EXCLUSIVE: Zeitgeist Films, in association with Kino Lorber, has acquired from Bankside Films all U.S. rights to Ido Fluk’s Köln 75, which tells the inside story behind Keith Jarrett’s fabled record-breaking 1975 concert in Cologne, Germany.
Zeitgeist Films will release the film theatrically at the IFC Center in New York this fall with a national rollout to follow.
Starring Mala Emde, John Magaro, and Michael Chernus, the film received four Lola Award nominations in Germany including Best Picture and has crossed one million dollars at the German box office with more than 100,000 admissions.
The film sold to multiple territories following its Special Gala premiere at the 2025 Berlinale in February and is scheduled to open internationally in the coming months.
Keith Jarrett’s legendary performance in January 1975 nearly didn’t happen. Based on a true story, Köln 75 follows how the concert was conceived and orchestrated by the efforts of a teenage up and coming concert promoter, Vera Brandes, (played by German actress Mala Emde). Her enthusiasm set her to multitasking – from organizing the concert venue (the Cologne Opera House), promoting the event, and selling the tickets, to convincing Jarrett to perform when he almost dropped out when the Bösendorfer Imperial Grand piano he was promised was nowhere to be found. John Magaro plays Jarrett who performs a one-hour, entirely improvised concert, which became the best-selling solo album in jazz history.
The deal for Köln 75 was negotiated by Zeitgeist Films Co-President Emily Russo and Yana Georgieva at Bankside Films.
Pic is written and directed by Ido Fluk, produced by Sol Bondy and Fred Burle, and executive produced by Oren Moverman, Lillian LaSalle, Zelene Fowler, Michael Fowler, Paul Hudson, Talaat Captan, Julianne Hausler, Jennifer Fox, and Annegret Weitkämper-Krug.
Zeitgeist Co-Presidents Emily Russo and Nancy Gerstman said: “We loved this energetic and fascinating story with brilliant performances and look forward to sharing it with American audiences who have loved this iconic album for decades, but surely do not know the ‘almost didn’t happen’ events behind its making.”
Executive producer Oren Moverman noted: “We are elated to be working with Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo at the iconic Zeitgeist Films in partnership with the truly independent Kino Lorber. At a time when audiences have clearly expressed a hunger for fresh quality cinema, Ido Fluk’s Köln 75 hits all the right notes with a kinetic, fun, emotionally resonant story about the power of live music — be it jazz, pop, punk, or rock — to transform the world not only from the stage, but also from behind the scenes. We are enormously proud of Mala Emde’s exuberant powerhouse performance as Vera Brandes, along with John Magaro and Michael Chernus’ magical turns, as well as the rest of the excellent German cast. We know that Köln 75 will mesmerize audiences and steer their hearts toward the record shops, concert venues and music apps.”
