crime series "Friesland" and also develops new series concepts.

Mario Grigorov

Composer, pianist

Mario Grigorov is a Bulgarian-born film and television composer and concert pianist. A musical prodigy from the age of five, he became one of the youngest students ever admitted to the Sofia Conservatory. He went on to study music in four different countries before the age of eighteen, becoming an accomplished concert pianist and improviser in the styles of jazz, classical and electronic music.

FILMED ENTERTAINMENT CAREER

In 2014 Mario met with Harry Potter director David Yates and was invited to work on a Warner Bros film starring Margot Robbie, Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph Waltz.  He has gone on to work with Yates on his much anticipated upcoming Warner Brothers film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and composed and co-wrote an original song with the most famous writer in the world, Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling.

Some of his most recognizable film work comes from his long-standing collaboration with Academy Award-winning director Lee Daniels, who created the smash TV show, Empire. Working with Daniels, Mario has scored Shadowboxer, Tennessee, the Academy Award-winning Precious, and The Paperboy, starring Nicole Kidman. Other film scores include the supernatural thriller, Beyond, starring Academy-award nominee Jon Voight, who went on to say, “Mario is a master at his craft and delivered a score that elevated the movie to another level.”  Acclaimed director Susan Seidelman said of Mario’s score for her dramatic romance, Musical Chairs, “Not only is he a brilliant composer and musician, but he is a great collaborative partner, always putting the artistic and emotional needs of the movie first without compromising his own vision.”

Forays into television film work saw the creation of an eerie yet gorgeous score to Lifetime’s Original Movie series cult classic, Flowers in the Attic, based on the all-time best selling novel of the same name, and its sequel Petals on the Wind, starring Heather Graham and Ellen Burstyn.

International scores include Patang by Indian director Prashant Bhargava, The Hopes and Dreams of Gazza Snell by New Zealand director Brendan Donovan, Uruguayan director Leonardo Ricagni’s films 29 Palms, Feathers to the Sky and The Life Jacket Is Under Your Seat for which Mario was awarded Best Original Score at the Hamptons Film Festival, and more recently, german TV movies for the ZDF, such as: Unter anderen, Umständen, Totengebet, Nord Nord Mord.

Mario’s documentary credits include the festival favorite Third Wave: A Volunteer Story presented by Sean Penn, the Anna Halpern biographical film Breath Made Visible by filmmaker Ruedi Gerber, and the war documentary Taxi to the Darkside by Alex Gibney, which won a 2008 Academy Award for best Documentary.

Dennis Grimm

Senior Music Executive (Central Europe) at Amazon MGM Studios

Dennis is the Senior Music Executive (Central Europe) at Amazon MGM Studios responsible for the territories Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. In his role, he is in charge of music for all original productions (scripted & unscripted series, films) commissioned out of these territories, working closely with the other Studios’ departments and the respective production companies. His remit covers the selection of Composers and Music Supervisors and the budgeting of the music department as well as overseeing licensed music, original songs and soundtrack releases. At Amazon MGM Studios he has worked on original productions such as Maxton Hall - The World Between Us, Luden, The Gryphon, Viktor Bringt's, Perfekt Verpasst, Silver And The Book Of Dreams, One Night Off, Sachertorte, LOL: Last One Laughing, The Teddy Teclebrhan Show, Joko Winterscheidt Presents The World's Most Dangerous Show and the documentary film about the music artist Apache 207.

Before joining Amazon MGM Studios in 2021, Dennis has worked in various roles for companies in the music and film industry (e.g., Edel Music, Splendid Medien, Entertainment One). Important milestones were the expansion of the franchise The Walking Dead in the German-speaking home entertainment market, the release and gold-awarding of Lemmy Kilmister's biopic, music supervision for several film productions and the long-standing A&R responsibility for the music artist Michael Schulte including his success at Eurovision in 2018.

Jack Halama

Composer, Producer

Jack is a BAFTA and Ivor Novello nominated multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer from Bristol, UK. Jack's music can be heard in a wide range of high-end productions, from Disney+ comedy/drama Rivals, to Netflix global number one hit Who Is Erin Carter? Other notable works include 6-part drama series Traces for the BBC, 20th Century Fox feature film The Princess, starring Joey King, and additional music for a host of major series including Marvel's Loki, and Star Wars spin off Obi Wan Kenobi. With a diverse background that straddles contemporary and classical education, and drawing influence from an eclectic range of genres, Jack blends guitars, synths and classical elements to create a unique style, ideally suited to drama.

Martin Häne

Music Producer

Martin Häne is a publisher of currently 7 different music production labels for both major distributors as well as independents.

Before becoming a music publisher, Häne worked for 10+ years as composer for both production music as well as bespoke music.

His credits as a composer include "Fack ju Göhte 2", "Melrose Place", "Bring it on" (Universal), various Lion's Gate Films (Warrior, Frankenhood) as well as Commercials and TV Series on networks such as ABC, NBC, CW TV, among others.

As a Publisher, his mission is simple: To create Production Music with character, and helping media creators to tell their story.

You may find out more here: www.martytone.com

Thomas Hanz

Head of the Musikschule.digital.NRW network

Thomas Hanz ist Referent für Digitalisierung beim LVdM NRW und Leiter des Netzwerks Musikschule.digital.NRW. Im Berufsbegleitenden Lehrgang für Musikschulleitungen des VdM verantwortet er das Thema Digitalisierung. 2022/23 setzte er die Digitalisierungsoffensive an öffentlichen Musikschulen der Landesregierung NRW um. Für den berufsbegleitenden Lehrgang „Führung und Leitung einer Musikschule“ verantwortet er das Themengebiet Digitalisierung.

Während seiner langjährigen Tätigkeit an der Folkwang Musikschule der Stadt Essen (FMS) erprobte er frühzeitig die Möglichkeiten des Fernunterrichts via Videokonferenzsoftware u.a mit hochbegabten und auch hochsensiblen Schülerinnen und Schülern und betrieb dort eine moodle-Plattform als Kommunikations- und Fortbildungsinstrument insbesondere für digitale Themen. Diese Vorarbeit ermöglichte es dem Kollegium der FMS, während des ersten Lockdowns der Coronapandemie in eigenen virtuellen Klassenräumen online zu unterrichten.

Thomas Hanz studierte Musik mit Hauptfach Gitarre an der Folkwang Universität Essen und an den Musikhochschulen Hannover und Köln, wo er sein Konzertexamen ablegte. Neben der künstlerischen Leitung des Gitarrenfestival-Ruhr verwirklichte er europaweite Konzertreisen als Solist und in Kammermusikbesetzungen folgten und arbeitete als Komponist und Arrangeur für verschiedene Verlage. Von 2019 bis 2021 hatte er einen Lehrauftrag für Gitarre an der Folkwang Universität in Essen.

