About Us
Photos by FugeFoto
Dr. Oliver Langewitz
Festival Director
The man, the myth, the legend – no one knows the INDEPENDENT DAYS better than he does. His film consumption is beyond legendary and probably worthy of an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records!
Since no one knows more about films, genres and the stories behind them all than Oliver, there is just no better man to head this festival.
Nadine Knobloch
Festival Management
The only lady in our team boasts film experience both in front of and behind the camera. As a trained actress she has not only seen many films, but has also acted in quite a few herself.
Add to that her unparalleled organisational skills and her talent for languages – Nadine speaks a total of six – she is always on top of things during the festival.
Dr. Michael Bentz
Festival Technician
Whether it's a tangle of cables, a server outage or a jumble of file formats – our Michel (not a typo) has the perfect solution for every technical issue.
As a true independent film afficionado, he is just as much an INDEPENDENT DAYS veteran as Oliver.
Bernd Strehhuber
Festival Technician
Affectionately dubbed 'The Man with the Tablet' by us, Bernd always knows which of your films is up next in our programme.
You can tell it's him by the blue glow of the screen reflecting on his face. This died-in-the-wool cinema enthusiast is the only person in the auditorium with express permission to use his electronic device during the screening.
Lola (2013 - 2025 RIP)
Hospitality
Our little Lola is not only the mascot of our film festival, but also extremely popular with all our guests. As a squeaky pug girl, she always creates a good mood and it's no wonder that she has her own Instagram account (see for yourself: lola_the_pug_girl).
And if she doesn't feel like mingling with all the hoomans, she simply retreats to her doggy bed and takes a well-deserved nap.