underdog film festival

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