CINEMATOGRAPHY
PEATLANDS – A Story Underneath (2022)
short documentary, 12 min, directors: Weronika Jurkiewicz & Max Sänger
Despite covering only 0.3% of the world’s land surface, drained peatlands are responsible for nearly 5% of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions, making their restoration critical in reaching climate neutrality. Peatlands: A Story Underneath follows three leading experts who made it their mission to protect those vulnerable ecosystems. By interweaving scientific narratives with immersive landscape observations, this short documentary demonstrates a successful use of market solutions in nature conservation, offering an inspirational tale of hope in light of an ongoing climate emergency.
Production: Alex Tondowski | Tondowski Films
Cinematography: Max Sänger
Editing: Stefanie Platen, Max Sänger, Weronika Jurkiewicz
Sound Design: Mario Schöning
Grading: Stephan Knauss
Commissioned by Hot Docs Film Festival & SAP (website)
L’ARTIFICIO (2020)
short documentary, 23 min, director: Francesca Bertin
The 20th century – age of the planned cities. “L’Artificio” shows the vision of a utopian urban landscape from the 1960s interwoven with today’s protagonists who play themselves, thus giving the fictional planned city Zingonia in Bergamo a voice. Story fragments of a dreamed city.
Screenings (selection):
67.International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
36.International Short Film Festival Hamburg
37.Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival (Golden Key Award)
33.Exground Filmfest Wiesbaden
WE REFUGEES ARCHIVE (2019)
We Refugees Archive is a growing digital archive on refugeedom, arrival and living on in the past and present. It focuses on individual experiences and the microcosm of the city as a place of refuge and new beginnings.
Direction, Camera, Sound, Editing: Francesca Bertin & Max Sänger
Grading: Stephan Knauss
Commissioned by Minor – Projektkontor für Bildung und Forschung
Funded by Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung/bpb), the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (Stiftung Erinnerung, Verantwortung, Zukunft, eVZ) and co-financed by the EU-programme “Europe for citizens”
GASMANN (2019)
feature film, 87 min, director: Arne Körner
Bernd is an actor at St. Pauli Theatre in Hamburg, until now only working as a side cast, he was talked into acting in “The Gasman” by the theatre manager. It is a poisonous set about two SS officers that are collecting “undesirables” directly at home to destroy them on the road.
His leading role is a nightmare from the start. Director Frank, so far making films is an ingenious despot who rehearses with culprit and victim separately. Bernd’s partner Mathis is a subservient careerist and Bernd did not like the play at all.
Outside of the theatre live is not easy for Bernd. His ex only talks the bare minimum, the bailiff wants his money, the few short moments with his young son are far too short; and what does he want from his five person clique who are meeting regularly at drinking holes in St. Pauli? Who are these smart asses? Saloon revolutionists, regular’s table fascists? The liaison with a mysterious young woman is Bernd’s only bright spot.
“Gasman” is a political drama, a satire of the German art and culture scene and shows with plenty of black humor the picture of a man searching for his inner soul.
Screenings (selection):
53.Hof International Film Festival
41.Cairo International Film Festival
31.Ankara International Film Festival
23.Shanghai International Film Festival
FEBRUARY 27TH (2019)
documentary, 43 min, director: Marie-Thérèse Jakoubek
For 42 years, around 210.000 Saharawi have been living in camps in the Algerian desert due to the occupation of the Western Sahara by Morocco. The film tells about their life in a temporary existence that evolved into a home against their will and to this day symbolizes their resistance and resilience.
Screenings (selection):
42.Duisburger Filmwoche
11.Diagonale Graz
16.Dokumentarfilmwoche Hamburg
33.Dok.fest München