Tobias Holzmüller

Lawyer, GEMA Executive Board Chairman

Tobias Holzmüller was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board on October 1, 2023. He studied history and law at the Universities of Glasgow, Montpellier, Heidelberg and New York (NYU, LL.M. 2007). He was a doctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law from 2004 to 2006 and completed his doctorate at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. After being admitted to the bar in 2007, he worked for the law firm Gleiss Lutz until 2012. During this time, he advised clients on antitrust law, copyright law and EU law. The lawyer has been responsible for GEMA's legal department as in-house counsel since January 2013 and has also managed the business of ZPÜ since 2016.

Matthias Hornschuh

Composer

Matthias Hornschuh lives and works as a film and radio play composer in Cologne. The studied musician and musicologist teaches at various European colleges and universities and is part of the founding team of SoundTrack_Cologne, which he left 2018.
Hornschuh is involved in industry and cultural politics, among others in the professional association mediamusic, in the Landesmusikrat NRW and in the supervisory board of GEMA. Since 2021, Hornschuh has represented the interests of German authors and performers in Berlin and Brussels as spokesman for the authors rights initiative (Initiative Urheberrecht).
In October 2025, his book "Wir geben uns auf. KI, Kultur und die Entwertung der Wissensarbeit." will be published by Carl-Auer Verlag

Martin Hossbach

Music Supervisor

Since 2004 Martin has been working on 118 films and series as a music supervisor, collaborating with directors such as Maren Ade, Lisa Bierwirth, Frauke Finsterwalder, Sonja Heiss, Christoph Hochhäusler, Ulrich Köhler, Nicolette Krebitz, Nadav Lapid, Angela Schanelec, Maria Speth, Eva Trobisch, Christian Schwochow and Joachim Trier. Martin also runs a one-man agency for composers such as Sam Beste (The Vernon Spring), Tara Nome Doyle, Ebow, Gwilym Gold, Lauer, Lawrence, Max Rieger, Nalan and Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip).

Ksenia Ignatenko

Media Composer, Classical Singer, Songwriter

Ksenia Ignatenko (*2001) is a media composer, classical singer and songwriter. She embarked on her musical journey at the age of 8 with her debut singing performance at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre. Following her move to Krakow in 2014, she continued to pursue a career in opera. 

At the age of 17, Ksenia ventured into the world of film music, participating in her first music competition and receiving an invitation to the prestigious film music festival in Krakow. This marked a significant turning point in her career, leading to her becoming a film composer. In 2019, she relocated to Zurich to further her education at ZHdK in composition for film, theatre and media.

Ksenia has an diverse portfolio, that includes composing soundtracks for a feature-length documentary title "Aufzeichnungen aus dem Abseits", contributing to various short films and video games, and working on her own original music projects. Since 2023, Ksenia has held the position of an official executive committee member at SWAN, where she actively contributes to the origanisation's initiatives. 

Nele Johann

Film Director

Nele Johann is starting her business with the brand Lover: Lover will be a website serving women who want to learn more about their bodies and their sexuality. The aim is to provide a wealth of information on all aspects of anatomy, physiology, and pathology to help women live out their sexuality in a safe and self-determined way. The website will provide a selection of erotic films that differs from the typical manmade mainstream porn, in which the sexual needs of women are often overlooked. The website is divided into two sections:

Lover Erotica offers women-friendly erotic films. These carefully curated, aesthetically pleasing and fairly produced films are intended to stimulate women, but people of all genders who feel addressed by the offer are also welcome!

Lover Education offers videos (animations, expert interviews, Women's Circle, etc.) that explain the female body, sexual intercourse, masturbation, contraceptive methods, and much more. The focus here is on all things related to the female body.

René Kampka

Tonmeister

René Kampka is one of the Managing Directors of scholz+kampka audio operations GmbH & Co. KG, a media production company in Munich specialising in film sound post-production. After earning his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Audio Production, he worked freelance for various film and music productions until he founded his studio in Oberhaching with his business partner, Philipp Scholz in 2019.

In collaboration with Beta Film, a leading european film- and television group, they further developed their expertise in dubbing and M&E creation. 

As a technology-driven audio nerd and major cinephile, René began integrating AI modules into daily workflows at an early stage. 

Today, AI-assisted tools are an integral part of scholz+kampka’s production processes.

Nadine Matondo Kiala

Kulturmanagerin, Kuratorin

Nadine ist Kulturmanagerin sowie Sozial- und Kulturpädagogin aus Köln. Mit einem starken Fokus auf soziale Gerechtigkeit setzt sie sich dafür ein, diskriminierungskritische Perspektiven in der Popkultur zu verankern.

Als Mitgründerin der Kunst- und Veranstaltungshalle Kunsthafen Köln kuratiert sie seit 2020 ein spartenübergreifendes, diverses Programm mit dem Anspruch, Zugänge zu Kunst und Kultur neu zu denken. Zudem ist sie DE&I-Managerinder c/o pop und verantwortet die inhaltliche Koordination der c/o pop Convention, dem Konferenzformat des Kölner Entdecker*innenfestivals.

Nadine ist Vorstandsmitglied von Music Women Germany*, dem bundesweiten Netzwerk zur Förderung, Sichtbarmachung und Vernetzung von Frauen*, FLINTA und non-binären Personen in der Musikbranche. Darüber hinaus engagiert sie sich als Gründungsmitglied bei Diversity Culture Cologne e.V. für eine diskriminierungssensible Kulturlandschaft auf lokaler Ebene.

Michael Klaukien

Film Composer

Michael Klaukien is an award-winning film composer who has composed the music for more than one hundred films.

He began his musical career as a drummer in the jazz, pop and rock genres. He received his first television commissions during his studies at the University of Music in Cologne. His best-known works include the music for the extremely successful "Zürich-Krimi" series (ARD), numerous "Tatort" episodes (ARD), and critically acclaimed multi-part events such as "Oktoberfest 1900" (ARD/Netflix) and "Ich bin Dagobert" (RTL+).

His musical signature can also be found in cinema films such as "Führer und Verführer", comedies, fairy-tale adaptations and multi-award-winning documentaries.

Uli Kleppi

Uli Kleppi is a renowned entertainment expert known for her exceptional networking and collaborations between artists, producers, and brands. She has become one of Europe's most successful music supervisors and has also advised and managed outstanding artists in their careers. Since 2022, Uli has been the CEO of Budde Talent Agency (BTA), a premier 365-degree agency specializing in talents, brands, live booking and music supervision.
Under her leadership, BTA continues to thrive, leveraging her vast experience and industry connections to create outstanding opportunities and partnerships in the entertainment industry.

Cornelia Köhler

Author, Presenter, Director

Cornelia Köhler has been working in the media industry since 2000, first as a producer of the sitcoms "Das Amt" and "Bernds Hexe" for Cologne-Gemini film, later in the script development for Constantin Entertainment. Since 2007 Cornelia Köhler has been an independent script-writer for cinema, TV formats and stage. Together with the composer Camille van Lunen she wrote the youth operas “Talitha, come back!” and „Over the Wall“ in 2020 and the Oratorio „Schrei, Hiob, Schrei!“.

