KHM at Cannes International Film Festival 2024

Agustina Sánchez Gavier’s Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM) graduation film “Nuestra Sombra” (“Our Own Shadow”, 2024, 19:30 min.) has been invited to the Quinzaine des Cinéastes section of the 77th Cannes International Film Festival. The announcement was made by the artistic director of the renowned series Julien Rejl at a press conference today. The independent selection, which was inaugurated in 1969 by the Société des Réalisatrices et Réalisateurs de Films (SRF), is dedicated to showcasing the most singular forms of contemporary cinema.

Set in the province of Misiones in northeast Argentina against the backdrop of an imminent solar eclipse, “Nuestra Sombra” portrays the unsettling transformations it appears to trigger in some of the inhabitants of an over-logged forest. The main protagonist Maria, an embodiment of existential uncertainty within the looming darkness, reflects on the hidden powers that shape our world. “The more humankind destroys nature, the more it destroys us”, Agustina Sánchez Gavier writes. “‘Nuestra Sombra’ is about the destructive relationship between humankind and nature.”

Other KHM team members will also travel to Cannes with Agustina Sánchez Gavier (director, writer, editor and producer) for the world premiere of “Nuestra Sombra”: KHM graduate Valerie-Malin Schmid (production), KHM student Cinthia Konopacki (assistant director) as well as KHM graduate Joel Jaffe (film music). The team shot the short film in Argentina on 16 mm film with the help of funding from Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.

The Academy of Media Arts Cologne can be particularly proud as we congratulate another graduate on their invitation to Cannes: Kim Lêa Sakkal’s new film “Immaculata” (2024, 23 min.) was also selected for Quinzaine des Cinéastes as the only other German contribution. The film was produced by Cologne production company filmfaust, which is run by Claus Herzog-Reichel and KHM graduate Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay. The cinematographer was KHM graduate Paul Faltz, the music was composed by KHM graduate Caroline Kox, and KHM graduate Mario von Grumbkow was responsible for the production management of the film. It was also made with the help of Film- und Medienstiftung NRW funding.

The Cannes International Film Festival has taken place on the Côte d’Azur in May every year since 1946 and is one of the most important film events in the world. With the competition for the Palme D’or at its centre, the Cannes Film Festival programme is made up of the short film prize, alongside the Un Certain Regard, La Semaine de la Critique and La Quinzaine des Cinéastes sections.