In 2019, the 37th Kinderfilmfest will once again present a selection of brand-new international films for the whole family. This year, it's all about the power of imagination to turn children's everyday lives into great adventures. In nine full-length films and six short films, young heroines and heroes meet talking dogs, singing dragons, magic flutes and flying teachers! They prove themselves to be brave and steadfast — be it as the captain of one's own toy ship, as an invisible superheroine, or as a perseverant girl with a big dream. With their friends, they can achieve anything, and they show us how magical life can be. As every year, the moviegoing public will choose the winner of the Kinderfilmfest Audience Award, which will be presented on the final Saturday of the festival.

In the opening film, MY LIFE AS LOTTA – BINGO FLAMINGO!, Lotta and her friend Cheyenne are the only ones not invited to a party given by another girl in their class. It's something they cannot accept. In thinking up crazy ways to crash the party, though, the best friends get into an argument. Lotta won't give up that easily, though. This film is based on best-selling series of children's books by German author Alice Pantermüller.

In INVISIBLE SUE, the title character, like Lotta, relies on true friendship. First she's exposed to a substance in her mother's laboratory that renders her invisible. Then her mother is kidnapped. Now she must quickly learn how to use her new superpower and save her mom with the help of some new friends.

Lots of things are going wrong in Morten's life as well. His father is away most of the time, so he has to live with his strict Aunt Annabelle. One day, a magical mishap shrinks Morten to the size of a bug and he sails his own toy ship through a flooded café. In CAPTAIN MORTEN AND THE SPIDER QUEEN, a lovingly made stop-motion film, some gallant new insect friends help him to return to normal size.

The Indian film CHUSKIT tells the heartwarming story of a little girl. High up in a Tibetan Buddhist mountain village, Chuskit struggles with the traditions and prejudices of her conservative grandfather to get him to allow her to realize her dream: she wants to finally go to school.

Young moviegoers can discover the detective in them in three films: In OPERATION SHADOWMAN, Children's Detective Agency No. 2 has to solve a tricky case: a child riding his bike has fallen into a large hole. The young sleuths start their investigation at once. SUPER MISS is a teacher with a special ability: she can talk to animals. When a young tiger disappears from the zoo, however, she needs the help of her pupils to find the feline predator. In MY EXTRAORDINARY SUMMER WITH TESS, Sam is on the trail of a secret from the past — because feisty Tess wants to find her father with a week. The search for answers soon leads to a wonderful friendship.

In LOTTE AND THE LOST DRAGONS, Lotte from Gadgetville wants to help two professors record folk songs. They'd especially like to include the songs of the singing dragon. Or are such creatures only of legend? It's the start of a thrilling adventure. In JACOB, MIMMI AND THE TALKING DOGS, Jacob meets loyal four-legged friends who help him out in the suburban jungle of Riga.

This year, the Kinderfilmfest is pleased to welcome a special guest: Tobias Krell alias Checker Tobi, whose show about finding things out inspires kids on TV and the Internet. At the Kinderfilmfest, he goes behind the scenes of his latest movie, "Checker Tobi und das Geheimnis unseres Planeten". Together with Esra Bonkowski, head of production and assistant director on the film, Tobi will do a "film check", talking about all the funny and exciting things that can happen on the set of an adventure film and explaining who all is involved in making a motion picture.

"Shorts for kids 5 & up", the program of short films for children, is another essential part of the Kinderfilmfest. Six international short films of various genres offer budding film fans of kindergarten and primary-school age the perfect introduction to the wonderful world of cinema. We meet a little boy who is IN LOVE WITH CINEMA, a sketched dog named ROUFF whose friendship with a paper figure named Pete is very special, and many other bold, brazen, and fantastical animal creatures.

The German Federation of Film Clubs for Children and Young People (BJF) is devoting its accompanying seminar, as the title says, to "The Fantastical in Children's Films". This forum for teachers, educators, pedagogical specialists, and parents will explore what's behind these fantastical narratives. Teachers, educators, and parents will also find pedagogical materials and guidelines (in German) for all films of the Kinderfilmfest on our website.

After seeing her make KINDERFILMFEST MÜNCHEN a success with young audiences for 14 years, we say goodbye to curator Katrin Hoffmann. She's chosen to pass the KINDERFILMFEST MÜNCHEN baton to Katrin Miller, who was with SchulKinoWoche Bayern from 2007 to 2017. The two curators selected the films for this year's Kinderfilmfest together. We thank Katrin Hoffmann for her excellent work and her spirited commitment. With Katrin Miller we look forward to a future replete with imaginative films.