She is editor of the magazine “Rundbrief” (Film-und Medienbüro Niedersachsen) and director and scriptwriter for a series of documentaries about German Literature. She worked as dramaturge for the feature films “Low Lights” (produced by dagstarfilm, 2009) and “Pattys Catchup” (dagstarfilm, 2011), as co-writer for the German-Lithuanian documentary “Liebe Oma, Guten Tag” (dagstarfilm, 2017, supported by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.). Since 2009 she has been a member of WIFT Women in Film and Television Germany, since 2010 board member and since 2023 Chair of the Board.

https://www.cornelia-koehler.eu

Hansjörg Kohli

Composer and Educator

Professor Hansjörg Kohli is a composer living and working in Munich. He grew up in Switzerland, studied film scoring and jazz piano at Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA and the University of Performing Arts in Munich. He started out as an orchestrator for a variety of film projects. Later on, he became the head of the film music supervision department at the German National Television ZDF in Mainz. For several years now his focus has shifted back to composing for film and media. Among his more recent works are the scores to Ostfriesennacht (Schiwago-Film, Filmfest Emden-Norderney), In Wahrheit - Für immer dein  (Network Movie, ARTE/ZDF), Marie Brand und das tote Au-pair (Warner Bros. ITVP) and Der Spalter (Studio Zentral, Filmfest München).

He is teaching in the film scoring program at the Munich University of Performing Arts and also in the Master of Arts in TV Journalism/Documentary program at the University of applied Sciences and Arts in Hannover.

Ulla Kösterke

Sound Mixer

In 1983 Ulla Kösterke started her film studies at “German Film and Television Academy Berlin” (DFFB). There she spezialized in sound. Before she graduated in Journalism, German Literature and Sociology from the “Freie Universität Berlin.” (FU Berlin). Since 1989 she worked as Production Sound Mixer on Feature Films and Documentaries, for Cinema and TV and shot more than hundred films all over the world. Many of them won national and international awards.

Ulla Kösterke is teaching Filmsound at “German Film and Television Academy” (DFFB) and Met Film School Berlin.

She is member of “German Film Academy e.V.”, “ProQuoteFilm” and "Filmtonfrauen e.V."

Daniel Kothenschulte

Film and art critic, author and curator

A German film and art critic, author and curator, he is in charge of the film section of the national daily Frankfurter Rundschau. He taught film at Städelschule, Frankfurt/ Main and Academy of Applied Arts, Dortmund.

As an author he wrote books on the directorial career of Robert Redford, Fritz Lang’s METROPOLIS and HOLLYWOOD IN THE 30'IES. As an editor he is in charge of a series of archival books for Taschen publishing including The Walt Disney Film Archives and Mickey Mouse – The Complete History.

As a film curator he founded the Cologne based festival on avantgarde film Videonale Scope.

A lover of the silent cinema, he is a regular piano player of improvised film scores at German film museums and festivals.

Dr. Anselm Kreuzer

Composer

Anselm Kreuzer began playing the Cello at age 9 and soon discovered composing as his major passion. Already back then he combined the classical approach with modern sounds. After finishing school he studied musicology, media science and phonetics at the Cologne University and achieved a Ph.D. with a dissertation on Film Music. During his time as a student, he received several assignments for media compositions, especially in the field of radio and television. Now, he is a designated specialist for TV title themes, station IDs, scores for series and TV drama as well as music for new media and advertising.

Anselm also has an oeuvre of more than 1000 internationally successful production music titles. Among the magazine and news shows he has composed for are Weltreisen (ARD), Check Eins - Neuneinhalb (ARD), Die Chefin (ZDF), Die lustigsten Schlamassel (RTL), Lebensläufe (MDR), RBB UM6 (RBB), ZIBB (RBB), Täter Opfer Polizei (RBB). He recently scored for TV series like Küstenwache, Kripo Holstein - Mord und Meer (ZDF), Rosenheim-Cops (ZDF), In Aller Freundschaft (ARD) and documentaries like Natur Exklusiv (BR).

He is co-founder of the production music library MUSIC SCULPTOR. Whether symphonic orchestra or electronic approach - Anselm has a passionate faible for emotional, narrative and often catchy thematic music that merges with moving pictures and stories. He often transcends the borders between composition and sound design. He is also engaged in several professional associations. He is president of the German Composers Club and board member of the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA). 

Ana Krstajic

Composer

Ana Krstajić is a composer and pianist performing and writing music for video games, film, TV, concert performances, and theater. She is also the CEO of Petrushka Chord Music Studio. In 2021, for her debut feature film A Cross in The Desert, she was nominated for Best Score - Independent Film - Foreign Language at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. The same year she won in the HMMA's Genre Music - Orchestral Category. In 2022 she was chosen as a mentee for the Alliance of Women Film Composers Mentorship class (Los Angeles), and she was selected as a mentee at the Society of Composers and Lyricists (NYC). In 2023 she scored the feature film The Duke and the Poet, which was longlisted as the Serbian candidate for the Academy Award. The same year, Ana was recognized as the best composer of incidental music in Serbia by the Muzika Klasika organization. She is currently working as one of the lead composers for the Puffins Impossible animated TV show broadcast on Apple TV.

Andrea Lässig

Music Supervisor, Musician

Andrea Lässig has studied music tuition and french horn in Munich, followed by music journalism at the National Academy for Music and Theater.
In 2012 she became part of the team of Music Supervisors at the public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk with focus on TV but also radio and net programmes.

Marc Lehnert

Foley Artist, Re-recording mixer

Marc Lehnert is an foley-artist and re-recording mixer from Stuttgart.

During his studies at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, he co-founded 0711 Audio GmbH with two colleagues, a company specializing in audio and acoustics. He is currently working on the construction of a new film sound studio complex in Stuttgart.

Marc has worked on around 100 film projects, including cinema, TV, and Netflix productions, in roles such as foley-artist, sound editor, and re-recording mixer. For him, it is particularly important to create a cohesive, creative soundscape with each project, one that is both aesthetically compelling and technically sophisticated.

Hanna Sophie Lüke

Composer, Music Journalist, Presenter

Hanna Sophie Lüke is a composer and music journalist M.A. for broadcasting and multimedia.

In 2024, her debut album „Human In Our Hearts“ (Sonoton Music) has been released, featuring German Film Orchestra Babelsberg.
Her latest album „Ocean Stories“ (Music Sculptor) was published in June 2025.

She received composition commissions for WDR Funkhausorchester (2022) and Institute for Beam Physics and Technology (IBPT) at Karlsruher Institute for Technology (2023). In 2024, she gave a lecture about her composition commission for the IBPT at the Natural History Museum in Karlsruhe.

Her original compositions in the field of production music have been released eg. by Sonoton Music, West One Music, Universal Production Music, Music Sculptor (Credits include WDR, BBC, Netflix, RTL, ORF). She regularly writes audio demos for Orchestral Tools, Berlin.

2025, her music for the artistic documentary „Geschrei“ (director: Damian Szmurlo) premiered at 25th Landshut Short Film Festival, Germany.

