Women* Film Composer Class

Freya Arde

Film composer, Guitarist and Music Producer

Freya Arde is a Berlin based film composer, guitarist and music producer known for her original scores for more than thirty film and television productions across genres including family features, documentaries, and dramas. Her music often blends classical composition with experimental guitar textures and electronic processing to create immersive soundscapes.

Her latest works include the scores for the documentary Riefenstahl by Andres Veiel and the Belgian coming of age feature Everyone’s Sorry Nowadays by Frederike Migom which premiered at Berlinale 2026.

As a solo artist, she released works for chamber instrumentations like Moon Window (Deutsche Grammophon, 2021) and her debut album E C H O (2025) which was described as “a masterclass in dynamic storytelling” (Cageriot).

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, will hit the cinemas in autumn 2022. 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 Distri-bution 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.

Barbara Berndorff

Music legal advisor

Her music clients include record labels, publishers, managers, producers, DJs and artists all of whom value the tailored advice she can give across the whole range of music industry contracts and related intellectual property matters. Her film clients include mostly authors and composers etc. Because of her wide experience in music and music law she is often involved in clearing music rights for films national as well as international. She provides composers and musicians of the music for German and international film productions and co-productions, feature films, TV-series and TV-movies with all the necessary legal advice for the film project and the neighbouring fields - like exploiting soundtracks etc. In addition she works for a foundation as a musical advisor and legal representative for music matters, as well as for independent film productions as external legal advice.

She has worked on the music side of productions including the films Pina, Perfect Days, Maria, Anselm, Treasure and the series The Empress and others. In supporting film music composers in contractual and organisational matters, she has supervised the projects September 5, Golda, Sterben, Tatami, Kein Tier so wild, Der Held vom Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse, 22 Bahnen and the series The Swarm, Das Netz among others. She is also a regular representative of composers in various German TV formats such as Tatort and Kleines Fernsehspiel and negotiates contracts with international streamers for series, feature films, TV series and documentaries. She is a member of the World Soundtrack Academy in Gent, Belgium and of the European Filmacademy.

Helge Borgarts

Composer, Audio Director

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.

Valerie Dobbelaere

Publicist, composers agent

Milena Fessmann

Music Supervisor, Radio host, Producer, DJ

Since 1991, Milena Fessmann has worked as a full-time DJ (2001-2014 Radio Eins After Work Lounge, Trompete/Berlin, European Film Awards 2015 etc.) and has worked for various radio stations. Since 1997 she works for Radio Eins/RBB with her own weekly show called "Free Falling".

In 1989 she founded CINESONG and has been working as a music supervisor on more than 500 films and series.

She is moderator of several national events and panels such as the "Cartoon Movie Award"/Postdam 2002-2008, Reeperbahn-Festival 2014-23, c/o pop Cologne 2014-2024 and many more. Milena Fessmann teaches music supervising and copyright clearing at film schools such as DFFB Berlin and is advisory board member of the World Soundtrack Academy and Member of the European Filmacademy.

She founded a film production company called SUGAR TOWN Filmproduction Gmbh & Co.kg in 2011. Its first project was The Potential of Noise- Conny Plank by Stephan Plank and Reto Caduff. Fessmann is executive-producer of When Hitler stole Pink Rabbit, directed by award-winning director Caroline Link, and is co-producer of Prince of swans, as well as a few more.
Her newest documentary project Just do it- She-punks from 1977 until now about female punk and the new wave in german speaking territory from 1979-89 is currently in pre-production.

Jens Kindermann

GEMA Operation Domain Manager

Jens Kindermann ist seit 1996 bei der GEMA tätig. Als Operation Domain Manager Production verantwortet er die Bereitstellung von Nutzungs- und Produktdaten als Grundlage für die Tantiemenverteilung. Er ist Experte im Bereich Metadaten, Audio Monitoring und Audiovisuelle Produktionen.

Corinna C. Poeszus

Senior Media and Music Consultant - Mediaconsulting4u

Corinna C. Poeszus is a senior business executive with over 30 years experience in the music, digital media & film production, advertising and tv entertainment industries driven by the power of passion and an open mind and the desire to think outside the box. Corinna is a successful Leader and Manager with more than 18 years of experience in leading teams to their goals. Her experience is well rounded with an in-depth understanding of international media business management & operations, product branding, online marketing, social media, CRM, planning and controlling of marketing, monitoring, marketing & comms, monitoring of strategic marketing activities, B2B as well as B2C.
Her professional career took her from Polygram via Endemol Entertainment to Bertelsmann and Universal Publishing, Bavaria Media and many more.

