Festival
The Schwäbisch Gmünd International Children’s Film Festival (Kikife) is the largest film festival of its kind in southern Germany. With its focus on “children’s and youth films”, it has enjoyed unbroken public interest for years and has established a firm place in the event calendar within the German film industry and the region. Growing visitor numbers and increasing interest from national media in reporting on the event prove this. It is organized by Brazilkino Schwäbisch Gmünd in cooperation with the cultural office of the city of Schwäbisch Gmünd and the Schwäbisch Gmünd University of Education in collaboration with the Traumpalast Schwäbisch Gmünd.
Wettbewerb
The focus of Kikife is the “International Children’s and Youth Film Competition”. For this purpose, children’s and youth films are viewed worldwide throughout the year. The films may contain thematic focuses that introduce children and young people, but also adults, to unfamiliar perspectives and artistically staged actions. Since the competition films are shown in their original language, they are narrated live during the screening – a truly special film experience. Every language conveys a certain feeling, which can often be lost through synchronization. A total of six current productions will be viewed and evaluated by our children’s jury, as well as a jury of experts and film critics. Each jury awards a prize endowed by the Kreissparkasse Ostalb. In addition, there is the prize for the best child actor/actress, donated by the Lochmann cinema company (Traumpalast). The winners will be announced at the grand closing gala.
Panorama
In the Panorama section, we show films outside of the competition. They represent the full spectrum of contemporary filmmaking in the field of children’s and youth films. The films are very different and therefore cover a wide range of themes and staging styles. The main focus is on offering the most diverse selection of films possible, supporting the wide range of film education programs, and contributing to the development of media literacy.
Jury
In the “International Children’s and Youth Film Competition”, the children’s jury, the expert jury and the critics’ jury each decide which of the participating children’s and youth films may take home the victory. The winners of the endowed “Prize of the Ostalb District Savings Bank” will be announced by the juries at the closing gala.
Fachjury
Heike Werntgen
Actress, director, drama teacher
After training in musical theatre and acting, including at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York, she performed Off-Broadway and on numerous German stages. As a director, she has staged productions such as “Pippi Longstocking” and “New Adventures of Robber Hotzenplotz.” She hosted and produced the program “The Wonderful World of Children” for VOX. In theatre education, she works with children, teenagers, and adults—with and without disabilities—at various institutions (including special needs schools, kindergartens, youth centers, and addiction clinics). She tours Germany with her MI-MA-MUT-MACH-THEATER (Mentoring Courage Theatre). She also creates short film projects with children (from stop-motion to science fiction) with a clear focus on participation in all aspects of the production process—from screenwriting to editing.
Shaam Joli
Actress, director
Shaam Joli is an actress and director. In her artistic work, she addresses social and political issues, particularly human rights and personal memory. Her film *The Prison*, about human rights violations against women in Syrian prisons, received numerous awards, including the Women’s Film Prize at the Oberschwaben Film Festival and the Young Ulm Art Prize.
Janna Heine
Professor of Media Analysis and Media Design
Janna Heine is a professor of media analysis and media design at the Stuttgart Media University. She gained practical experience as an executive in communications and marketing, as well as a producer of nationally and internationally acclaimed feature films and documentaries. Among other projects, she produced Ayşe Polat’s “In the Blind Spot” for the Berlin-based mîtosfilm, which won three German Film Awards (Lolas) in 2024 for Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Film (Bronze). She studied and received her doctorate in film studies from the Free University of Berlin.
Rolf-Rüdiger Hamacher
Media educator and journalist
After completing an apprenticeship as a bookseller, Rolf-Rüdiger Hamacher studied social work with a focus on media education. Since 1969 he has written cultural reviews for daily newspapers and specialist magazines, and taught media education and film history at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences. In addition, he was the spokesperson for the board of the Association of German Film Critics for many years.
Children’s jury supervision
Silke Räbiger
Silke Johanna Räbiger, a high school teacher by training, moved from the north to the far west in the 1980s. She ended up in Dortmund. Alongside her work at a film distribution company, she was involved with the Dortmund Women’s Film Festival from 1986 and took over its management in 1992. From 2007 until the end of 2018, she was the artistic director of the International Women’s Film Festival Dortmund | Cologne.
Wolfgang Eissler
Wolfgang Eißler, born in Bretten in 1971. After studying theatre studies and North American studies in Berlin (1993-1994), he began realizing his first short films and audiovisual art projects in 1995. He also works as a freelance producer primarily in music videos and commercials. He gained his first experience as a director at the (short-lived) Children’s crime series “Spur & Partner” (2004) and the successful children’s series “Löwenzahn” (2007). With the friendship drama “Berlin am Meer”, Eißler makes his debut as a film director in the same year.