Hanna Sophie Lüke brings more than 10 years of expertise as a music journalist, author, presenter and music planner for various radio stations at WDR Cologne, as well as more than 12 years of stage experience as a presenter for well-known event formats in the fields of science (Helmholtz Institute Ulm, HEIKA-Symposium) and classical and film music (SoundTrack_Zurich, SoundTrack_Cologne, ARTE Film night, WDR Funkhausorchester Cologne).

She holds a master degree in „Music Journalism for Broadcasting and Multimedia“ (University of Music Karlsruhe) and took part at several international masterclasses in the field of vocal art (Belcanto on Broadway, Jazz Vocals).

Alexander Lüngen

CTO and Co-Founder of Klangio

Alexander Lüngen is the CTO and Co-Founder of Klangio, a company dedicated to empowering musicians worldwide with innovative AI tools. He leads product development, is passionate about the future of human-AI interaction and loves to play the guitar.

Zoë Lustri

Composer, Music Producer

Zoë Lustri (she/her) is a UK-based film composer and music producer from Austin, Texas. She loves to write music and hates to write bios.

She began her life in music from the tender age of 5 years old--writing classic hits about playtime and the struggles of parents telling you what to do. From then the ball was rolling and it hasn't stopped.

Zoë holds a Bachelor's Degree in Film Scoring from Berklee College of Music. After graduating, she moved to Los Angeles, where she interned with Bear McCreary and Henry Jackman. She’s part of Joy Music House, where she’s contributed to score production on projects like the Emmy & Oscar-nominated documentary RBG and Emile Mosseri's Oscar-nominated, BAFTA-winning score for Minari.

Her work spans film, television, and interactive media, with credits including Blue’s Clues & You, General Hospital, and Love is Blind. She’s also a recent collaborator of The Bookish Song Collective, creating soundtracks inspired by popular novels. Her most recent score to Rabbit, Rabbit will premiere at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival in July.

Outside of scoring, Zoë explores her own artistry as a songwriter and producer, with releases like Something Good, Down the River, and Occult Sh*t.

She proudly serves on the board of the Alliance for Women Film Composers, advocating for gender equity in the screen music industry.

Anne Maschlanka

Film Producer

Anne Maschlanka was born in Düsseldorf in 1983 and grew up in Lüttelforst. After graduating from high school in 2004, she gained her first experience on a film set. Between 2005 and 2017, she worked as a script supervisor and assistant director for Connie Walther, Nicole Weegmann, Markus Imboden and Oskar Roehler, among others. During this time, she studied German language and literature, history and education at the University of Cologne from 2006 to 2007 and completed her bachelor's degree in film directing at the ifs-international film school cologne in 2012. Her short films have won awards at several festivals. Since 2017 she has been working as a producer at Warner ITVP, in collaboration with Iris Wolfinger, she supervised the crime series MARIE BRAND and TATORT DORTMUND.

She is currently producing the romcom series SCHWANZLOS (Working Title).

Amelia McCloskey

Music Supervisor

Award-nominated Music Supervisor and founder of Ultimate Sync, connecting artists with sync opportunities across film, TV, and media. Finalist for Music Supervisor of the Year (AIM Sync UK) and Best Sync in Film (Music + Sound Awards).

Placed music in ITV’s Love Island UK, Netflix’s Elite and Monarca, and supervised music for Fish Out of Water (Cannes & Tribeca). Helped Ocean’s Paradise cut over 60% of its music budget by aligning artist values with the director’s vision.

Ultimate Sync collaborates with Disney, HBO, NFL, BBC, Riot Games, and ESPN. Regular keynote speaker and panelist at Pro Music Sound Awards (Brazil), FIMPRO (Mexico), Sync Summit (US), Reeperbahn (Germany), IMPF (Dublin), Imsta Festa (UK), and Canadian Music Week (Toronto), Music Market (Colombia) sharing insights on sync licensing and industry trends.

Anna Luca Mohrhenn

Composer, Singer

Anna Luca is a composer and singer who blends the complexity of classical music, the freedom of jazz, and the art of songwriting into a unique musical voice. She has composed albums, film scores, and music for TV shows and short films.

Mona Mur

Singer, Composer, Producer

Hamburg-born musician, composer, producer and iconic 80s singer MONA MUR is best known for her unique voice and manic concerts in guitar tempests and morbid slowbeat-chic. Her music forms a category of its own, consisting of Punk and Chanson, Rock ‘n’ Roll and orchestral walls of signature electronic sound. Collaborators include FM Einheit of “Einstürzende Neubauten”, En Esch of KMFDM
Fame – with whom she toured wold wide - , polish rockstar Grzegorz Ciechowski and many more. The multi-instrumentalist and skilled producer creates her albums as well as her soundtracks for computer games (“Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days”, “Balance”) and movies (“Gegen die Wand by Fatih Akin, "Last Exit: Space" by Rudolph Herzog, “Genderation” by Monika Treut) in her Berlin studio KATANA.

Niobe (aka Yvonne Cornelius)

Singer, Sound Artist

NIOBE, aka Yvonne Cornelius, has released eight albums, among others on Tomlab Records and Sonig Records. Her work is known far beyond Europe, including in Canada, the U.S., and South America.

Stadtrevue in Cologne once wrote: "She is a gifted singer and at the same time an outstanding sound artist. Yet in Germany, Yvonne Cornelius, aka Niobe, is perceived as a niche musician. This, despite the fact that the Cologne-based artist has prominent fans worldwide — including David Byrne, who named her album White Hats his number one of the year in the 2007 New York issue of Artforum."

She has performed at major events such as the renowned SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, and at the legendary avant-garde music venue The Kitchen in New York. She is currently working in her Cologne studio on a new album, which is set to be released in 2026.

Eliane Oesch

Creative Sync Manager

Eliane Oesch is a Creative Sync Manager at Wise Music Creative Germany / Bosworth Music (part of international Wise Music Group).
She studied Communication and Media Studies at the Université de Fribourg and completed the Popkurs at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. With a background in music production, composition, and voice work, she bridges both creative and strategic aspects of sync.
The sync department at Wise Music Creative Germany focuses on music for film, series, and advertising in the GSA region, representing a diverse roster of internationally acclaimed composers - including Oscar and BAFTA-winning composer Volker Bertelmann (All Quiet on the Western Front, Conclave,Dune: Prophecy), Ludovico Einaudi (The Intouchables,Nomadland), Freya Arde (Mädchen Mädchen!Hot Girl Summer,Riefenstahl), Lisa Morgenstern (The Empress), Hania Rani (Sentimental Value), Niklas Paschburg (The Six Billion Dollar Man), Högni Egilsson (Touch,Katla) and Bowen Liu (Bibi & Tina).
The Wise Music catalogue also features iconic works and contemporary songs in international productions, such as Messiaen’s Fête des belles eaux (The Ice Tower, 2025), Ólafur Arnalds (Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, 2025), and Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra (Barbie, 2023).

Rachel Oker

Sound Designer, Sound Mixer, Re-recording mixer

Rachel was born and raised in Berlin in 1993.

