What attracts young musicians to Bonn and what inspires them here? Felix started his private film project with this question. For his documentary, he met GA editor Jörg Manhold, with whom he explored Bonn's history, - a researcher from Turkey who brings the cultural mix to stages in Bonn, the funk band Neon Nightclub Fire, in which students have grown together through music, and student Abarolle Estefanos, who found his passion for music through a school project and has been writing and producing R&B music ever since. All of his interviewees tell us in the documentary what makes Bonn special for them - be it a large circle of friends, memories of childhood or the atmosphere of the city, which only comes about because Bonn is neither too small nor too big. "There's something about the city that you can't find anywhere else. And everyone finds that out for themselves at some point," Bender sums up his research.

The fact that he chose music as the approach for the film is due to his own musical streak. His father is a music teacher, Felix plays keyboard and electric guitar, is a member of two bands in Bonn and has been producing his own music in his home studio for some time. The background music for his film comes from his own pen. "Music, film and Bonn are my passions and I was able to combine them with my project. I wanted to find out how much I can already do in terms of film and I have developed incredibly through working on my project," sums up the young man from Bonn. Not only did he develop technical skills such as camera work and editing - he also got to know his home town better. "Sometimes you move around in your own bubble. Through my research, I was now able to discover much more of Bonn. It's not the biggest city, but it's so exciting and full of history," enthuses Bender, who grew up in Vilich-Müldorf.

He has taken the creative path to explore his homeland - not only with the documentary film, he says. Since Bender completed his training as a presenter at a Cologne university, he has been working for Studio Eins' radio magazine in Königswinter. There he presents reports from and about Bonn. "My projects give me the most complete fulfilment," he explains his motivation. "I'm not interested in making a lot of profit, but in the social aspect. I'm happy when other people see my work and you can exchange ideas about it." The 21-year-old is still keeping his options open as to whether his future career will be in the direction of films, music or in mc’ing. "I tend to let the future come to me." For now, the release of his first documentary film is on the agenda, and in the near future he will study linguistics and media culture science. (Original text: Sofia Grillo / Translation: Mareike Graepel)