Our Crew

This site is currently still under construction, but you will get to find out more about the amazing people who joined forces to bring a novel kind of festival to one of the more unsual places, just a stone's throw away from Berlin.
And, of course, we are always looking for an extra pair of helping hands, so give us a shout, if you would like to get involved!

Our Jury

We are very excited about the 2023 jury, as it was our goal to bring local and national talent together and seat them at the same table as the policy makers who shape this region's cultural landscape.

Our Journey

Hopefully, the 2023 festival is only the beginning. We have big plans and would love to welcome you along for the ride, as we embark on this epic adventure ... one short film at a time.


Team

Oliver Fiedler - Festival Director

Olli’s foundation was laid in the alternative scenery of urban spaces during the 1980s and 90s, before returning to Wolfsburg roughly 30 years ago, making his contribution to the establishment of the craft of tattooing as a more mainstream phenomenon. His appreciation of aesthetic expression as well as holistic understanding of cultural events as a medium that transcends class, would ensure to bring people together who are not naturally inclined to cross paths. From traditional tattoo happenings and art exhibitions to literary event highlights: developing new platforms for creative expression and exchange are a passion project for the man who chose Wolfsburg as his permanent home. So film was a logical choice to expand an already impressive cultural portfolio.

Cedar D. Wolf - Director of Programming

Cedar was educated at The Lee Strasberg Studio as well as the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, CA. In addition to writing and directing, Cedar ran the 'Shakespeare for Dummies' TIE programme and worked in fringe theatre before turning her attention to film in 2009. Her works include numerous stage and screenplays. She directed several shorts as well as the feature film 'Razzmatazz' which was shortlisted for various international festivals, winning a number of awards. Currently Cedar is producing the arthouse drama ‘Winter Whore’ as well as directing the feature documentary ‘Run the World'. She is a member of WIFT Germany, the Film & Medienbüro Niedersachsen and the Actors Society, as well as the Filmbüro Bremen e.V., for which she served as board member until relocating to Wolfsburg in 2021.

Julia Brandt - Industry Liaison

One of our motivated volunteers is also a professional in the audiovisual sector, however, with a focus on corporate media. Julia works for a Hanover-based company, specializing in viral marketing for larger corporate clients. Julia coordinates production as well as post production for a campaign that is aimed at a younger audience. As a thorough cinephile she has, of course, also lent a helping hand on a number of independent film sets, most recently as production manager for the US shoot of the feature documentary "Run the World", currently in post production. Julia serves as a liaison for filmmakers as well as the festival jury.

Bianca Schiefelbein - Guest Services

If you have any queries regarding ticketing and schedules, Bianca is going to be your go-to person. She is to the guests what Cedar is to the filmmmakers, the person in the know. And as a true Wolfsburg native she will be able to point non-local visitors in the direction of the more exciting places to visit when not attending screenings. And to true locals she is, of course, a familar face, since she has been the heart and soul of Culture Shocks from the very beginning and aside from managing the Wolfsburg branch, she is also the resident piercer.

David Mellino - Technical Director

Whilst David‘s medium are pictures that don’t move, this Wolfsburg original did not give up his love of technology, just because he left a career in the IT sector more than ten years ago to become a rather distinguished tattoo artist who never looked back. Besides his passion for classic cars and coming up with intricate individual tattoos designs, David is still the go-to person for technical solutions. He enjoys watching visually interesting films in unique and unconventional places, which is why this festival’s set up is the perfect match for a unique and unconventional bloke like him.

Getting in touch

We are generally quite fast to respond. If you have any queries regarding the event, you might want to reach out to Culture Shocks diretly! Any film-related questions should best be directed at Cedar via cedar(at)forty-two-films.de

    Jury

    Dr Julia Dordel
    After having lived abroad for a number of years and getting her first break in the North American film scene, the producer, author and actor Dr. Julia Dordel has been producing several international feature film and documentary projects with her Celle-based production company Dorcon Film. She lobbies for the interests of the independent film community as board member of the Film- und Medienbüro Niedersachsen as well as in the Assembly of the Media Assembly for the State of Lower Saxony (NLM).

    Thomas Loos
    Thomas studied Audiovisual Media / Cinematography in Berlin. He produced the Documentary MUTTI – PUNKROCK WAS MY FIRST LOVE which premiered at Radioeins Parkfest in Berlin and was chosen for the 2016 Achtung Berlin Festival. During that time Thomas was also a nominee for the 2015 Robert Bosch Film Prize with a German-Egyptian co-production. In 2015 he worked as production coordinator on the Hans Weingartner directed 303 and subsequently worked for several Berlin-based production companies. Thomas currently serves as managing producer for Traumton Filmproduktion.

    Christine Jezior
    Christine Jezior (born 1961 in Poland) is a film producer, writer, and director. In 1986, she moved to Germany and has lived in Bremen ever since. She is the founder of the film production company MAAM (Multimedia, Art and More). From 2010 to 2013, she worked as a film producer for Polish Television. She is a member of the board of directors of Filmbüro Bremen e.V. and was a juror at the experimental short film competition "realtime-Festival 2020" and the Bremen Documentary Film Award. Her filmography includes numerous award-winning documentary feature films on music-related topics and experimental music video clips for contemporary classical music that have received nominations at international film festivals. In 2013 she received a television award in Poland for the best screenplay (for a documentary film titled "Kaja"). Her documentary film "The Haendel Variations "(2018) was nominated for the GRANIT Documentary Award at the 2018 Hofer Film Festival and received the Audience Award at the Bremen Film Festival in 2019. Her latest documentary film “Gosia@Tomek” was screened at more than 40 festivals and received 15 awards worldwide.

    Felix Eichstädt
    Felix holds an MA in Space Sciences and currently works at the DLR in Bremen. Whilst still enrolled at Bremen University he founded the highly popular Campus Kino, for which he still volunteers as managing director. He loved the charm of screening films in lecture halls and was astonished that a campus cinema was not already a thing in Bremen. A thorough cinephile, he carefully curates a programme that combines arthouse film and mainstream entertainment, making sure that short films warm the audience up for the main show.