After completing her Bachelor's degree in "Sound and Music Production" in Darmstadt, she went on to study at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, where she graduated in 2023 with a diploma in Film Sound. She has worked on numerous productions that have been featured at festivals such as the Berlinale, the Toronto International Film Festival, the Venice Biennale, the First Steps Award, the Max Ophüls Prize, and in Clermont-Ferrand.

She feels right at home in post-production—whether it's sound design, mixing, or editing—but also thrives as a production sound mixer on set.

From feature films to animation and commercials, she is passionate about finding ways to bring images to life through sound.

Claudio Pagonis

Composer, Producer

Claudio Pagonis is a platinum and award-winning composer and producer based in Cologne. He has written music for films such as Die Geschichte der Menschheit (leicht gekürzt) and for Germany’s iconic TV show Verstehen Sie Spaß?. His songs and productions include collaborations with Stefanie Heinzmann, Max Mutzke, Conchita Wurst and Roger Cicero. He has received Gold and Platinum records, as well as international awards including the Global Award New York and the London International Award. Claudio also writes orchestral works for WDR and lectures in songwriting at the University of Cologne.

Sebastian Parche

Composer

Sebastian Parche is a German composer with a passion for creating captivating music that enhances storytelling. He studied "Composing for Film and Theatre" at the ArtEZ University of Arts in Arnhem, Netherlands.

Quickly, he discovered the joy of composing for nature documentaries and recording orchestras, which has significantly shaped his artistic path.

In 2015, he expanded his horizons by entering the world of production music. His repertoire boasts over 600 production music titles, which are successful internationally.

Since 2017, he often works in cooperation with his musical partner Rainer Quade.

Sebastian is co-founder and co-CEO of the production music company MUSIC SCULPTOR. With years of experiences in the media industry, the logical consequence was to build up a music catalogue for storytellers, including repertoire of renowned authors worldwide.

Tina Pepper

Composer

Tina Pepper is an award-winning film composer based in Berlin. While studying film music at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF she already wrote music for award winning films like ‘Combat Girl’ (David Wnendt) and ‘Teardrop’ (Damian John Harper). Later she wrote music for independent features such as ‘Away you go’ (Philipp
Eichholtz) and for the Amazon original series ‘You Are Wanted’ (Matthias Schweighöfer). In 2020 she was awarded the German Television Award for Best Music for her score for the TV Series 'Rampensau', followed by a nomination for the German Music Authors' Prize for "Music in Audiovisual Media" in 2022.

In addition to her work as a film composer, she is actively involved as a volunteer in the leadership of the German Film Composers Union (DEFKOM) and serves as the EU Administrator for the Alliance for Women Film Composers (AWFC).

Verena Post

Artist Manager, Producer Manager

Verena Post has been working for several years as an artist and producer manager – both independently and with Neubau Music. She is particularly passionate about supporting emerging artists and has been involved for many years with PopCamp, a project by the German Music Council. In 2025, she took over as project lead of the Female Producer Collective, which will launch a new edition this fall.

Luisa Prinz

Director Artists & Repertoire

Luisa Prinz has been Publishing Director Artists & Repertoire at Enterprises Sonor Music Publishing since January 2023. She moved from TV rights distribution to film music publishing in 2022, which perfectly combines her interests in film and music. Her academic background includes a master's degree in American literary history from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and a bachelor's degree in North American Studies.

Nik Reich

Composer

Nik Reich has been working as a composer for movies, tv shows and advertising since 1997. Together with his partner Jaro Messerschmidt he has written music for the highly successful tv-show „Alarm für Cobra 11“ and chart topping movies like „Wickie auf großer Fahrt“ and „Who Am I“. Lately they have been scoring the highly successful Iranian series Savage by award winning writer and director Houman Seyedi

Regina Reis

Music Supervisor

After completing her Bachelor of Arts in Applied Media Studies at the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida, Regina Reis began her professional career at Alex TV as a Content Scout. There, she discovered TV Noir and helped develop it into a television format together with the team.

Regina volunteered for five years at TV Noir, as an editorial team member and as production manager, continuing her involvement even as the show transitioned to ZDF Kultur.

In 2011, Regina worked at tape.tv as a Producer and Creative Producer, where she produced formats such as Auf den Dächern. In 2012, she moved to BMG Rights Management, where she initially served as a Music Supervisor for daily soaps and as a Manager for Release Coordination in the label division.

In 2017, Regina took on the role of Senior Manager Music Supervision, playing a key role in the department until early 2025. Most recently, as Director Music Supervision, she was responsible for numerous productions including Ku’damm 59 and Ku’damm 63 (ZDF), Sam – A Saxon (Disney+), Where is Wanda (Apple TV+), All About Me (Der Junge muss an die frische Luft, feature film), Maxton Hall (Amazon), among many others. In addition to her work as a Music Supervisor, she was also content lead of the team.

Since June 1, 2025, Regina has been working as Head of Music at UFA Fiction GmbH, where she is responsible for building and leading the company’s new in-house Music Supervision department.

Michael Reitemeyer

Head of the Culture Department at the Ministry of Culture and Science

Head of the Culture Department at the Ministry of Culture and Science since May 2024, previously almost four years as group and division manager with a focus on cultural education, fundamental issues and state legislation on culture.

From 2010 to 2020, director of the Ludwig Windthorst House in Lingen, one of the largest adult education centres in Lower Saxony and the Catholic Social Academy of the Diocese of Osnabrück, focusing on teacher training and political youth education.

Prior to that, he spent around ten years in various roles in the state parliament, the Ministry of the Environment and the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, particularly in the areas of culture, science and research.

He studied Catholic theology and biblical studies in Paderborn, Rome and Münster.

Sarah Roche

Publicist

Sarah Roche is a publicist at White Bear PR, where she joined in early 2023. With a foundation in classical piano, a degree in performance from Leeds Conservatoire (UK) and a postgraduate degree in International Business from Maynooth University (Ireland), Sarah brings a unique blend of artistic insight and strategic expertise to her work in film and TV music publicity. Her deep-rooted passion for music, combined with a global business perspective, allows her to craft campaigns that amplify the voices of composers and songwriters across the entertainment industry.

She has worked on high-profile Emmy campaigns for acclaimed composers including David Fleming (Jim Henson Idea Man, Disney+), Jeff Toyne (Palm Royale, Apple TV), and Carlos Rafael Rivera (Lessons   in Chemistry, Apple TV), all of whom secured wins under her guidance. Sarah contributed to the Oscar-winning campaign for Emilia Perez in the Best Original Song category with “El Mal,” working closely with French composers Camille and Clément Ducol. A committed advocate for inclusion in music, she works closely with the Alliance for Women Film Composers and has participated in trade missions such as the recent Irish Screen Composers Guild trip to Los Angeles, where she helped connect Irish talent with major studios like Disney, Sony, and Universal.

