My documentary portfolio

Overview

  1. Hier en toen – Spioneren voor de Russen
  2. The Rocking Chair
  3. Fremdbestimmt/Dichtgesnoerd
  4. Seen and unknown
  5. Nesthocker
  6. Reclaiming the Mirror
  7. Silent Hands
  8. Noch mal
  9. Orientierungslos
  10. A Sports Play

1. Hier en toen – Spioneren voor de Russen (2023)

Here and then – Spying for the Russians (2023)

As a fixer, interviewer, and German-Dutch interpreter, I assisted a team of documentary filmmakers from Canvas – VRT (Belgian television) during the production of their report on Rainer Rupp, the top East German Stasi/HVA spy within NATO. The Berlin segment of the documentary focused on his espionage activities under the codename ‘Topas.’ For this, I interviewed Karl Rehbaum, his former superior, at the Stasi Museum, as well as academic Helmut Müller-Enbergs (Free University of Berlin).

2. The Rocking Chair (2024)

In the heart of Berlin, Russian feminist, anti-war activist, and artist Ekaterina Rikota struggles to rebuild her life after fleeing Moscow. Amidst the shadows of her past, she finds solace in a simple rocking chair – a metaphor for her enduring resilience and quest for peace in Ukraine.

The Rocking Chair was my first documentary film project as a director. I created it in collaboration with Michele Bernabei (camera), Denitsa Ivanova (sound, editing), and Irene Ciraco (color grading, editing) as part of the 2024 international summer school at Berlin’s film school filmArche.

3. Fremdbestimmt/Dichtgesnoerd (2024)

This short documentary film tells the story of my friend Maxime. His teenage years were marked by bullying after a rare knee condition. Years later, he returns to his old school to face his memories.

During the 5-day workshop “Porträt eines Ortes, Porträt eines Protagonisten“, led by the Polish directing duo Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski, I created and directed the documentary film “Fremdbestimmt/Dichtgesnoerd”. This short documentary follows my friend Maxime as he confronts his past of being bullied.

I am aware that the sound quality is not ideal: for indoor scenes, I captured audio using a lavalier microphone clipped to Maxime, but for outdoor recordings I didn’t have access to a boom and could only rely on a small windshield on the camera. I therefore consider this project primarily as a camera and narrative exercise.

4. Seen and Unknown (2024)

‘Seen and unknown’ follows a mobile delivery worker in Berlin, revealing the unseen lives of those delivering food and goods across the city. Through the perspective of one worker, Manuel, we explore their challenges, motivations, and human connections, while asking who they are beyond the uniform. ‘Seen and unknown’ encourages viewers to reconsider how they perceive those who serve them.

In this school set exercise directed by my classmate Kristina Skorobahata, I worked as an editor. I also assisted on set to gain a better understanding of the film project and to develop visual ideas for the editing.

5. Nesthocker (2025)

‘Nesthocker’ explores the contrast between the idealized image of social connection and the hidden struggles of social anxiety and isolation. Set in a shared apartment (WG) in Berlin, it juxtaposes vibrant moments of young people enjoying everyday activities – like sharing breakfast and laughing together – with quiet, atmospheric shots evoking loneliness.

Co-directed by me and fellow student Marlene Wetzel as part of our set exercise at filmArche, this 3-minute short documentary features real testimonials from Reddit, delivered through voice-overs.

6. Reclaiming the Mirror (2025)

For our first individual exercise at my filmschool FilmArche, we were challenged to portray a protagonist without showing them. The goal was to approach the character solely through B-roll and interview material. I chose to tell the story of my dance teacher, Carmen, who – after a difficult journey marked by rejection and the need to start over time and again – rediscovered her love for dance in its purest form. Her story is a reminder that passion is what truly matters, regardless of whether success follows or not.

I carried out this assignment on my own, from script development to camera work and editing, during two shoots at the Center of Dance in Berlin, where Carmen teaches contemporary dance and where I am one of her regular students.

Sound proved to be one of the main challenges. The original plan was to have the dancers perform to Carmen’s interview, but this was not feasible without recording double sound. In hindsight, I should have asked everyone to bring headphones and start the recording simultaneously. That approach would have allowed me to film their bodies responding directly to Carmen’s words, letting the dancers physically embody her story.

