Prof. Holger Gerth

Holger Gerth has been a state conservation officer for 5 years and works as an honorary professor at the Kiel University of Applied Sciences in the agricultural sector. In addition to topics related to nature conservation, his activities focus on questions of protecting the environment and sustainability.

Angela Graas

Angela Graas was born 1971 in Oberhausen and studied communication sciences and ethnology. After attaining her degree, she attended the University of Television and Film, Munich (HFF München) as an extra-mural student in documentary film. Film writer and director since 1998. For ARD and ARTE she made various prize-winning documentaries and wildlife films, among them „Luchswege“ (about lynxes), „Terror im Reich der Orkas“ (about orcas), „Highway der Schmetterlinge“ (about butterflies) and the full-length documentary film „Jagdzeit“ (about anti-whaling activists).

Moritz Katz

Moritz was born in 1984 in Germany. From an early age he explored the countryside of Germany and later exotic places around the world. Upon graduating high school, he spent one year in India for social work on an eco-farm. Excited by the tropical climate, the vivid culture and the stunning wildlife, he decided to study biology upon his return to Germany. In 2011, he majored in tropical ecology at the University of Würzburg, which allowed him to do fieldwork in Costa Rica and Tanzania. This further nurtured his ambition to photograph and document the stunning wildlife of tropical countries. With a university degree in hand, he was forced to make a decision on which career path to follow, research or wildlife filmmaking. He chose to follow his dream - wildlife filmmaking. In 2013, Moritz was accepted into a Master's degree at the University of Otago, New Zealand and learnt the art of filmmaking from some of the best in the field.

Robin Jähne

Robin Jähne has been interested in the natural sciences since childhood. Born in 1969 in Detmold, Lippe, he became state winner as a schoolboy and fourth in the national competition of "Jugend forscht" with a thesis on thunderstorms. After studying biology and working as a photographer and journalist for many years, he realised his professional dream: nature filming. In addition to works for television stations in Switzerland and abroad, Jähne also realised numerous own, partly international film productions and was awarded various prizes. He is a specialist for special camera techniques, through which many unique shots were created. They enable the viewer to be right up close. "I would like to infect people with my enthusiasm for nature through the pictures and thus contribute to protection," he says. 

Morten Jensen

‘Hailing from Denmark, Morten studied Film Studies and English at the University of Copenhagen with a semester in Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the USA. It was here he first entered the world of wildlife filmmaking when filming a collaborative nature documentary about deer hunting in the Chequamegon Forest of Northern Wisconsin. Not content with merely filming on the surface, after finishing university, Morten moved to Australia where he trained and worked as a Divemaster in order to be able to film underwater as well. To gain additional experience and practice he also joined various marine conservation projects in the region, ending with the Thresher Shark Project in the Philippines. Here he came into contact with the production company Scubazoo based in Malaysian Borneo which he subsequently started working for. During his time with Scubazoo, Morten gained valuable skills in all levels of documentary filmmaking, while working on several productions for international broadcasters such as Discovery Channel, ZDF and Nat Geo Wild both abroad in the Philippines but also closer to Scubazoo’s home base in Sabah, Borneo. As a freelancer, Morten has since then worked on several different projects both at home and abroad. Most notably he spent six months in Africa while working on a two-part series about the African elephant, filming in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Later on, he joined a documentary about the Bornean orangutan and the troubles it is currently facing, filmed in the Central Kalimantan region of Indonesian Borneo. Most recently, Morten was traveling all over Greenland, filming greenland sharks, narwhals and musk oxen along the way, for a documentary about life and survival in the extreme regions of the Greenlandic Arctic. ‘

Michael Packschies

The Dipl.-Geographer (subsidiary subjects Geology and Oceanography) worked for the Pedagogical University Kiel and the Central Office for Regional Studies of the SHHB before he carried out the Ecological Survey Eckernfoerde in 1984/85 and subsequently became responsible for the ecological development of this city. Eckernfoerde received numerous awards for its success in nature protection and ecological city planning and enjoys recognition even in Japan and the U.S.A. Furthermore Michael Packschies is member of the Advisary Council for Nature Conservancy of the federal government of Schleswig-Holstein and co-initiated the GREEN SCREEN Festival.

Dr. Rita Schlamberger

Rita Schlamberger is an internationally successful director and producer of nature films from Austria. Before starting her career as a film maker she studied biology and graduated with a Ph.D. from the University in Graz. As a student she discovered her passion for the submarine world, and her many dive expeditions led her to ulterior regions of the world. In 2006 she made her pilot‘s license and after filming the Alps she succeeded making spectacular aerial shots in Africa for a film about the Sambesi. In 1992 she founded the ScienceVision film production together with her husband Michael. Since then she produces a vast number of international award-winning nature documentaries for BBC, Discovery, National Geographic, ZDF, NDR, NHK, THIRTEEN WNET, ORF, Servus TV and many more. Following the multiple awards winning Universum documentary „Donau – Lebensader Europas“ (Europe‘s Amazon), her current film „Zurück zum Urwald –Nationalpark Kalkalpen“ (Making an Ancient Forest) shows the incredible strategies applied by the “organism forest” to achieve the reconversion into a primeval forest.

