“Shalom & Alaaf” tells the story of Jews and carnival – and thus about a largely unknown chapter of Jewish life in Germany. The focus is on the Kölsche Kippa Köpp, the first Jewish carnival association in 86 years.
We accompany board members Aaron Knappstein and Volker Scholz-Goldenberg as they research the origins of the Jewish “Jecken” in Cologne. In this way we learn more about the “foolish goings-on” of passionate carnivalists and Cologne residents, but also about their moving fates.

With “Schalom, Alaaf,” the musician and songwriter Rolly Brings even dedicates a song to the Kippa Köpp. He associates it with the hope “that it will become normal to sing ‘Shalom!’ and ‘Alaaf!” during carnival. For this film his sons and their band Brings will play it for the first time.

WRITER & DIRECTOR: Nina Koshofer, Allon Sander     CAMERA: Marc Riemer EDITOR: Alina Krischke     SOUND: Peter Trinks, Alexander Kusikow, Andreas Faigle     NARRATOR: Nicole Engeln     COMMISSIONING EDITOR: Mathias Werth (WDR)