I also realized that I would have liked to film the dancers more stably, but this was challenging with a handheld camera since I wanted the flexibility to follow them dynamically. I need to practice more with the Manfrotto Fig Rig that I borrowed from the school to achieve both stability and mobility. Additionally, the final song is a piano piece played by Carmen’s aunt. Even though the recording is far from pristine, I deliberately kept it in the film rather than replacing it with a perfect CD-quality version. Beyond rights issues, it felt emotionally closer to Carmen and her story.

Overall, it was a valuable learning experience – one that reinforced the idea that filmmaking is a process of learning by doing.

7. Silent Hands (2025)

Silent Hands was my Alfa 1 (first-year final) film, whose deadline coincided with a trip to Thailand. I decided to purchase a Sony vlog camera and shoot on location around the theme of “Work.” This topic fit naturally, as part of the reason for our trip was my partner’s three-day scientific conference in Phuket—he is a statistician. The conference took place in the highly artificial setting of a super-luxury Thai hotel, where the concept of work takes on very different meanings for the (mostly) Thai hotel staff compared to the young, often Western, scientists attending.

Shooting effective footage at the conference with just a handheld camera proved challenging, so over time I shifted my focus toward the tourists, lounging in comfort, while the Thai staff worked tirelessly, often away from their families and rural homes for months, ensuring the guests’ experience remained flawless.

I handled all the camera work myself, even though using a travel-friendly Sony vlog camera without a tripod or my full-featured camera setup made it far from perfect. Sound was another challenge; aside from a small windscreen on top of the camera, there was no real solution on site. To properly execute this concept, a larger crew with at least a dedicated sound person would have been necessary.

I view this project primarily as a learning experience, where the focus was less on technical perfection and more on building a narrative by balancing a pre-conceived idea with the realities and restrictions on location – hotel staff unwilling to speak on camera, unpredictable weather at the beach, tourists who did not want to be filmed, and so on. Together with editor David Marriott, I completed the final cut in three sessions, working through an overwhelming amount of footage – a lesson for the next project: make a better pre-selection of material!

8. Noch Mal (2025)

Noch Mal was a collaborative class project. Our tutor, documentary film director Friedrich Rackwitz, challenged our small team to explore the gap between what is shown on screen and the message that remains unspoken, subtly permeating the narrative. Inspired by online news articles debating the removal or stricter regulation of ‘Zu Verschenken’ boxes on Berlin streets – a cherished local tradition and part of Berlin’s cultural DNA – our team decided to film at a repair café located in the enormous Gebrauchtwarenkaufhaus ‘NochMall’ in the Lichtenberg district of Berlin.

We aimed to highlight individuals contributing to a more sustainable way of living. Within this overarching theme, the documentary subtly explores several sub-themes through conversations and gestures. At the café, we observed that many, mostly older, participants appeared to seek purpose and engagement, often prompting spontaneous reflections on past and present. Their interactions provided insight into how people relate to what they have and what they once had, creating a subtle dialogue about memory, personal history, and the search for meaning later in life.

9. Orientierungslos (2025)

Orientierungslos emerged from a creative collaboration with my friend Daniel, whom I met at the British Shorts Festival last year. Since then, we have regularly gone out together with our cameras, challenging each other with different camera exercises. One of these creative challenges resulted in ‘Orientierungslos’, where we went out into my new neighborhood, Boxhagener Platz in Berlin, entirely without a pre-set concept.

The goal was to shoot similar footage – each using a different object: I with my childhood teddy bear, Daniel with his red scarf – and then construct a story from the combined material. While reviewing the footage from both of our Sony cameras, which captured the same two objects, we quickly identified a shared sentiment: superfluity, banality, and the lingering question, “What am I even doing here?” To amplify this mood, we wrote a short text in German and composed an Ableton sample to accompany the images.

10. A Sports Play: Teaser (2026)

My trailer/short teaser for the theatre performance ‘A Sports Play,’ which was shown at Berlin’s Kulturmarkthalle on 23 January.

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PS: Alongside my film work, I explore photography as well.