Corinna C. Poeszus ist eine erfahrene Führungskraft mit über 30 Jahren Erfahrung in den Bereichen Musik, digitale Medien und Filmproduktion, Werbung und TV-Entertainment. Sie ist angetrieben von der Kraft der Leidenschaft und Offenheit, über den Tellerrand hinaus zu denken. Corinna ist erfolgreiche Managerin mit mehr als 18 Jahren Erfahrung, ihre Teams zu Zielen zu führen. Ihre Erfahrung zeichnet sich durch ein tiefgreifendes Verständnis der internationalen Medien, Business Management & Operations, Produkt-Branding, Online-Marketing, Social Media, CRM, Planung und Controlling von Marketing, Monitoring, Marketing & Kommunikation, Überwachung von strategischen Marketing-Aktivitäten - sowohl B2B als auch B2C.

Ihre beruflichen Stationen führten sie von Polygram über Endemol Entertainment zu Bertelsmann und Universal Publishing, Bavaria Media und viele weitere Stationen.

Seit 2020 Hörgeräte Expertin bei audibene Gmbh speziell für Menschen, denen Musik, Konzerte und musizieren wichtig sind.

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.

Anna Stokes

Anna is part of the agency team at Manners Faber, representing an international roster of composers, sound creatives and multidisciplinary artists working across film, television, game, theatre and dance.

After completing a degree in Music at Falmouth University, Anna began her career in music for media as a composer’s assistant and orchestrator, working on a wide range of film and television projects for BBC, ITV, Sky, Netflix, Paramount+, Apple TV and Disney+. Progressing into music editing and additional writing, she gained detailed insight into the scoring process, formed creative relationships across the industry, and developed a particular interest in creative project management.

Anna’s love of musical collaboration remains at the heart of her work at Manners Faber. Her experience informs her work across pitching, contract negotiation, project management and score coordination, helping her to support an exciting and dynamic roster working at the forefront of the UK’s film and television industry.

Anne Urban

Postproduction Supervisor and Lecturer

1972 born in Kassel
1993-1996 Studies Media Culture and Theatre, Cologne University
1996-1998 Professional education Film lab technician, Hadeko/ ProCine Neuss

Since 1998 Postproduction Supervisor e.g. for X Filme, Pandora, UFA, Bantry Bay, btf, brainpool, Filmservice Babelsberg, Constantin, Kordesfilm...

Selected projects:

• „Whale Rider“
• „Deutschland 09“
• „Colonia Dignidad“
• „Iron Sky“
• „Jesus liebt mich“
• „How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast)“
• „Gunpowder Milkshake“
• „Bonn”
• „Liebes Kind”
• „Riefenstahl”
• „Alte Liebe”

2000-2001 Project manager ARRI Cologne
2006-2008 Branch manager of Cinepost labs in NRW
Lecturer e.g. Kölner Filmhaus, ifs, Intern. FrauenFilmFestival, Filmakademie Ludwigsburg…
Translation of specialist book „Film Technology in Post Production" (D. Case) to German

Rosalie Vogel

Sync Creative

Christoph Zirngibl

Composer

Christoph Zirngibl is a renowned German film music composer based in Munich, Germany. 

With a career spanning over two decades, Christoph has established himself as a versatile and accomplished composer, capable of mastering a wide range of musical genres. 

Recently, Christoph has composed the music for several high-profile projects, including the upcoming APPLE TV+ series Where's Wanda (in collaboration with Ralf Wengenmayr), the animated feature The Hero of Centopia (produced by Flying Bark Productions, directed by Adam Gunn), and NETFLIX´s Skandal! Bringing down Wirecard (produced by PASSION Pictures, directed by Emmy-nominated James Erskine). 

Throughout his career, Christoph has been recognized with numerous awards and nominations. His accolades include the Hollywood Music in Media Award, the film music award of the New York Indie Film Festival, and the Price of the German Television Academy. He has also been nominated at the Music & Sound International Awards, Camille Awards / European Film Composer Awards, and the GEMA Musikautor*innenpreis. 

With a prolific output, Christoph has written more than 80 scores for prime time movies, TV series, and feature films across various genres. His extensive experience and diverse musical talents have made him a sought-after composer in the film industry.