Counseling & Support

Are you experiencing difficulties with motivation, orientation or decision-making, struggling to manage your time, or suffering from exam or public speaking anxiety? Are you feeling increasingly exhausted or overwhelmed? Are you under financial pressure or unhappy with your current study or personal circumstances? If so, please contact:

Katrin Dorner (k.dorner@filmuniversitaet.de) and Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Neubauer (h.neubauer(at)filmuniversitaet.de), or one of our Mental Health First Aid  (MHFA) First Aiders 

• Prof. Claudia Geisler-Bading
• Friederike Jage-D’Aprile
• Honorary Professor Dr. Marion Jenke
• Prof. Silke Buhr
• Lars-Ole Haag
• Lisa Plumeier

The longer a conflict remains unaddressed, the more difficult it can become to resolve it constructively on your own. The Film University's Conflict Advisory Service offers neutral and strictly confidential conflict counselling and mediation.

Contact: Katrin Dorner (0331-6202 366, k.dorner@filmuniversitaet.de)

Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated at the Film University (see our Policy).

Our Anti-Discrimination Officer, Prof. Rico Doberprovides strictly confidential information on your rights and the options available for taking action: antidiskriminierung(at)filmuniversitaet.de

The Equal Opportunities Office  is also available as contacts, particularly in case of sexual harassment or violence, or discrimination based on gender or sexual identity:
Susanne Lösch, Katharina Kücke: gleichstellung(at)filmuniversitaet.de 

Cases of discrimination can also be reported anonymously at any time using our Online Form.

Overview of advice and complaints procedures at the Film University

Do you have questions about making study and working environments more inclusive? We offer advice and support for people with long-term or permanent health conditions and chronic illnesses. This includes reasonable adjustments, accessibility, individual support, study and working conditions, and workplace adaptations. Please feel free to get in touch.

For students: Disability Officer for the Interests of Film University Members and Affiliates with Disabilities. Contact: Mandy Heinze, Tel. 0331 6202 303; m.heinze(at)filmuniversitaet.de. Office hours: by appointment (in person, by telephone or online)

For employees: Representative for Employees with Severe Disabilities/Severely Disabled Employees' Representative Body

Whether you need childcare, care for relatives or support with other family-related challenges, the Family Office acts as a point of contact, provides initial advice and helps you navigate the Film University's existing advice and support services to find the right assistance for balancing family life, leisure, studies and work. All consultations are confidential.

Contact: Mandy Heinze, Tel. 0331 6202 303; m.heinze(at)filmuniversitaet.de / Office hours: by appointment (in person, by telephone or online)

Through active health management, the Film University promotes a health-conscious approach to everyday working and student life. It implements a broad range of individual and collective measures, from designing healthy workplaces to offering courses and advice for employees and students.

Contact: Nadine Drews, Tel. 0331 6202 121, kanzlerbuero@filmuniversitaet.de

Gender identity and sexual orientation are important aspects of a person's identity. We support non-binary, trans* and intersex members of the University with questions relating to changes to their name and gender entry, as well as with other matters concerning gender and sexual diversity.

The Film University allows students and staff to use their chosen first name and/or gender designation even if no official legal change has yet been made. Upon request, changes can be made for internal University use only or applied comprehensively across the University's systems and on documents issued by the Film University. This is intended to ensure that the chosen name is used consistently in everyday University life. Information on the procedure can be found here. Further guidance on the process and the application form are available on the Intranet under the advice services for students. 

If you have questions about submitting an application, please contact Student Affairs. For individual support, you can also contact the Equal Opportunities Officers (gleichstellung@filmuniversitaet.de).