philippschaeffer

SILENT NIGHT premieres at @cphdox on Monday! In spring of 2022, a group of international tourists travel to Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank to see religious sites. But something is strange - the city is on strike. And the tour guide duo, one Israeli, the other Palestinian, won´t tell us what’s going on - for differing reasons. We envisioned SILENT NIGHT as a study of the absurdity of religious tourism in an occupied city. Bethlehem has such a lively existence in the imagination of 2 billion Christians worldwide that controlling tourism and the narratives surrounding it, is of crucial importance politically. Moshe Dayan, a former Israeli Minister of Defense has been quoted as saying: „I would rather train a Palestinian as a fighter pilot than as a tour guide.“ Today, in light of a ruthless war on Gaza, inflicting unfathomable suffering on the Palestinian local population, and also considering the horrors of the Oct. 7 attack, the film seems to me like a story from the distant past - a footnote on occupation. Directed and Produced by: @jonathan_schaller @philipp_schaeffer Edited by: @jouridavidhoepfner Jonathan Schaller Sound Post: Jan-Eric Heitland Color Grading: @jonas.color Poster & Title Design: @marietglr In Collaboration with International Office of @filmakademie_bw Educational distribution by @agkurzfilm @germanfilms

The Unicorn is now online over at The New Yorker! And there’s a lovely article by Austin Elias-de Jesus 🦄🌻✨ @newyorkermag /culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/exploring-the-imaginative-worlds-of-blind-children-in-the-unicorn-in-snowpants-suddenly-ran-off Dir.: Yours sincerely Prod.: @fabian_leonhardt Cam.: @leonhoertrich Edit: @janwollenschlaeger Sound & Music: @fred_hellmann Grade: @crwny Vfx: @ill.y.ah Poster: @marietglr Production company: @filmakademie_bw

In this case I directed photography. I liked that very very much. Thanks so much for your trust @julius.blum , it was lovely to explore the East with you. And thanks Chemnitz, it was a pleasure meeting you. CHEMKIDS premieres in the Short Doc competition at @camerimage.festival - what a dream. Dir. @julius.blum Dop me Edit @carry.on.kid Location sound @julius.blum Sound editor, music mixer, re-recording mixer @jotta_rosch Sound editor, dialogue editor, music recordist @rachel.oker Grading @benedictuphoff Soundtrack ‘Daydreamer’ @selmajuhran AC @_mu_ri_ Intro Animation @kennetherhabor Made at @filmakademie_bw

This Friday, HOUSE 4 had its German premiere in Munich! HOUSE 4 (2026, 68 min) documents a year in the life of inmates at Berlin’s youth prison — can therapy change their lives? Produced by: Paul Hartmann, @franzis_unger for @streetsfilm Executive Producer: @heinodeckert Associate Producer: Johannes Meier Director of Photography: @leonhoertrich Editors: @kilianarmando , me Additional Editing: Samuel Albert, @emmaholzapfel Mix: @jotta_rosch Music: @louis_edlinger Sound Design: @fred_hellmann , @rachel.oker Color Grading: @maxdem_color Poster: @savva_karvelis Dir. Me I got to know House 4, the socio-therapeutic division of Berlin youth prison, as a place of contradictions. Over the course of one and a half years that it took to research and shoot the film, I came and went with my own set of prison keys, becoming part of everyday life for the inmates and staff alike. Prison aims to change the thinking of young criminals. But is it possible to force genuine introspection? The prisoners themselves appear equally contradictory: they are loveable and hateable, remorseful and ruthless, perpetrators and victims. I wanted the film to mirror this reality and to provide space for contradictions - even where that is uncomfortable. Everyone you see in the film signed release forms and was educated in detail about what it means for ones personal life to be part of a a film. Both @leonhoertrich the films cinematographer, and I became people the inmates would consult with their daily struggles - as well as a welcome distraction from the boredom of prison life. The film takes a formalist approach matching the strictness of life in prison. It is structured around the therapy conversations and the segmented, ever same rhythm of everyday life. It felt important for the film to match the spirit of the place in this way. We also tried to steer clear of the clichés of the prison film or any sensationalism - both would have felt like a betrayal of our cause. HOUSE 4 premiered at Slamdance, winning an Honourable Mention. Now it‘s in Munich, and hopefully it will soon be coming to cinemas near you!

A day ahead of our premiere tomorrow @slamdancegroup - our teaser! A glimpse into HOUSE 4…

Mr Kossakovsky, we had to borrow some of your signature pans on this one ❤ They worked nicely for us, even though in close up, rats are very very fast, even compared to pigs. Gene:sis is an exploration of the poetry & moral ambivalence in the life and death of lab rats, directed by @kiakrebs . We´re super happy that it will premiere at @visionsdureel in April. Produced by: @max_gebhardt DoP: me Edited by: @therealsili Music: @marvingerstmeier Sound: Jan Eric Heitland Colorist: @crwny

Onwards gallops the unicorn! In January, we won a Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance Film Festival, thus qualifying for Academy Award consideration in the category of Best Documentary Short. And so, the unicorn is - very shyly - taking a look at whether it might not in fact be considered for the shortlist of said award. Shortlist voting is Dec. 14th-18th, announcement will be on the 21st. Let´s go´unicorn, fingers are crossed 🦄🦄🦄 On other news: our website launched today! However, it contains no further information. All we know about unicorns in snowpants went into the film, there isn´t anything more to say. We´ll keep you updated if any further info comes up. @newyorkermag

Once upon a time in the North we shot Eggs, Rocks, Human Beings in Arviat with the fabulous @fabkln . According to ancient Inuit knowledge you can raise children to become fragile like eggs, hardened rocks, or you can raise them to become true human beings. Four years into film school and some stories about human beings, eggs and rocks later, this still seems true. And how I miss you, Arviatmiut, and how I miss these landscapes…

The Unicorn in Snowpants Suddenly Ran Off ... to Park City (Slamdance @slamogram ) and to Biarritz (@fipadoc ) this time. This is a film I loved making: I got to spend time with Martha, Mia and Julian, our three amazing protagonists and got to know their worlds. We had the pleasure of making this with them in a combination of work and play, and that was a fantastic experience. Filmmaking felt truly and effortlessly organic here. It’s a well travelled unicorn by now, and has seen 25 countries all over the world, thanks to the efforts of the lovely @agkurzfilm team in putting together the Short Export programme. Thanks to all the parents involved for trusting us with their kids, to my team, and to everyone who gave advice &feedback. Dir.: Yours sincerely Prod.: @fabian_leonhardt Cam.: @leonhoertrich Edit: @janwollenschlaeger Sound & Music: @fred_hellmann Grade: @crwny Vfx: @ilyalorenzbarrett Poster: @marietglr Production company: @filmakademie_bw

Thanks for a surreal, feverish week of celebrating cinema and many wonderful encounters @camerimage.festival . This energy will not fade. And I will say, my image on that screen still looks a little photoshopped. Very humbled to have been a part of this madness.

Into the Mirrorverse... p.: „what are your thoughts on reality?“ a.: „I think we see reality through a pinhole. Obviously there are some things that are closer to the objective truth, and there are processes that are more reliable than others. But at the end of the day, our lives and what we see as reality is mostly made up. And that´s fine.“