Christian Zipfel
Director & ScreenwriterChristian studied film directing at ifs Cologne. During his studies he realized his first feature film “Magadan – City Built on Bones” about former Soviet prison camps in Siberia. His fictional historical graduation film “Der einsame Hof” premiered in competition at the 62nd International Film Festival Oberhausen and was nominated for the “First Steps” Award.
Christian moved to the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF to study documentary directing. He made films about German colonial crimes in Namibia for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, he developed a special interest in new media, eventually realizing his VR work “ROOMS”, which was nominated for the Black Lion at the 75th Venice Film Festival. He then shot “The rain that is falling now was also falling back then” and spent four weeks in a Romanian prison in the course of filming. For rbb he directed the comedy “Life is full of sunshine and beauty”, which had its world premiere at the 54th Hofer Filmtage. Here he worked with a cast consisting of both people with and without mental disabilities.
Since graduating, Christian has been working as a freelance director and writer. Christian’s television debut was three episodes for the historical ZDF docufiction series “Terra X”. Since 2021, he has been realizing a volumetric testimony of Holocaust survivors. Currently Christian is working on his fictional cinema debut “Pestizid”, for which he received the Wim Wenders scholarship.
© photo: Alison Kuhn
Filmographie
THE SOIL OF THE NAMIB: DREAMS
mid-length documentary | Time Prints Media
(screenwriter & director)
THE SOIL OF THE NAMIB: VR
360° Film Series | Time Prints Media
(screenwriter & director)
DIE WENIGE ZEIT
VR Game | Film University Babelsberg
(screenwriter & director)
TERRA X: WEM GEHÖRT DIE WELT?
doku fiction | Gruppe 5 Film | ZDF
(director for fictional scenes)
MYRIAD – 360°
documentary | Filmtank | Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg
https://myriad.earth
(co-director with Michael Grotenhoff)
LIFE IS FULL OF SUNSHINE AND BEAUTY
medium length fiction | Film University Babelsberg | rbb
(director)
THE RAIN THAT IS FALLING NOW WAS ALSO FALLING BACK THEN
360° film | Film University Babelsberg | UNATC Bucarest
(screenwriter & director)
ROOMS
360° film | Film University Babelsberg
(screenwriter & director)
A PLACE IN THE SUN – 110 YEARS AFTER THE GENOCIDE
medium length documentary | Film University Babelsberg | DFFB
(screenwriter & director)
THE BLEAK FARM
medium length fiction | ifs, international film school cologne
(screenwriter & director)
MAGADAN – CITY BUILT ON BONES
documentary | ifs, international film school cologne
(screenwriter & director)
Education
Master of Fine Arts – Directing
Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF
Bachelor of Arts – Directing
ifs, international film school cologne
Awards
THE RAIN THAT IS FALLING NOW
WAS ALSO FALLING BACK THEN
Montreal Festival du nouveau cinéma – Competition
Thessaloniki Film Festival – Competition
Festival Dei Popoli – Competition
goEast – Competition
Prix Europa Digital Rising Stars Award – Nomination
and more.
ROOMS
75. Monstra Int. d’Arte Cinematografica
la Biennale di Venezia – Competition
75. Montreal Festival du nouveau cinéma
– Winner “Prix Immersion“
BIFF Busan International Film Festival – Competition
59. Thessaloniki Film Festival – Competition
60. Nashville Film Festival – Competition
61. Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival – Competition
62. Festival Dei Popoli – Competition
and more.
A PLACE IN THE SUN
OFF18 Odense Filmfestival – Competition
Society for Visual Anthropology Film Festival
– Winner “Best Short Film Award”
69. Montecatini Film Festival – Official selection
40. Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis – Official selection
and more.
THE BLEAK FARM
62. Int. Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen – Competition
FIRST STEPS Award – Nomination
„Best medium length film“
2016 Kölner Design Preis – Winner
La Cabina Film Festival – Winner
„Best Picture” and “Best Music”
Arc Film Festival – Winner “Der Arc der Sinne“
17. Filmfestival Münster – Official selection
and mehr.
MAGADAN
37. Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis – Competition
31. Int. Dokumentarfilmfestival München – Competition
22. Int. Film Festival Nancy-Lorraine – Competition
Outer Docs Film Festival – Winner
“Best Documentary Feature”
and more.