Guests
Norbert Lechner
Director of ""22 Das geheime Stockwerk" and "Ente gut! Mädchen allein zu Haus"
That’s what Kikife is all about
When Kikife first took place, the diverse range of media and communication options on the internet, including streaming services, social networks, and the simple possibility of becoming a producer of media content oneself, was still pure fiction. Over the course of 31 years, techniques, formats and demands on media users have fundamentally changed at increasingly shorter intervals. Kikife has always followed this development and has adapted to the respective media reality of children and young people through new formats and offerings. Despite all the changes, the most important value of cinema still lies in the shared experience in a group, the discovery of new worlds, and the promotion of empathy and understanding for different perspectives and ways of acting. It is a place of encounter and, within the framework of the festival, can also offer a forum for a comprehensive examination of the media world of children and young people.
The Kikife provides the framework for this communicative aspect and promotes critical engagement with film media and their modes of operation primarily through:
- Screenings of children’s and youth films from Germany and abroad, in the competition, panorama and Baden-Württemberg film sections.
- Workshop offerings for children and young people to engage practically with the medium of film, as well as media education training for teachers.
- The development and implementation of playful and informative accompanying programs and teaching materials for selected films by students of the University of Education for the preparation and follow-up of the films in schools.
The Kikife provides the framework for this communicative aspect and promotes critical engagement with film media and their modes of operation primarily through:
- Screenings of children’s and youth films from Germany and abroad, in the competition, panorama and Baden-Württemberg film sections.
- Workshop offerings for children and young people to engage practically with the medium of film, as well as media education training for teachers.
- The development and implementation of playful and informative accompanying programs and teaching materials for selected films by students of the University of Education for the preparation and follow-up of the films in schools.
Media education
Self-directed, action-oriented and enjoyable – this is how children and young people at Kikife are meant to acquire diverse media competence in an interdisciplinary sense and thus become active, thoughtful, attentive media users and creators. We live in a visually dominated world; images and films have become a communicative element of our society. And we’ve known since at least the PISA studies how important it is to learn to read them just as we learn to read texts made of written characters. Furthermore, children who are more visual or kinesthetic learners, as well as children from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds, benefit greatly from information conveyed through images and sensory impressions.
In addition to the diverse workshops for actively engaging with media and its effects, we offer an informative and playful accompanying program for selected films. This is developed and implemented by students of the Schwäbisch Gmünd University of Education. The students work in groups to develop an educational analysis of the films and, based on this, design a short pre- or post-show program for the film shown. For teachers, there are teaching suggestions and materials for use in the classroom.
Tickets and reservations
Tickets for the Kikife film screenings and events can soon be purchased directly from the Brazilkino or the Traumpalast cinema. Reservations can also be made from this date by phone, online or in person at the cinema. Changes to the program and playing times are not intended, but possible.
Admission: €5.50
School performances: €5.00
Readings: free
Registration for teachers
To register for an event for your class or group, please send us an email as usual to: hallo@kikife.de Please be sure to include the following information:
- Film title with date and time
- School and class(es)
- Number of pupils
- Number of accompanying persons
- Email address and phone number where you can be reached
Please note that for organizational reasons, registration can only be done via this method. We are happy to answer any questions you may have. After processing by our team, you will receive a binding confirmation email with all the information.
Thank you very much
The festival has always enjoyed great support from sponsors and partners from the film and media industry, as well as from companies in the region. They all recognized how important contemporary critical media education for children and young people has become. We thank everyone involved for their loyal support:
Main Sponsor
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Patrons
Supporters
Team und Kontakt
Festivalbüro
Kinderkinofestival Schwäbisch Gmünd
Hirschgäßle 7
73525 Schwäbisch Gmünd
Allgemeine Anfragen: walter.deininger(at)kikife.de
Reservierung für Schulklassen und Gruppen: walter.deininger(at)kikife.de
Festival Cinemas
Brazilkino
Hirschgäßle 7
73525 Schwäbisch Gmünd
07171 9782957
www.brazilkino.de
Traumpalast Schwäbisch Gmünd
Türlensteg 29
73525 Schwäbisch Gmünd
0711 55090770
www.traumpalast.de
Festival Lead
Walter Deininger
Programm und Organisation
walter.deininger(at)kikife.de
Gerhard Klein
Programm und Filmbeschaffung
gerhard.klein(at)kikife.de
Team
Jana Thiem
Organisation
hallo(at)brazilkino.com
Ralph Häcker
Kurzfilmproduktion
ralph.haecker(at)schwaebisch-gmuend.de
Dr. phil. Christian Weißenburger
Wissenschaftliche Betreuung und studentisches Begleitprogramm
christian.weissenburger(at)ph-gmuend.de
Dr. Henriette Hoppe
Wissenschaftliche Betreuung und Kinderjury
henriette.hoppe(at)ph-gmuend.de
Vanessa Sigg
Webseite & Technische Umsetzung
Evelin Brodt
Gästebetreuung