The Dortmund filmmaker and long-standing Fachhochschule Dortmund professor Adolf Winkelmann has been honored with a ceremony on his 80th birthday. Fachhochschule Dortmund congratulated its first professor of film and the inventor of "Flying Pictures".
The city of Dortmund invited guests to the Dortmunder U on April 12, 2026 - where Adolf Winkelmann's "Flying Pictures" have been hovering over the city for years as a shining landmark - as ballet dancers, doves and football figures in black and yellow. Rector Prof. Dr. Tamara Appel attended the ceremony and congratulated Adolf Winkelmann on behalf of the entire university.
Prof. Dr. Pamela C. Scorzin in her laudatory speech for Adolf WinkelmannYou were truly the Ruhr region's first influencer. Only without a filter.
In her laudatory speech, Prof. Dr. Pamela C. Scorzin, Dean of the Faculty of Design, reminded the audience that this was not just "any old birthday", but a special anniversary: "We are celebrating 80 years of concentrated, creative painter energy." She traced Adolf Winkelmann's journey from Hallenberg in the Sauerland region to Dortmund, where he grew up with a view of the Union Brewery Tower and discovered his passion for moving images at an early age.
During his time as a student, he broke with cinematic conventions and "virtually invented the cinematic selfie", said Prof. Scorzin. Referring to this pioneering spirit, she said of the jubilarian: "You were truly the first influencer of the Ruhr region. Only without any filters and still without any likes, but with real interested viewers."
Since the mid-1970s, Adolf Winkelmann has been closely associated with Fachhochschule Dortmund, where, as Professor of Film at the Faculty of Design, he has influenced generations of students and helped to establish a film education. He not only provided young directors and cameramen with technical support, but above all gave them the courage to tell stories from their own perspective, just as he always did himself, emphasized Prof. Scorzin: "Dear Adolf, you are our eye for the Ruhr region. With your camera, you have given us cinematic stories that make history."
His cinematic work includes the Ruhr region trilogy "Die Abfahrer" (1978), "Jede Menge Kohle" (1981) and "Nordkurve" (1993) as well as the multi-award-winning multi-part "Contergan" (2007). Prof. Scorzin reminded the audience that Adolf Winkelmann's impact went far beyond pure storytelling: His films had touched people and triggered political debates, right up to changes in the law in the case of the thalidomide victims.
"Flying pictures"
"And perhaps your most visible masterpiece shines constantly from afar in the middle of Dortmund," emphasized the laudator, recalling the 625 square metres of LED with 1.7 million lights that have made the "flying pictures" high up on the U-Tower possible since the Capital of Culture year 2010. Since then, around 200 motifs have transformed the U into a beacon of culture and a "modern clock tower for the city of Dortmund".
The jubilarian himself was deeply moved by the many personal words and memories. "That was a bit much for me too," he said jokingly. This fall, Adolf Winkelmann's films will be shown again at the Kino im U. A major Winkelmann exhibition is also planned for next year at the Dortmunder U.