For organizational questions and all general topics concerning the UFA Academy, please contact Jeannette Venzke at academy@ufa.de.

Our three mentors Diana Minkenberg-Molitor, Chantal Klever and Annette Kärcher provide close support for the UFA Academy’s training and further education courses. They are happy to help with specific questions about the individual courses.

“I started out 16 years ago as a career changer in the production management of fictional projects and have benefited greatly from the knowledge of my mentors along the way. Over the years, I was challenged and encouraged to learn my job in the best possible way. I have been very grateful for this support and would like to continue it. I love discovering and training talents and helping them to develop their skills to the best of their ability and realize their potential. I am looking forward to being a mentor in the UFA Academy’s lateral entry program and accompanying the participants on their journey,” says mentor Diana Minkenberg-Molitor.

“I’ve been part of UFA Serial Drama since 2003 – with a few interruptions. First as script/continuity (5 years), then as assistant director (8 years). I am certified as an assistant director (IHK) and have also worked on various film projects outside of Serial Drama. Today, as a training coordinator, I plan and coordinate the assignments of apprentices, trainees and mandatory interns at the Cologne location. This means I already have experience and I enjoy passing on my specialist knowledge to colleagues/apprentices/trainees and inspiring them to work as script/continuity and/or assistant directors. The UFA Academy’s offer of a mixture of practical experience on set and theoretical knowledge transfer is perfect and a great way to enter the industry,” says mentor Annette Kärcher.

“After successfully completing my training as an audiovisual media clerk at UFA Serial Drama (“Unter Uns”) in 2011, I was taken on there as a film management assistant. Shortly afterwards, I was allowed to take the IHK training certificate and have been accompanying trainees on their way into professional life ever since. Since 2014, I have been Film Managing Director at “Unter Uns” and thus the contact person for all accounting matters in production. Even after more than 13 years, I am still happy to be a part of the UFA world. As a long-standing team member of UFA SERIAL DRAMA in the area of film management, I am delighted to be able to provide advice and support to career changers as a mentor and to be involved in shaping this training and further education,” says mentor Chantal Klever.