Exhaustion is everywhere: war, intractable political conflicts and long-standing injustices demand our attention year after year. The films in Panorama confront these persistent conditions with renewed vigour, taking an even closer look and enabling a change of perspective in patient long-term observations. They repeat memories, deconstruct them – pulling and tugging at the unbearable.

The Panorama is the platform for documentary and experimental films at the IFFF Dortmund+Cologne.

In nine programmes, including three German premieres, we will see films that reflect contemporary events and current moods with particular formal creativity. This year’s record number of submissions to the section is no coincidence, but a sign of the tendency to confront our crisis-ridden world through documentary film.

In the Panorama Formfragen, innovative techniques and creative methods complement the classic cinema experience. This year, this is a long-term observation spanning 30 years. Four documentary films by Aysun Bademsoy from the years 1995-2024 unfold a multi-layered portrait of the former female footballers of BSC-Agrispor in Berlin-Kreuzberg. We see women who remain seekers and lives that are shaped across generations.

The Panorama is curated by Vivien Buchhorn and Bernadette Kolonko.

Click here for the section and the complete programme.