In addition to her publicity work, Sarah is a patron member of the Society of Composers & Lyricists and maintains strong ties with record labels including Disney Music Group, supporting their soundtrack releases and producing industry panels - most notably at the GRAMMY Museum. She leads awards campaigns for clients across the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, HMMAs, WSAs, and more. Sarah also regularly attends the Sundance Film Festival, where she champions composer clients during premieres and fosters meaningful connections within the film and television community.

Corinna Rottschy

Orchestral Manager

After studying music in schools, Corinna Rottschy studied vocals and was employed at WDR, first as a speaker and then as a broadcasting editor. She has been manager of the WDR Funkhausorchester since 2014.

Stefan Rusconi

Composer, Sound Artist, Musician

Stefan Rusconi (b. 1979, Zurich) is a Swiss pianist, composer, sound artist, and improviser based between Berlin and Zurich. Known for his work at the intersection of jazz, experimental music, and contemporary performance, Rusconi creates emotionally resonant solo and collaborative works that span film, dance, theatre, and installation. He performed and played at music, theater and dance festivals worldwide.

In 2025, Rusconi contributed his composition for the live piano performance and physical piano-playing on-camera for the feature film Köln 75, directed by Ido Fluk. The film depicts teenage music promoter Vera Brandes’ audacious organization of Keith Jarrett’s legendary 1975 Köln Concert. 

Notable collaborators: Fred Frith, Meg Stuart, Dieter Meier (Yellow), Roman Signer, Thomas Wydler (Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds), Pipilotti Rist, Tobias Preisig.

Reinhard Schaub

Music Producer, Composer

Reinhard Schaub works as a music producer and composer for film and television productions, for numerous national and international artists, advertising campaigns, and corporate sound design. His chart-topping productions have been awarded multiple gold and platinum certifications.

Reinhard's credits include collaborations with artists such as Rita Ora, Lena Meyer-Landrut, Casper, and Pietro Lombardi, as well as work for brands like BMW, Afri Cola, Targobank, and Telekom. His work has also appeared in programs like Polizeiruf 110, planet e., Die Sendung mit der Maus, Lindenstraße, and others.

Reinhard lives and works in Cologne.

Carla Schild-Kreindl

Postproduction Supervisor

Born in 1965 in Bergneustadt, Germany.

1984 – 1990:  study programme at the University of Cologne, Diploma of Education with a major in extra-curricular education and adult education

1990 – 1992:  KaRo-Team, Casting Agency Gameshows – Psst, Punkt-Punkt-Punkt, Nimm Dir Zeit, Techtelmechtel

1992 – 1993:  Production Assistent Rhewes Filmproduktion GmbH, TV-Serie „Hallo, Onkel Doc!“

1993 – 1996:  Production Assistant, Colonia Media „Die Partner“

1996 – 2013:  Postproduction Supervision Colonia Media Tatort Köln, Münster, Dortmund, Schimanski, Der Fahnder, Label 131 Der freie Wille, Deine Augen Karamuk, Prinzessin

2013 – current:  Postproduction Supervision, Eyeworks + Warner Bros Marie Brand, Wilsberg, Friesland, Besondere Schwere der Schuld, Club las Piranjas, Two Sides of the Abyss, WAPO Duisburg

Pieter Schlosser

Games and TV Composer

Pieter Schlosser is a composer for television and video games whose work blends cinematic storytelling with emotional depth and immersive sound worlds. Born in Guatemala and raised across Austria, Panama, Costa Rica, and the United States, he brings a uniquely global perspective to every score.

A graduate of Berklee College of Music and a former composer at Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions, he has contributed music to The Sims 3, Gears of War 2 & 3, and spent the last nine years shaping the musical identity of Bungie’s Destiny 2. His TV work includes Disney’s Secrets of Sulphur Springs, Telemundo’s Malverde: El Santo Patrón, and ABC’s Desperate Housewives.

Whether scoring for AAA games or network television, Pieter crafts music that connects deeply with story and character.

Jan-Paul Schmilgun

Economic development agency of Cologne

Jan-Paul Schmilgun`s professional mission is the promotion of creative industries in Cologne. Together with two colleagues, he advises creatives and companies, develops funding structures and strong networks at the municipal economic development agency KölnBusiness. His main fields of activity are design, music, art and advertising. Still impressed by the inventive spirit of Cologne`s media economy, he also is enthusiastic about all projects dealing with Extendend Reality. In former positions he developed and executed EU-funded projects in creative and cultural tourism on state level for Tourismus NRW e.V., worked as a project manager for a start-up in film marketing and in communications for the annual Ruhrtriennale festival of the arts.

Philipp Scholz

Tonmeister

Philipp Scholz is co-founder and post-production supervisor of scholz+kampka audio operations GmbH & Co. KG, a media production company in Munich specialising in film sound post-production. After studying audio engineering, he was involved in various film post-productions before founding the studio in Oberhaching together with René Kampka in 2019.

Philipp is known for his creative approaches and workarounds, which enables the company to efficiently master complex post-production challenges. As a result, scholz+kampka has established itself as a reliable partner by developing customised solutions. In which AI-supported tools playing an increasingly important role.

Birgit Schulz

Writer, Film director, Film producer

After studying German, Biology and Philosophy at the University of Bonn and training as a photographer, Birgit Schulz worked as commissioning editor and filmmaker for German public broadcaster WDR. In 1993 she founded the film production company Bildersturm Filmproduktion. Since 1989 she has written and/or produced more than 60 documentaries for cinema and TV. Many of her films have been shown at international film festivals. The focus of Bildersturm’s productions lies on creative documentaries on socio-political, cultural and art-related issues. Birgit Schulz’s documentary The Lawyers – a German Story ranked among the top five German documentaries of 2009 and received the Phoenix Documentary Award and two Grimme Awards. As producer of the film Beyond Borders – Stories of Freedom & Friendship, Birgit Schulz was awarded the VFF Documentary Film Production Award.

n 2025 Birgit Schulz and Doris Metz were awarded the German Film Prize LOLA for the documentary film Petra Kelly – Act Now! 

Ralf Schulze

Music Publisher, Festival Director

Biography Ralf Schulze:
1991–94: Market Research for Warner Music Germany, Hamburg.
1995 Phd „The German Music Industry – Market structures and Competitive strategies.“
since 1995: Music Publisher and Music Supervisor for Film-/TV-Projects.
since 2002: amboss Film+Musik - Musicpublisher for Film-/TV-Productions.
since 2005: amboss Recordings - Musiclabel, focus on Soundtracks/Scores.
since 2007: UNERHÖRT! Musikfilmfestival Hamburg (2022 zum 13. Mal .... 6.-9. November!)
since 2013: FilmCollect Clearing GmbH – Copyright Agency for Filmproducers

