Philip Scheffner

„Research is an important process for us; this is how we find the questions our films revolve around.“

Photo: Philip Scheffner in "Der Tag des Spatzen" (Day of the Sparrow)

In his films, Philip Scheffner has created a distinct form of political thinking that enables a redistribution of visibility and invisibility. He creates complex image and soundscapes, interweaving stories, and meticulously following traces that constantly open up in new directions.
It is here that a cinematic surplus arises, the wonderful “more“ that we can experience in cinema at its best, which could be described as thinking and seeing from the margins, a cinematic experiment in showing what cannot be fully described. (Nicole Wolf)

Filmgalerie 451 has been releasing films by Philip Scheffner on DVD since 2013, in collaboration with Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art. Now five of his films can be rediscovered in streaming.

Biography

Philip Scheffner, born in 1966 in Homburg an der Saar, lives and works as a filmmaker and artist in Berlin since 1986. From 1990-1995 he was part of the interdisciplinary project Botschaft e.V., a group of 10 to 15 artists, filmmakers, musicians and net activists, and from 1991-1999 he was part of the Berlin-based writing and production collective "dogfilm", together with Bettina Ellerkamp, Jörg Heitmann, Merle Kröger and Ed van Megen. In 2001 he founded the production platform "pong" in Berlin with Merle Kröger. Together with Alex Gerbaulet and Caroline Kirberg they produce films in which the aesthetic and/or political positions of the filmmakers become visible, focus on newcomer filmmakers and international co-productions, with the aim of expanding "pong" as a platform for moving image as well as sound, music and text.

Philip Scheffner works between the genres of documentary film, essay and video art. His feature-length artistic documentaries THE HALFMOON FILES, DER TAG DES SPATZEN and REVISION have won numerous awards. His films are screened at festivals, in theaters, TV and on demand. His latest film EUROPE will premiere in the Forum of the Berlinale 2022. He also composes and produces electronic music. Since 2021 he is professor for Documentary Practices/ Documentary Film in the subject group Film and Television at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne.

Filmography

EUROPE, 2022, 105 min
HAVARIE, 2016, 93 min
AND-EK GHES..., 94 min
REVISION, 2012, 106 min
DER TAG DES SPATZEN ("Day of the Sparrow"), 2010, 100 min
THE HALFMOON FILES, 2007, 87 min
A/C., 2003, 42 min

Films in the program

And-Ek Ghes... Philip Scheffner D 2016, 94 min AND-EK GHES... means: ONE FINE DAY... A song, a promise to the beloved, to the children, to oneself. Members of the Velcu family from Faţa...	Revision Philip Scheffner GER 2016, 106 min A documentary turns into a cinematic REVISION. Like a puzzle, the film puts together the facts around the death of two men on a field at...
Havarie Philip Scheffner GER 2016, 93 min On 14.09.2012 at 2:56pm, the cruise liner Adventure of the Seas reports to the Spanish Maritime Rescue Centre the sighting of a...	Day of the Sparrow Philip Scheffner GER 2010, 100 min A political wildlife film that centres around a country where the border between war and peace fades.
The Halfmoon Files Philip Scheffner GER 2007, 87 min In the city of Wünsdorf near Berlin Scheffner

-filmliste-teaser-mobil">Films in the program

And-Ek Ghes...

Philip Scheffner
D 2016, 94 min
AND-EK GHES... means: ONE FINE DAY... A song, a promise to the beloved, to the children, to oneself. Members of the Velcu family from Faţa Luncii, Romania, move to Berlin and perform themselves... more
Revision
Philip Scheffner
GER 2016, 106 min
A documentary turns into a cinematic REVISION. Like a puzzle, the film puts together the facts around the death of two men on a field at the German‐Polish border in 1992. Scheffner composes an... more
Havarie
Philip Scheffner
GER 2016, 93 min
On 14.09.2012 at 2:56pm, the cruise liner Adventure of the Seas reports to the Spanish Maritime Rescue Centre the sighting of a dinghy adrift with 13 persons on board. From a YouTube clip... more
Day of the Sparrow
Philip Scheffner
GER 2010, 100 min
A political wildlife film that centres around a country where the border between war and peace fades.

follows the traces of the past. The starting point are voice recordings of colonial soldiers...

The Halfmoon Files

Philip Scheffner

GER 2007, 87 min

In the city of Wünsdorf near Berlin Scheffner follows the traces of the past. The starting point are voice recordings of colonial soldiers that were recorded there during the First World War. A... more