Robert Sigl

Robert Sigl, born in Munich in 1983, has worked with his father, Walter Sigl, on nature documentaries for the BR since his early youth. In addition to studying biology at the LMU Munich and training asResearch diver at the Technical University of Munich, he worked for Bernhard Rübe (Ruebefilm) as an assistant, underwater cameraman and scientific advisor. He also made several educational and science films at this time. For a few years he works full-time as a producer, cameraman and author for text and image media production.

Michael v. Bürk

Cornelia Volk

Cornelia Volk was born in Heilbronn, Germany, June, 6th 1970. After grammar school she studied political science, German literature and rhetorics in Tuebingen. Since 1997 she is working as a freelance author and director for Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk and the European Cultural Channel Arte. She made several films of the MDR series „Abenteuer Zoo“ and „Europas wilder Osten“ as well as about trans-boundary conservation areas or so called Peace Parks all over the world.

Heinz v. Matthey

Producer and Head of the Award Jury

Dennis Wells

Dennis Wells is a multiple award-winning director and producer of science and wildlife films. After studying sociology in Germany and Canada, he began his career as a radio journalist and later switched to television. He has made a name for himself with his films, both nationally and internationally, with detail-obsessed research, visual opulence, and gripping storytelling. He works for ARD, ZDF, arte, the Canadian CBC, as well as PBS and the Smithsonian Channel in the USA. For more than 10 years he has been developing and supervising one- and multi-part productions for taglicht media and also directs certain projects himself. He lives with his family of 5 people as close as possible to the Rhine in Cologne.

Thomas Witt

Michael Beier

Since September 2012, Michael Beier has been heading the Heinz Sielmann Trust as executive chairman. As trust manager he is in charge of CSR, is executor of the estate and compliance auditor. He previously worked as marketing, fundraising and trust manager as well as alumni representative at University Hildesheim Foundtion. He headed fundraising and sponsoring at Hamburg University. His cv includes work on the board of Stiftung Baukultur Weimar as well as management work at Architektenkammer Thüringen. He worked as head of Marketing and PR at Radio Antenne Thüringen and as Managing Director of Erfurt Chamber of Commerce.

Alexander Gress

After studying communications engineering in Esslingen, Alexander Gress attended the School of Audio Engineering in Munich. Afterwards he founded the Gress recording studio with his brother Raymond in 1989. Countless music projects followed. Now he works as sound designer and mixing engineer for film and TV projects as well as sound installations. Alexander Gress constantly invents new worlds of sound. Projects in which he has been able to bring his passion to bear have won more than 40 international awards.

Raymond Gress

Raymond Gress is a composer and sound designer. He studied audio and video engineering and piano at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf. Since 2008 he has been working as managing director, composer and sound designer at Tonstudio Gress in Stuttgart.

Ann-Christin Hornberger

Ann-Christin Hornberger ist Germanistin und ausgebildete PR-Redakteurin. Seit 1992 arbeitet sie für das ZDF in Mainz. Als ARTE-Mitarbeiterin der ersten Stunde hat sie in den vergangenen Jahren zahlreiche unterschiedliche Sendeformate betreut. Dazu gehören Filme und Reihen für den Reise-Sendeplatz ARTE Entdeckungen, Wunderwelten, die langjährige Kulinarik-Reihe Zu Tisch, Wissenschaft und zahlreiche, preisgekrönte Wissenschaftsdokumentationen. Der Wissenschafts-Sendeplatz beträgt 52 Minuten am Samstagabend.Ann-Christin Hornberger ist Germanistin und ausgebildete PR-Redakteurin. Seit 1992 arbeitet sie für das ZDF in Mainz. Als ARTE-Mitarbeiterin der ersten Stunde hat sie in den vergangenen Jahren zahlreiche unterschiedliche Sendeformate betreut. Dazu gehören Filme und Reihen für den Reise-Sendeplatz ARTE Entdeckungen, Wunderwelten, die langjährige Kulinarik-Reihe Zu Tisch, Wissenschaft und zahlreiche, preisgekrönte Wissenschaftsdokumentationen. Der Wissenschafts-Sendeplatz beträgt 52 Minuten am Samstagabend.

Moritz Katz

Moritz was born in 1984 in Germany. From an early age he explored the countryside of Germany and later exotic places around the world. Upon graduating high school, he spent one year in India for social work on an eco-farm. Excited by the tropical climate, the vivid culture and the stunning wildlife, he decided to study biology upon his return to Germany. In 2011, he majored in tropical ecology at the University of Würzburg, which allowed him to do fieldwork in Costa Rica and Tanzania. This further nurtured his ambition to photograph and document the stunning wildlife of tropical countries. With a university degree in hand, he was forced to make a decision on which career path to follow, research or wildlife filmmaking. He chose to follow his dream - wildlife filmmaking. In 2013, Moritz was accepted into a Master's degree at the University of Otago, New Zealand and learnt the art of filmmaking from some of the best in the field.