Cinema-Projects: (ca. 100)
Die Häschenschule - Der große Eierklau, An Impossible Project, Men of Hope, Die Rückkehr der Heinzelmännchen, Brechts Dreigroschenoper, Hi AI, The Bra, Pre Crime, Of Fathers and Sons, Tschick, Grüße aus Fukushima, Willkommen bei den Hartmanns, Mein Blind Date mit dem Leben, Jonathan, Who am I, Die Häschenschule, Quatsch, Rabe Socke 1 + 2 + 3, Der Rhein von Oben, Athos, Food Markets, Who Taught You To Drive, HELL. Hände weg von Mississippi. Absurdistan. 2 Days in Paris, The Three Investigators in the Secret of Skeleton Island. Knallhart. Rosenstraße, Das Experiment, L'Amour, L'Argent, L'Armour, Im Juli, Hierankl, Tuvalu, Gran Paradiso, Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod, Sonnenallee, Playboys, Lola Rennt

TV-Project: (ca. 300)
Der Schwarm, Das weiße Hause am Rhein, Oktoberfest 1900, Nur eine Frau, Jeanny – Das 5. Mädchen, Tatort: Des Teufels langer Atem, Lang Lebe die Königin, Der Rebel: Von Leimen nach Wimbledon, Babylon Berlin, Agent Hamilton, Die Toten vom Bodensee, Szene D, Wolfsland, Professor T, Die Slawen, Borderless Sky
Berlin - Abschnitt 40, Sesamstraße 1998-2006, Berlin, Berlin Staffel 1+2, Großstadtrevier. Die Kids von Berlin

Gregor Schwellenbach

Composer

Gregor Schwellenbach is a composer, arranger and performer working in contemporary classical, avant pop and electronic club music, as well as in film and TV.

Gregor collaborated regularly with Can’s Irmin Schmidt: as co-composer of the symphony "Can Dialog" for the London Symphony Orchestra and as orchestrator of his film scores. He also collaborated with artists like Lambchop, Kölsch, The Heritage Orchestra and WDR Funkhausorchester.

»Gregor Schwellenbach spielt 20 Jahre Kompakt«, released for the 20th anniversary of the Cologne based techno label in 2013, gained worldwide recognition and was performed live at numerous festivals and in clubs solo or with ensemble.

Gregor Schwellenbach teaches composition at Folkwang University Essen and HfMT Köln.

Sarah Schygulla

Author, Curator, Presenter, Digital Marketing Specialist

After completing a Drama degree and a joint Bachelor's degree in Romance Languages, Literature, and Linguistics and Asian Literature and Societies, Sarah completed a master's degree in Creative Writing in Edinburgh in 2018.

Sarah then worked as a junior curator for SoundTrack_Cologne before joining, among others, the UK branch of Hachette Publishing as a Digital Marketing Specialist.

She writes novels and screenplays, of which her scripts for the documentaries 'The Sound of Cologne' and 'Can and Me' were released in 2023. In addition, Sarah is also a presenter for events and advises SoundTrack_Cologne as a consultant for film, TV series, video games, and pop culture.

Beda Senn

Music Consultant, Music Curator & Producer

Music consultant at Swiss Television from 2006 till 2025 and involved in over 600 documentary film projects.

Since 2018 conception & production for new library/production music under Tonangeber GmbH, he is expert in the implementation of new sounds for current and future topics:
What does today's modern urban environment sound like? (Sounds Of Urbanity). What does music have to sound regarding sustainability, the new food movements, healthy and sustainable nutrition and lifestyles? (Organic Food Sounds). How do you create a sound image that depicts the regions of the world in a new and timeless way? Without all the clichés and stereotypes, but with the by integrating the traditional sounds of the regions concerned. What are new alpine sounds? What is the new sound for stories in today's alpine region (including Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and the north of Italy and France). Creating sounds that make the colours ring. And much more.

Another important motto: Modern Modular Motif-based Production Music. The goal are minimal and modular structured mood tracks, which have unique and modern sounds as core element and thus on the one hand perfectly underscore fitting and not overloaded but on the other hand have strong motif expressiveness. For each track there are several variations, which may differ in instrumentation of the motif, tempo, time signature etc., but which play around the central element (the leitmotif) in some form. And all this under the aspect of making it as close, touching, high quality and timeless as possible for all kinds of audio-visual productions and suitable for stories in the here and now.

Although music is his life, he never learned to play an instrument well. He spent a few years as a drummer, but never really gained a foothold as a musician. Despite, or perhaps because of it, he has immersed himself (associatively), in what kind of images does music create, which images need which music. He finds the exploration of music exciting. And he has immersed himself in it.

He also sees himself as a diver for musical pearls in the playlists of Tonangeber. He curates and mixes them together.

songs in cinema (Victoria Hillestad & Julian Erhardt)

Composer

Norwegian-Mexican Victoria Hillestad & German Julian Erhardt (aka. songs in cinema) met at the audition for film music at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in 2017. They soon started collaborating on scores for student productions and discovered their common love for writing and producing songs for picture using elements from the score in their songs and vice versa. After graduating in 2020 they mostly scored films and documentaries for German television (ARD, ZDF, ARTE, SWR) before they composed music for the Amazon Prime series “Maxton Hall – The World Between Us” in 2023. Just this spring they finalized the score for season two – which will be aired end of 2025. 

Julian, playing the drums since age five has a strong musical background with a bachelor in jazz and popular music. Victoria, on the other hand, dropped the clarinet again at age 16 to take a long detour through the studies of linguistics, only to find her way back into music at the age of 25/26, when she started writing and recording her own songs as a way of procrastination during her linguistic studies. Whether it is scoring films, producing songs, playing live music or being studio musicians – they both love collaborating and performing music in different formations.

Florian Sonnleitner

Music Supervisor

For the past decade, Florian Sonnleitner has been active in the film and television industry, starting as a composer’s assistant and orchestrator, and later expanding his role to include music supervision. Over the past five years, he has supervised the music for numerous productions. His projects include Herrhausen and Bonn, as well as international productions like Blood & Gold.

With experience in more than 70 productions, he is responsible for ensuring the technical and creative implementation of music in film, from licensing and clearance to coordination between composers and production teams. While his primary focus is on music supervision, he remains actively involved in the technical aspects of score production, including orchestration and score preparation.

The Flight

Composers for Videogames

Ivor Novello award winning duo Joe Henson and Alexis Smith began collaborating in 2005. After realizing they had a similar approach to life and wildly divergent musical tastes, they formed a creative partnership that quickly encompassed songwriting, production, and composition.

The duo have worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry as well as being renowned composers for triple A video games titles. 2014 saw the release of hit survival horror title Alien: Isolation, and they followed this up with Horizon: Zero Dawn, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Horizon Forbidden West, and WB Games Montréal’s Gotham Knights.

The Flight's television projects include the NETFLIX Series Lockwood & Co, BAFTA nominated BBC documentary series Drugsland, and Kids on the Edge, produced for Channel 4 by Century Films.

