For me filmmaking and photography are the most powerful genres of storytelling.Each composition, whether it be a single image, a full-length movie, a documentary, or an advertisement, should convey mood, feelings, emotions and tell the viewer a story.
My very first connection to film was when I constructed, as a kid, model sets to photograph them from interesting angles with the intention of creating the look of real scenes. Lanscapes, buildings, and objects of all kinds - I just loved it. Later, I started to photograph people and situations to tell short everyday stories; I guess these were my first kind of storyboards. I was inspired by my surroundings growing up in Hamburg, Germany, which at the time had a booming fashion and music culture.
The final push into the world of film came when I was about 16 and had the unique opportunity to see a restored copy of the silent movie ”Napoleon” filmed in 1927 by director Abel Gance, screened for one night at the Radio City Music Hall in New York. This event determined my future. I was fascinated by the setting, the ellegant audience, the movie itself—the first widescreen production ever—and the Radio City Hall Orchestra performing the soundtrack live on stage. I decided whatever it takes to somehow become a filmmaker.
It took me a while to realise my ambition, and I also had to move to Budapest. There, I enrolled in the Academy of Film and Theatre, which was at the time a very well-known institution. I will always be grateful for the excellent education I received from Oscar-winning directors and cinematographers, as well as from expert teachers in the history of the arts, aesthetics, theatre, scriptwriting, and technical education in camera, light, and film lab processes. I received my first degree as a cinematographer and a year later my second degree as a film director.
My first professional credits I made in the music-video industry, followed by numorous TV advertisements, documentary films, full-scale social media campaigns, and print material for many prestigious local and international clients and agencies. I have shot in the past years film and print materials in pro sports, filming and photographing Olympic, World, European, and national champions.
Directing, producing, camera, visual, and audio post-production, I consider myself to be fortunate to have experienced a wide range of project types from multiple perspectives of filmmaking.