Cosima Dannoritzer (born May 22, 1965) is a documentary filmmaker and film producer, whose documentaries focus on science, technology, ecology and history. She became known internationally as the screenwriter and film director of the multi-award-winning documentary The Light Bulb Conspiracy, which looks at the history and impact of planned obsolescence.

Cosima Dannoritzer
Born (1965-05-22) May 22, 1965 (age 59)
Alma materUniversity of Strathclyde, Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design
OccupationDocumentary filmmaker
Known forThe Light Bulb Conspiracy
Websitewww.cosimadannoritzer.com

Education

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Cosima Dannoritzer studied English Literature, Film Studies und Theatre Studies at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1987. In 1989, she obtained the Higher National Diploma in Film & TV Production from the Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design in England.[1]

Career

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As a freelance and multi-lingual screenwriter and filmmaker (she speaks English, German, French, Spanish and Catalan), Dannoritzer has directed for Arte, the BBC, Channel 4, Radiotelevisión Española and Deutsche Welle TV.

In 1992, she directed a film about the reunification of East and West Berlin for Channel 4's Equinox slot. In 2001, she directed a series about Germany for the BBC.

Since 2011, her documentary The Light Bulb Conspiracy about planned obsolescence has been broadcast in more than a dozen countries,[2] including on Arte,[3] Phoenix[4] and RTVE.[5] The film was also screened as a Side Event during the Green Week of the European Commission in 2011.[6]

Her documentary The E-Waste Tragedy was screened in 2015 at Interpol in Lyon during CWIT, an international conference addressing the problem of illegal e-waste exports.[7]

Filmography

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Documentaries

  • Allergy Alert: Paranoia in our Immune System (Allergien – wenn der Körper rebelliert; Un Monde d'allergiques), 52 min. (2021)[8]
  • Megafires (Megafeuer: Der Planet brennt; Incendies géants : enquête sur un nouveau fléau), 90 min. (2019)[9][10][11]
  • Time Thieves (Zeit ist Geld; Le temps c'est de l'argent; Ladrones de tiempo), 85 min. (2018)[12][13][14][15]
  • The E-Waste Tragedy (Giftige Geschäfte – Der Elektromüllskandal; La tragédie électronique), 86 min. (2014)[16][17][18]
  • Electronic Amnesia (L'Amnèsia Electrònica), 25 min. (2006)
  • The Case Comas & Prió (El cas Comas i Prió), 25 min. (2004)[22]
  • If Rubbish Could Speak (El Que La Brossa Ens Diu), 25 min. (2003)
  • Germany Inside Out, five-part series for the BBC and Yleisradio/YLE, Finland (2001)
  • Life Is But A Game (Das Leben ist ein Spiel), 30 min. (1995)
  • In the Sign of the Bear (Im Zeichen des Bären), 30 min. (1995)
  • Rebuilding Berlin (Channel 4), 52 min. (1992)

Fiction

  • My Brother Tom (Associate Producer, FilmFour UK, 2000)

Freelance contributions to magazine programmes

Awards

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Cosima Dannoritzer has received numerous international awards for her documentaries.[1]

  • 2020: "Best Environmental Documentary", RushDoc Film Festival for Megafires[23]
  • 2019: "Best International TV Production", DocsBarcelona[24] and "Best Editing", United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF), USA,[25] for Time Thieves
  • 2015: Golden Award / Prix Italia for The E-Waste Tragedy[26]
  • 2010–2013: Eleven international festival awards for The Light Bulb Conspiracy,[27] including "Best Documentary" at the Spanish Television Academy Awards (2011)[2] and the Hoimar-von-Ditfurth-Prize for "Best journalistic achievement" (Deutsche Umwelthilfe, 2013)[28]
  • 1993: "Journalism Prize" of the German-British Society for Rebuilding Berlin[29]

Membership

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Dannoritzer is a member of the European Film Academy.[30]

Publications

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Three years after the premiere of The Light Bulb Conspiracy, the book to the film was published in Germany:

  • Cosima Dannoritzer, Jürgen Reuß: Kaufen für die Müllhalde. Das Prinzip der geplanten Obsoleszenz, orange-press, Freiburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-936086-66-9.