Dr. Michael Schlamberger

Dr. Angelika Sigl

Angelika Sigl can look back on over 30 years of continuous collaboration as an author and producer with various channels (BR, MDR, WDR, SWR, ZDF, ARTE). During this time, over 60 documentaries in the field of science, nature and animals, as well as countless reports, were created. Angelika Sigl and her company Text und Bild Medienproduktion have been producing the successful children's series "Anna and the wild animals", "Anna and the domestic animals", Anna and the wild songs "," Ask Anna "and other children's series for 5 years. Awards: Numerous awards at the Naturvision, Greenscreen and the Darsser Filmfest, boarding school. Mountain film festival at Lake Tegernsee, the international environmental film festival in Banska Bystrica etc.

Andrew Solomon

Heinz von Matthey

Jury chair, producer with focus on ecology, biology and ethnography for ZDF, arte, WDR and others

Claudia Schmitt

Claudia Schmitt completed an apprenticeship as a media designer after her A-levels and studied film sciences in Berlin. Her great passion for nature and the seas brought her to diving in 2008. Shortly afterwards she founded "The Jetlagged" with her partner Hendrik, for which she works as an underwater camerawoman and producer. Since then, she has been shooting in the most beautiful places in the world and creating films on topics such as coral bleaching and the construction of artificial coral reefs or the establishment of the world's largest manta ray sanctuary in Indonesia. Marine protection is a constant theme in their work - with their films and immersive 360° experiences, The Jetlagged want to create more awareness of the importance of the seas and better protection of our oceans. The Jetlagged have won numerous awards at international film festivals with their films. 

Sander van Iersel

Karsten Wiesel

In 2000, Karsten Wiesel initiated Flensburg Short Film Days and has since been in charge of its eclectic programme. Following film studies at Media School, he has been making short films receiving a Schleswig-Holstein film award and a short film award from Schwerin arthouse Film Festival for his film “Hochbrücke Brunsbüttel”. Karsten Wiesel lives and works in Hamburg. Next to his work as film author and curator, he teaches at Europa University Flensburg and at Philipps University Marburg. He also runs media education projects for children and grown-ups at schools and cultural institutions.

Felix Henke

Felix Henke, born 2002 in Flensburg, is an enthusiastic filmmaker and actor. He has been working as a reporter and presenter for the Offener Kanal since 2011 and will be present at the GreenScreen Camp in Tönning in 2019. (2019 2nd place youth film award)

Christoph Schöndorfer

Winner of the 2nd place of the Youth Film Award in the category Heinz Sielmann Youth Film Award 2019

Ole Ullrich

Britta Kiesewetter

Britta Kiesewetter (53) has been part of the team at NDR Naturfilm - the largest German production company for nature films - for over 20 years and has produced more than 200 hours of nature films for the national and international market. Two of her most important projects are the nine-part series AMERICAS NATIONAL PARKS and the seven-part series WILDES SKANDINAVIEN. Britta has worked as a series producer on the three-part series WILD NEW ZEALAND together with her partner BBC. She has also produced successful films such as the three-part series WILD AMAZON and the documentary WILD YUKON, which won the Presenter Award at the Wildscreen Film Festival 2008. She was responsible for the film HELGOLAND - ISLAND IN THE STORM, which won the Jackson Hole Newcomer Award in 2011. Among other television productions Britta has produced the feature film DIE NORDSEE - UNSER MEER.

Alexander Lahl

Alexander Lahl was born in 1979 in a part of Berlin that at that time still belonged to the GDR. He studied cultural studies in Frankfurt an der Oder, where the sound of wrecking balls woke him up in the morning. Today he works as an author, film director and producer of television documentaries and animated films, which he likes to think up together with Max Mönch. They have even won several international awards for some films. Alexander has two role models: Alfred Wegener, who conquered the Greenland ice and discovered the origin of the continents and Jan Ove Waldner, the Mozart of table tennis. Alexander lives in Berlin with his girlfriend and his two children. He spends the summer, however, in his dacha in Himmelpfort on Lake Stolpsee, where a treasure of gold lies sunk. If Alexander finds it, he and Max want to stop the sixth extinction of species.

Herbert Ostwald

Herbert Ostwald studied biology in Berlin and has been working as a reporter for SFB radio and as an editor for the daily newspaper "Neue Zeit" since 1988. Since 1995 Ostwald has been making short and long films about humans, animals, the environment and science for ARD, ZDF, Arte, terramater and National Geographic, among others. 1997 participant of the "Wildlife Filmmaking School" in Sweden. 2002 Participant of the "Discovery Campus Masterschool" in Munich. Nominated for "Fabelhaftes Langohr" at the Grimme Prize in 2003, Ostwald has won numerous prizes at national and international festivals, most recently the "Big Panda" science prize with "Naked mole - superheroes of research" at the "Wildscreen" festival in Bristol/England.