German Talents From ‘Babystar’, ‘Silent Friend’ & ‘Elaha’ Among Those Selected For German Films’ Face To Face Campaign 2026
EXCLUSIVE: German Films, the outfit responsible for promoting German cinema globally, has revealed the seven participants for the 11th edition of its annual Face to Face campaign.
This year’s selection includes actors Bayan Layla and Enzo Brumm, writer-directors Anna Roller and Joscha Bongard, director Isa Willinger, cinematographer Lotta Kilian and makeup artist Lydia Geissler.
They follow in the footsteps of renowned filmmakers and internationally acclaimed stars such as Sandra Hüller, Christian Friedel, Burhan Qurbani, Tom Schilling, Louis Hofman, Jonas Nay, Jördis Triebel, Valeska Grisebach and Jannis Niewöhner, all of whom have been part of the campaign in previous editions.
German Films’ Face to Face initiative aims to spotlight some of the most influential creative voices in contemporary German cinema and has long been considered an important platform for showcasing German talents to the global film and television industries.
“We have an exceptionally vibrant and diverse film landscape in Germany, driven by the creativity and vision of its filmmakers,” said German Films Managing Director Simone Baumann. “Across all disciplines, we see talented people constantly exploring new ideas, questioning conventions and redefining what film and cinema can be.
“At German Films, we see it as our responsibility to support these creatives and accompany them on their path to international success. We are proud to present seven filmmakers as ambassadors of our campaign this year – each of them embodies the spirit of innovation that propels the film industry forward.”
This year’s campaign will kick off with a Deadline Virtual Event on February 4, where Deadline sits down with four of the participants – Bongard, Brumm, Layla and Willinger – to discuss major issues currently facing the German film and television industries.
The seven talents will then take part at a panel event organized by German Films during the Berlin Film Festival on February 16.
Bongard first worked in Cologne for the YouTube network TubeOne (now We Are Era). He then worked as a production assistant at Iconoclast Germany in Berlin and began studying directing at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in 2017. In 2019 he received a scholarship from the academy and directed a short film at La Fémis in Paris; in 2022 he completed a masterclass at UCLA Extension. His short film Jung Fragilpremiered in Riga in 2020 and was broadcast on German television. In addition to narrative films, he has directed commercials for brands including Mercedes, Bose and Amazon Prime. His documentary debut Pornfluencer premiered at DOK.fest Munich in 2022, was released theatrically nationwide and was nominated for the German Documentary Film Award 2023. His feature debut BABYSTAR celebrated its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and screened at further international festivals.
Brumm began his career as an international model, working on the runways of Paris, Milan, London and New York for designers including Versace, Rick Owens, Bottega Veneta and Louis Vuitton. In 2018 he quit modeling to focus entirely on acting and studied at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna until 2022. During his studies he appeared in numerous classical and contemporary stage productions, including at the Burgtheater Vienna. After an initial engagement at Theater Regensburg, he increasingly shifted his focus to film. In 2023 he starred alongside Moritz Bleibtreu in the Amazon Prime series Viktor Bringt’s and received the New Faces Award for Best Young Actor in 2025. In 2024 he took on a leading role in Silent Friend by Ildikó Enyedi, which premiered in Venice in 2025 and won multiple awards. Brumm will next be seen in Sönke Wortmann’s Die Ältern.
After completing her hairdressing apprenticeship as the top of her class, Geissler trained as a state-certified makeup artist for film and television in 2011, graduating with top marks. Since then, she has worked in makeup and special effects, focusing on character design and cinematic aesthetics. Her feature film debut was Ein Geschenk Der Götter, followed by projects including Luft and Wer Ohne Schuld Ist. Her most recent work includes Misty – The Erroll Garner Story, Cyberpunk Romance and historical drama Karla.
Cinematographer Kilian focuses on feature films and high-end TV series, and she also has extensive experience in documentary filmmaking. She is particularly drawn to emotionally and psychologically complex projects that are also politically and socially relevant. For her cinematography on the feature Luise by Matthias Luthardt, she received a nomination for the German Film Award in 2024 and a Camerimage nomination in 2023. Early in her career, she won the German Camera Award (2012) and the Kodak Filmschool Award (2011). Her work has screened at numerous international festivals, including the Berlinale. She frequently collaborates with Faraz Shariat (Druck, Prosecution) and Leonie Krippendorff (Loving Her, Gepellte Haut). Kilian is a co-founder of Cinematographinnen – Women Cinematographers Network and is also a member of the German Film Academy, the European Film Academy and the German Society of Cinematographers.
Layla, born and raised in Syria, celebrated her breakthrough with the title role in the debut film Elaha from director Milena Aboyan. For this role she received numerous awards, including the New Faces Award, the First Steps – Götz George Young Talent Award and the Bavarian Film Award. The film screened at the Berlinale and in Locarno, and Layla was nominated for Best Actress at the German Film Awards (Lola). In 2026 she will appear in Wovon Sollen Wir Träumen, Hygge and Drei Kameradinnen and will also take on a leading role in an international production.
Roller, meanwhile, made five short films during her directing studies at the University of Television and Film Munich. Pan and The Last Children in Paradise screened at more than 60 international festivals, including Palm Springs, Max Ophüls and Camerimage. Her short film Brat won the German Short Film Award (Lola) in 2021. In 2019 she was selected for the Future Frames program in Karlovy Vary and took part in several talent initiatives. Her feature debut Dead Girls Dancing premiered in 2023 at the Tribeca Film Festival and Munich Film Festival and earned her the New Faces Award. Her second feature Allegro Pastell, based on the novel by Leif Rand, will premiere at the Berlinale and be released in cinemas in 2026.
Willinger is a documentary film director. Her 2019 debut Hi, AI. Love Stories from the Future was nominated for the German Film Awards and won, among others, the Max Ophüls Award for Best Documentary. Her second theatrical documentary Plastic Fantastic, about the climate crisis, plastic production, lobbyism and environmental racism, received numerous awards including the German Documentary Film Award (Audience Award) and had more than 20,000 admissions. Her third feature-length documentary No Mercy (2025) brings together renowned women directors to discuss film language and gendered perspectives and screened successfully at international festivals, including DOC.NYC. She is currently preparing the documentary The Red Line on artificial intelligence. She is also the author of a book on Kira Muratova.
