In the organizer's words:

The STRANGER THAN FICTION documentary film festival is celebrating its 28th edition this year at the Filmhaus Köln and simultaneously in other NRW cities. From January 23 - February 1, the festival will screen 10 international documentaries and 7 from NRW that have not yet been shown in cinemas. The directors of many of the films shown are expected to take part in a subsequent discussion.

The opening film NONNA by Vincent Graf is a loving and humorous tribute to his grandmother by her filmmaking grandson. Director Vincent Graf is currently studying at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne and we are delighted to have him as a guest at several events as an up-and-coming director.

With the documentary I AM MARTIN PARR, we commemorate the recently deceased British photographer Martin Parr, whose controversial photographs provide an uncompromising portrait of consumer society. The screenings of the documentary APOLLO 1 also have a current cause. January 27 marks the 59th anniversary of the Apollo 1 mission disaster, which is revisited in the documentary with great archive footage.

There will also be many events with guests this year. BARBEL BOHLEY - DIARY OF A RESURRECTION will celebrate its world premiere as part of the documentary film festival. Director Fosco Dubini will be attending some of the screenings as a guest and will talk about the work on his film, which portrays the East German artist and civil rights activist in 1988/98. SCHWARZERS KOSMOS is another film celebrating its premiere that focuses on the Düsseldorf artist Bernd Schwarzer and his Gesamtkunstwerk "Europa Kunstwerk". In CONCRETE DREAMS, a spontaneous work of art becomes a tool for social change in the midst of the chaotic unrest in Colombia. Director Anton Wenzel will be on site for film discussions.

With the NRW short film program, the Filmhaus is once again hosting an event dedicated to up-and-coming documentary filmmakers. Three short films with the respective directors are guests at the Cologne Filmhaus.

MELT by Nikolaus Geyrhalter is a film by a Stranger Than Fiction veteran. Geyrhalter focuses on the global phenomenon of melting snow and ice and travels to impressive places to do so. No less important thematically is ELON MUSK UNVEILED by Andreas Pichler, which deals with the research into the Tesla Files.

The full program can be found at: http://www.strangerthanfiction-nrw.de/

Tickets for the individual screenings can be booked at www.filmhaus-koeln.de Or they can be reserved at the box office on 0221 33770515.

Price information:

Online tickets can be purchased via the websites of the respective cinemas.