FILZ Filmische Initiative Leipzig

The Filmic Initiative Leipzig: FILZ is an association of authors, filmmakers and artists. We share a strong interest in the moving image, especially in artistic documentary works.

FILZ was created in 2012 as a self-organized and autonomous film seminar within the Academy of Visual Arts (HGB) Leipzig. During several semesters we organized various discursive formats such as film screenings, lectures and workshops. FILZ founding members are Gottfried Binder, Emerson Culurgioni, Jonas Matauschek, Lena Richter and Nicolas Rossi.

FILZ creates films and video art in different constellations and in mutual support.

FILZ curates, and organizes workshops and film talks.

FILZ writes on film, thus takes part in prevailing discourses.

FILZ seeks cooperation with other partners from the art and cultural scene.

Persons

Andrea Rüthel

https://vimeo.com/andrearuethel

Filmmaker. Graduated in Media Art and Design from Bauhaus Weimar and Media Studies from Leipzig University. Longer stays for work and study purposes in Saint Petersburg, Almaty and Bucharest. Graduate of the werkleitz Professional Media Master Class for documentary film (PMMC 2014). Lives and works in Leipzig.

Ginan Seidl

http://ginanseidl.net/en/

Raised in Berlin, she studied sculpture in Halle, Berlin and Mexico City. 2012 she participated in the Professional Media Master Class, 2015/16 at the PMMC Lab by the Werkleitz e. V. In 2018 she attended the Berlinale Talents. She received several awards for her artistic work and residency grants for Istanbul (Turkey), San Luís Potosi (Mexico) and Beirut (Lebanon). She is currently working on two long documentary films funded by MDM and/or BKM. She works in Halle/Saale, Berlin and Mexico City.

Clara Wieck

http://www.clarawieck.de

Clara Wieck studied media art at the HGB Leipzig following her studies in ethnology and indology. She also participated in the Werkleitz Professional Media Master Class, the PMMC Lab and the Berlinale Talents. At the intersection of science and art, the documentary and subjective viewpoint meet in her works. Free in form, her films and installations are experiments in which she attempts to speak about the world using the means of montage and image design, far removed from the grammar of commercial media. In particular, she is interested in the relationship between narrative and representation as well as the role of fiction and poetry in every kind of storytelling - even in the supposedly "documentary" formats.

Kathrin Lemcke

http://filmpassenger.net

Kathrin Lemcke studied media art at the Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle (Saale) and at the Bezalel Academy of Fine Arts in Jerusalem with Ute Hörner, Michaela Schweiger, Avi Mograbi, Tomer Heymann a.o. In 2011 she participated in the Professional Media Master Class (PMMC) of the Werkleitz Gesellschaft and in 2015-2017 in the PMMC Lab.

It was in this context that she made her latest film She works hard. In her works, she is interested in the interaction of biography and contemporary history, often using time shifts and changes in perspective. She lives in Leipzig and currently works as a production manager at Hoferichter & Jacobs GmbH and as a freelance producer of video art and documentary films.

Florian Fischer

http://flofischer.de

Florian Fischer studied Communication Design, Photography and Image Science. In 2011 he participated in the Professional Media Master Class (PMMC) of the Werkleitz Gesellschaft and in 2015-2017 in the PMMC Lab. His artistic works include photography and film. Fischer was a fellow of Villa Aurora in Los Angeles and lives currently in Leipzig.

Stefanie Schroeder

http://schroederstefanie.de

Born and grown up in Weimar. Studied art history and art education in Greifswald, co-founded and co-organised the WBS 70 (Elektro Pröger) there. Moved to HGB Leipzig to study photography. Since 2014 diploma and freelancer. During HGB studies guest student at Villa Arson, Nice/France. Graduate of PMMC 2014 and PMMC Lab 2015/16. 2018 scholarship stay at the Museumsquartier Vienna. Develops since 2018 together with Emerson Culurgioni the experimental documentary LA DUNA as part of the MDM Pilot Program.

Nick Teplov

http://www.nickteplov.com

Born and raised in St.Petersburg. Studied fine art, graphic arts and graphic design in St.Petersburg and Burg Giebichenstein Art School Halle. Works as freelance designer for cultural institutions, makes print graphics, artist books and experimental short films. Graduate of the Werkleitz Professional Media Master Class 2013 and PMMC Lab 2018/19.

Anna Friedrich

https://vimeo.com/annalysiserror

Documentary filmmaker and author, based in Leipzig and in the surrounding countryside. Self-Education after high school, participance in several Workshops, such as with D.O.P. Diego Romero Suarez Llanos. 2012 Participation in the One Year Documentary Education Programe “Professional Media Masterclass“ in Halle (Saale). 2013 Participation in the One Year Film Programe “TP2 Talentpool“. 2014-2015 Development and Shooting of the Pilot Season for Web Series “Stories from Reality”. 2015-2020 Arabic Studies at Leipzig University. Therein Sejours in Alexandria (Egypt) and Sweden. Annas films take a look at the thin line between fact and fiction, often meandering around questions of identiy construction and the connections between biography and place.

Katharina Wittmann

https://vimeo.com/kathiwittmann

Filmmaker. Graduated in Media Art at Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig und in Cultural Studies at University Hildesheim. Semester abroad in Finland. Graduate of the werkleitz Professional Media Master Class for documentary film 2014. Lives and works in Leipzig.

Juliane Jaschnow

http://julianejaschnow.de

Filmmaker and artist. Fine Arts studies with focus on photography and expanded cinema at the HGB Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig. Studies in communication and media sciences from Leipzig University, scholarship at the Lomonosov Moscow State University and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Graduate of the Professional Media Master Class and the PMMC Lab, and participant of the Berlinale Talents 2020.

↗

Emerson Culurgioni

Emerson Culurgioni studied art in Bolzano and Leipzig, travelled in Europe and the USA for his research. He is co-founder of the Filmische Initiative Leipzig, 2012. In 2013 and 2015/17 he participated in the Professional Media Masterclass Program for artistic documentary-film at the werkleitz Gesellschaft in Halle. In 2018 he completed his title of Meisterschüler in Clemens von Wedemeyer’s Ex-Cinema class. Since April 2019, together with Stefanie Schroeder, he’s a participant in the MDM Pilot-Program with the feature-documentary film LA DUNA. He lives and works in Leipzig and hopes at some point to reconcile his film and art practice with his desire to be more politically active.

Jonas Matauschek

http://jonasmatauschek.info

Jonas Matauschek was born in 1987 in Dresden and studied photography in the class of Peter Piller at the HGB Leipzig and at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Naples. During his studies he received a scholarship from the Studienstiftung and was recieved the title of master student in 2018. In 2013 and 2015/16 he participated in the PMMC-programme of the Werkleitzgesellschaft. He was also a lecturer at the Abendakademie at the HGB Leipzig from 2017 to 2018 and took part in the Berlinale Talent Campus. He works currently as a filmmaker and photographer in Leipzig.

Jana Keuchel

Jana Magdalena Keuchel is a filmmaker and artist. Her works have received several awards, i.a. the Basler Film Award and the ZDFneo Award of the International Short Film Festival Hamburg. She worked as a lecturer at Bauhaus-University Weimar, Liberia Film Institute, Werkleitz Centre for Media Art and University Basel. She graduated from Bauhaus-University Weimar, the PMMC, PMMC Lab and was a participant of Berlinale Talents. Currently she lives and works in Leipzig.

Network