photo by Ayham Khalifeh

Stefan Koutzev is a Bulgarian
filmmaker working and living in
Cologne, Germany. He focuses
on narrative storytelling at the
intersection of screenwriting,
fiction and hybrid practices,
as well as experimental films.
His shorts Restbestand (2025),
Hauspausen (2024)
or Schwärmen (2020)
screened at FILMADRID,
DOK Leipzig, Rencontres
Internationales Paris Berlin,
Beijing International Short Film
Festival, Stockholm Film Festival
and more. Graduating at the
Academy of Media Arts Cologne,
he previously visited the European
Film College Denmark, HFBK Hamburg
and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

Why hasn’t everything disappeared yet
marks his debut and premiered 2026 at
the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
He pitched Schweres Licht, his second
feature in development, at Sofia Meetings
and is selected for the Director‘s Summit
at Sarajevo Talents 2026.