Their most recent project sees the duo returning to the popular Assassin’s Creed franchise with Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The game takes place in 16th century Japan and follows two new characters in the creed’s fight against the Templar order. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is out now on Playstation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

The Penelopes

Composers, Musicians

The Penelopes are award-winning French duo Axel Basquiat and Vincent Tremel. They are celebrated for their ability to blend orchestral arrangements with electronic music effortlessly. This seamless integration reflects their versatility and commitment to transcending traditional musical boundaries. Their compositions, whether purely acoustic, entirely electronic, or a hybrid mix, showcase their passion for exploring diverse sonic landscapes.​

Based in London, their original scores have been featured at prestigious festivals such as Cannes — notably in the Un Certain Regard and Semaine de la Critique sections — and Sundance, underscoring their significant contributions to the film industry. Their work on SpaceBoy earned them the Best Original Score for a Belgian Production at the World Soundtrack Awards.​

Their current flagship project involves a series of duets with iconic actresses, highlighting their multidisciplinary artistry. Collaborations include "Meet Me by the Gates" and "The Last Goodbye" with Isabelle Adjani, "Dream Baby Dream" with Asia Argento, and "Affliction" with Virginie Ledoyen. These works exemplify their natural fusion of musical and cinematic elements. Their album Life is Long features these collaborations and was mastered at London's iconic Abbey Road Studios.​

In the fashion realm, The Penelopes have crafted soundscapes for esteemed brands, demonstrating their ability to enhance visual aesthetics with auditory experiences. Their music has also been featured in various campaigns, underscoring their influence in the fashion industry.​

Beyond original compositions, they have remixed tracks for renowned artists such as The Cure, Lana Del Rey, Pet Shop Boys, and Alt-J, infusing their distinctive electronic sensibilities into celebrated classics.​

With a career that defies conventions, The Penelopes continue to redefine the intersection of orchestral and electronic music, offering immersive experiences that resonate across various artistic disciplines.

Katharina Uppenbrink

Managing Director

Katharina Uppenbrink has been the managing director of Initiative Urheberrecht (Authors’ Rights Initiative) since May 2014 (https://urheber.info/about-us) and represents the interests of approximately 140,000 authors and performing artists.

After training and studying in Berlin and London, Katharina worked for various publishers in Berlin, then heading several departments at a medium-sized publishing house in Frankfurt/Main.

In 2002 she became managing director of the Verband Deutscher Drehbuchautoren (VDD), the special interest group for screenwriters in Germany, focusing on marketing and organization. From 2004 she was also responsible for the national and international political activities of the professional association. Her focus in this capacity was on copyright and film funding. She was appointed to various German Federal Film board (FFA) committees. She helped to set up the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE) in Brussels and played a leading role in the development and implementation of several World Conferences of Screenwriters.

Lisa-Marie Uttenlauch

Music Supervisor

Lisa-Marie Uttenlauch is a music supervisor based in Berlin.

After studying Metropolitan Culture (Bachelor of Arts) at HafenCity University in Hamburg and Musicology (Master of Arts) at Humboldt University with a focus on audiovisual culture,

Lisa started working as a music supervisor at PPG Entertainment with Thomas Binar starting 2022 on projects such as That's My Jam (RTL Plus), Boom Boom Bruno (Warner TV), Crooks (Netflix) and How to sell drugs (Netflix).

She is now working as an inhouse music supervisor at UFA Fiction since November 2024, supervising projects like Maxton Hall – Season 2 and Miss Sophie- Same Procedure as every year (both Amazon MGM Studios) and Softies (RTL Plus).

Venus Theory

Composer, Content Creator and Sound Designer

Venus Theory is a composer, content creator, and sound designer based outside of Nashville, TN.

His work focuses on crafting immersive, organic electronic and ambient soundscapes exploring the intersection of cinematic and experimental music. His online presence, particularly on YouTube, provides a platform for in-depth explorations of music production and creativity, while also offering valuable insights to aspiring and seasoned creators alike in the realm of creative philosophy and psychology.

Beyond his online content, Cameron is a sought-after creative, contributing his expertise to numerous high-profile projects. His music can be heard in games such as Avowed and Ground Branch, showcasing his ability to create compelling and atmospheric sonic landscapes. His work with prominent industry sound design companies further cements his reputation as a leading force in modern audio, specializing in the creation of rich, textured, and emotionally resonant sonic environments.

Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim

Composer, Record Producer, Musician

Since his debut as a composer for feature films in 2005 PITTBULL-TERJE (directed by Arild Frölich) Vestrheim has done several films in a wide range of genres from minimalistic folky feel via grandiose and dark electronic synth-scores to classical scores for full philharmonic orchestra.

The movie NINJABABY (2021) directed by Yngvild Sve Flikke received international acclaim winning numerous awards like the Audience Award at SXSW, European Film Award for Best Comedy and Special Mention at Berlinale 2021. Vestrheim has also scored numerous TV-series over the years including the 12 episode POWER PLAY, that won the Best Music Award at Canneseries 2023. The soundtrack was largely improvised by the Power Play Composers Team. His latest work is the film THREE MEN TO VILMA directed by Charlotte Blom and the Netflix series BILLIONAIRE ISLAND directed by Marit Moum Aune, both premiered autumn 2024. Currently he is working on a new Norwegian film NO COMMENT.

Vestrheim is also a renowned record-producer having produced more than 100 albums over the last 20 years in all genres, from quadruple platinum selling pop artists to modern jazz, classical and indie-bands. Composing music for film and television is presently his main occupation, but Vestrheim is also a touring musician and releases records with his own musical projects every now and then. His productions have won more than 20 Norwegian Grammys («Spellemannpris") and Vestrheim has won the same price both as an artist (1997) and as producer of the year (2011). He has also been nominated for numerous awards for for his film music and won the Kanon Price for Score of the Year 2016 for his work on KNUTSEN & LUDVIGSEN OG DEN FÆLE RASPUTIN (TWO BUDDIES AND A BADGER).

Martin Villiger

Composer, focused on film music

Martin Villiger has composed the music for over 130 films and series. That’s about 450 series episodes and counting.

“I love to bring different people and art forms together and to dare new things.“, Martin says. In addition to songs he writes and produces with pop greats, he has always tried new areas of music. He has, for example, composed the music for a circus show, for installations, numerous commercials and corporate sound for companies. Martin Villiger is also interested in 3D audio like Dolby Atmos, spatial audio for VR (virtual reality) and games. The new feature film “Early Birds” where he co-composed music with the main composer Adrian Frutiger is premiering at this years Zurich Film Festival.

Martin Villiger is helping companies use music to connect to their audience. With Music for their brand and special live Events.

Villiger was born in Glasgow and grew up in Jerusalem, among other places. He feels at home all over the world and speaks six languages. His new concert series “Culture Clash” fits in with this. He is married to Catherine, and together they have four children.

Hubert Walkowski

Composer, Music Producer, Arranger

Hubert Walkowski is a composer, music producer, and arranger. His musical career began with winning 1st place in the international Young Talent Award competition, held as part of the Krakow Film Music Festival. He composes music for theatre productions, films, and TV series, and is particularly known for his work on Köln 75.

In his work, he enjoys blending electronic and acoustic sounds, constantly exploring new and intriguing sonic combinations. His music is known for its emotional depth, experimental approach to form, and cinematic storytelling.

Alexander Wankhammer

Audio Engineer