Cooperation between FABW and AI start-up Colibri

Ethical use of artificial intelligence in the media sector

Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (FABW) and the AI startup Colibri announce their official cooperation. The cooperation agreement was signed last Thursday, July 17, 2025 by the managing director of FABW, Dr. Andreas Bareiß, and Jonas Trottnow, the developer of Colibri. The aim of the collaboration is the practical further development of Colibri - an innovative software solution for the local, data-sovereign use of artificial intelligence for media analysis.

Colibri is a modular, AI-supported software platform for local analysis and linking of media content without the cloud. It promotes technological sovereignty, creative freedom and sustainable alternatives in dealing with AI - especially for actors in the media, research and cultural sectors.

The software is aimed at journalists, researchers, people engaged in the cultural sector and anyone who works with sensitive or complex media archives. Colibri analyses audio, video, images and text directly on your own device, automatically extracts content, recognises connections and makes them searchable. Visual tools such as mind maps and timelines open up new possibilities for research, archiving and creative media work - even without prior technical knowledge.

As a renowned training and innovation location, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg will become a practical test environment for Colibri. At the same time, FABW, in particular the Animationsinstitut´s Research & Development department, is contributing its expertise in film, research and teaching to the further development of the software.

"With this start-up partnership in a highly innovative field, FABW is not only living up to its claim as a hub for innovation and excellence. We are providing targeted impetus for entrepreneurship and the courage to implement outstanding and future-oriented business ideas made in Baden-Württemberg from the FABW environment. Colibri fits perfectly into FABW's AI strategy and our determined and fearless approach to the field of artificial intelligence in the film and media sector," says Dr. Andreas Bareiß.

Dr. Jan Pinkava, Director of the Animationsnstitut at FABW, adds: “This partnership between Colibri and FABW is about making practical tools to meet well-understood needs, and to ethically unlock the potential of media archives with clear title and ownership. It is responsible AI-leadership in action.”

"The cooperation with Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg is a decisive milestone for the development of Colibri. As one of the leading educational institutions for film and media in Europe, FABW offers a unique environment for testing and developing technological innovations in a practical way. For Colibri, this means that the software is developed in direct exchange with users from documentary production, research and creative media work. For me as a founder - and long-time R&D engineer at the Filmakademie - it is a special opportunity to combine advanced AI technology with the real challenges of media practice," says Jonas Trottnow.

About Jonas:

Jonas Trottnow is a computer scientist, media designer and founder of the AI startup Colibri. After studying Visual Computing (M.Sc.) and Media Informatics (B.Sc.), he has been working at the interface of artificial intelligence, computer vision and media production for 8 years. As an R&D engineer at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, he was involved in several European innovation projects - including in the context of virtual production, semantic media analysis and creative AI tools.

At the same time, he works as a cameraman, editor and technical post-producer on documentary films. In doing so, he gained extensive experience in dealing with complex, unstructured media archives - a need from which Colibri emerged directly.

With Colibri, Jonas Trottnow is pursuing the vision of making highly developed AI tools usable locally and in compliance with data protection regulations - for anyone who works with media but does not want to or cannot rely on cloud solutions. The combination of technological expertise, practical media experience and social responsibility forms the basis of his entrepreneurial activities.