References

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  1. ^ a b WDR archive (Feb. 6, 2012): Hart aber fair: Biographie: Cosima Martina Dannoritzer (German), accessed August 16, 2921.
  2. ^ a b RTVE: "Comprar, tirar, comprar", mejor documental del año para la Academia de Televisión, July 5th, 2011; accessed August 5th, 2021.
  3. ^ Prêt à jeter - Die Wegwerfer. Kaufen für die Müllhalde – Arte, January 23rd, 2012; accessed August 1st, 2021
  4. ^ Phoenix archive (Aug. 10, 2012): Kaufen für die Müllhalde, Film von Cosima Dannoritzer (German); accessed August 16, 2921.
  5. ^ Comprar, tirar, comprar / The Light Bulb Conspiracy premiered on RTVE, accessed August 15th, 2021
  6. ^ European Commission, Green Week (Brussels, May 24 - 27th, 2011) - Side event: Film The Lightbulb Conspiracy; accessed August 1st, 2021.
  7. ^ Download link for the agenda of Countering WEEE Illegal Trade, INTERPOL Headquarters, 270 Quai Charles de Gaulle, Lyon, June 25/26th, 2015.
  8. ^ Allergy Alert: Paranoia in Our Immune System; accessed July 30th, 2021.
  9. ^ Megafeuer: Der Planet brennt Archived 2021-07-07 at the Wayback Machine (in German and French) on Arte TV; accessed August 1st, 2021.
  10. ^ Megafires on Georama TV; accessed August 1st, 2021.
  11. ^ Megafires: The Global Threat - at Terranoa; accessed August 1st, 2021.
  12. ^ Cosima Dannoritzer: Wie Zeit zu Geld wurde, Le Monde diplomatique, October 11th, 2018; accessed July 30th, 2021.
  13. ^ Website Time Thieves; accessed August 1st, 2021.
  14. ^ Carmela Negrete: Toilette? Nicht mehr als sieben Minuten, Neues Deutschland (online), September 30th, 2018; accessed August 1st, 2021.
  15. ^ Jack Shalom talks with Cosima Dannoritzer about Time Thieves, March 21st, 2020; accessed August 2nd, 2021.
  16. ^ Pro-ARTE Archiv "La tragédie électronique" de Cosima Dannoritzer reçoit le Golden Award du Prix Italia 2015 - with link to document tragedie-electronique.pdf; accessed July 30th, 2021.
  17. ^ The E-Waste Tragedy on IMDb; accessed August 1st, 2021.
  18. ^ Dan Leif and Dylan de Thomas: Documentary shows global scope of illegal e-scrap shipments, LinkedIn, October 22nd, 2014; accessed August 1st, 2021.
  19. ^ "The Light Bulb Conspiracy". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2015-06-10.
  20. ^ Daniel DiClerico: Light bulb conspiracy probes planned obsolescense, on Consumer Reports, October 27th, 2011; accessed August 1st, 2021.
  21. ^ Tim Slagman: Kaufen, Leute, morgen gibt’s nix mehr!, film review in Die Welt, February 7th 2012; accessed August 2nd, 2021.
  22. ^ El cas Comas i Prió in TimeOut; accessed August 1st, 2021.
  23. ^ RushDoc International Documentary Film Festival, Winners 2020; accessed July 30th, 2021.
  24. ^ Polar Star Films: Pro-Docs Best TV Documentary of 2018 for Time Thieves, 17. Mai 2019; accessed August 2nd, 2021.
  25. ^ UNAFF Awards 2019: Best Editing for Time Thieves; accessed August 2nd, 2021.
  26. ^ ARTE Distribution: The E-Waste Tragedy; accessed July 28th, 2021.
  27. ^ See list of awards under The Light Bulb Conspiracy.
  28. ^ Ökofilmtour 2013: Preise und Preisträger Archived 2021-08-02 at the Wayback Machine; accessed August 2nd, 2021.
  29. ^ Press release of the German Embassy in London, 23 Belgrave Square, on March 25th, 1993: Lord Croham, Chairman of the Anglo-German Foundation, announced during the Königswinter Conference the winners of the Journalism Award for 1993: Reinhard Häcker (Stuttgarter Zeitung) and Edmund Fawcett (The Economist); the Electronic Media Prize was awarded to film director Cosima Dannoritzer.
  30. ^ Europäische Filmakademie - Cosima Dannoritzer
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