My submitted project is based on a true story that I experienced myself. My childhood story shaped me and ultimately led me to transform the emotions into art and create added value from them.

I am Ben, a 33-year-old man whose childhood was far from the carefree and protected time that every child deserves. In an environment characterized by violence and lacking a reliable caregiver, I had to learn early on to take responsibility – not only for myself, but also for the circumstances that surrounded me. These early years taught me to be strong, but they also showed me the shadows of the world that many prefer to overlook.

Left to my own devices, I found solace in creativity. It became my window to another world, a way out that allowed me not only to survive, but to live. With each step into adulthood, I discovered more about myself and what it means to not give up on your dreams, even when the world seems to be falling apart around you.

I didn’t let my past define me. Instead, I used it as a foundation for my future. My experiences, as painful as they were, shaped my view of the world and how I tell my stories. Filmmaking became my language, a way to express my thoughts and feelings, to share my stories with the world. Every film I create is a piece of my soul, a window into the world as I see it, shaped by the shadows of my past and the light of my hope.

I’ve always been a dreamer, a ramp sow, a really extroverted person. I loved slipping into different roles. I did theatre, I loved music and dancing. I always wanted to make films. When Jurassic Park fascinated my childhood eyes in the 90s, I acted out the hunt for a T-Rag. It was so real for me in that situation just from my imagination that I was running away from a dinosaur in the middle of the city 😉

I used to go out into the fields on my bike with my brother when a thunderstorm came up and replay the film Twister. We really thought a tornado was chasing us 😉 Crazy. They were always great adventures that we made possible for ourselves.

The biggest critic is myself 😉

I see filmmaking as an art form. In my world, art doesn’t deserve any guidelines. Art is allowed to emerge. Unconventionally. Genuine. Intense.

They have a pretty important role. They are an incredibly important and great opportunity for newcomers and beginners like me to prove themselves and gain reach. Especially in this day and age, when so much good stuff simply gets lost in the mass of information.

It’s not possible for me to look into the future, even if my mind would like to tell me that. However, my driving motivation will be to continue trying to convey real emotions through films and to conjure up real stories and real people on the screen. I see my mission as preserving humanity with my art form and reminding them that we are loving beings. Without hate, war and other atrocities.