19/01/2026 - The German filmmaker’s third feature presents six interconnected episodes exploring human relationships and transitional moments

Principal photography is underway on The Ideas (Die Ideen), which is the third feature-length film by German filmmaker Fabian Stumm. The episodic drama, exploring intimacy, self-perception, and the moments in which characters are faced with their true selves, is being directed and written by Stumm, who also stars in the film.

The plot unfolds across six independent stories, loosely tied together by the theme of inner movement. It tells stories of people in transitional states, characters caught in everyday routines who nonetheless dare to take a crucial step, confronting their self-images, their roles, and their relationships.

Following his previous films, Bones and Names [+see also:
film review
film profile], which premiered in Perspektive Deutsches Kino at the 2023 Berlinale and won the Heiner Carow Prize, and Sad Jokes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabian Stumm
film profile], which was awarded both the New German Cinema Award for Best Director and the FIPRESCI Prize in Munich, and which had its international premiere in Toronto’s Discovery section, Stumm is continuing his exploration of intimacy and distance, self-image and roles, and the moments in which we can no longer hide from ourselves.

Inspired by the structure of literal short stories, Stumm is applying this episodic approach to a cinematic context for the first time. As with his earlier works, Stumm features among the lead actors, joined by a recurring ensemble of collaborators and friends, including Marie-Lou Sellem, Anneke Kim Sarnau, Godehard Giese, Susie Meyer, Knut Berger, Anne Haug, Jonas Dassler and Ulrica Flach.

The wider ensemble cast features Maren Eggert (I'm Your Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maria Schrader
film profile], The Sparrow in the Chimney [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ramon and Silvan Zürcher
film profile]), Hans Löw (Mother's Baby [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Johanna Moder
film profile]), Katharina Stark (The Interpreter of Silence [+see also:
interview: Katarina Stark
series profile]), Angela Winkler (Sisi & I [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Frauke Finsterwalder
film profile]), Michael Klammer (The Teachers' Lounge [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: İlker Çatak
interview: Leonie Benesch
film profile]), Aenne Schwarz (A Land Within), Romina Küper, Elin Gradin, Jonathan Stolze, Carolin Wege, Anna Schudt, Kim Riedle, Nicola Heim, Lisa Marie Becker, Alma Meyer-Prescott, Tina Pfurr, Gina Henkel, Tanju Bilir and various others.

Filming began on 7 January in Berlin and is scheduled to wrap by 6 February, with two to three shooting days planned for each episode. The creative team largely comprises Stumm’s trusted collaborators: Michael Bennett serving as director of photography, Nele Schallenberg handling art direction, and Kaspar Panizza in charge of editing. Nicola Heim is acting as assistant director and script consultant while Eva Roth is overseeing casting.

As per his previous works, Stumm’s independent company Postofilm, based in Berlin and Cologne, is handling production. Producer Franziska Gärtner is supporting the project, with Stumm continuing his approach of producing without recourse to traditional public funding, instead relying on private investment, sponsorship, and a tight-knit creative team.