David Cebulla ([ˈdaːvɪt tseːbʊla] born in 1991 in Jena) is a German filmmaker and director of nature documentaries.

Life

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Early life

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David Cebulla studied biology and ecology[1] at the University of Jena and conducted dendrochronological research on the climate adaptedness of individual tree species.[2] From 2015 onwards, he worked on sets of various film productions, including for the ZDF, Warner Bros.[3] and as assistant director for the series teaser of "Azur".[4] From 2016 to April 2018, he was social media and artist manager for the wildlife and nature filmmaker Andreas Kieling.[5] Since 2019, Cebulla has been a full-time filmmaker.

Work as nature filmmaker (2019–present)

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Cebulla produces mainly documentaries about nature and wildlife. His films are released on video-on-demand, including Prime Video, Vimeo on Demand, and Pantaray TV, as well as on DVD. He shows his films to audiences and holds presentations.[6][7][8] In film production, Cebulla uses ecological methods to record wildlife and appears as a protagonist himself.[5] His own productions are known for featuring only wildlife, but no animals from game enclosures.[9][10]

In 2016, he made the short film "Hidden Beauty – The Orchids of the Saale Valley," in which he searched for some of Germany's rarest orchid species.[11] In 2020's "The Return of the Wildcat", Cebulla went in search of the European wildcat, documenting genetic evidence as well as rare footage of individuals living in the wild.[10][12] In 2022, he released the film "Wild Forests," for which he spent a year observing life in forests without any forestry activity and documenting wildlife in its natural habitat.[13]

By his own account, he is currently working on the to date most extensive film project about the Common hamster.[9] For "The Last Common Hamsters" he filmed wild common hamsters in Germany, rare black common hamsters,[14] cemetery hamsters in Vienna, hamster breeding for reintroduction in France, small-scale farming in Poland, hamster hunting in Hungary, and common hamsters in the steppes of Kazakhstan.[9][5]

Filmography (selection)

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  • Hidden Beauty – The Orchids of the Saale Valley (2017) – director and producer
  • The Return of the Wildcat (2020) – director and producer
  • Wild Forests (2022) – director and producer

Awards (selection)

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General

  • 2018: Medal "People 2017" for special cultural achievements in Thuringia[15]
  • 2019: Walter Dexel Scholarship from the City of Jena[16]

Hidden Beauty – The Orchids of the Saale Valley

The Return of the Wildcat

  • 2020: Virgin Spring Cinefest – Film on nature / environment / wildlife: winner (gold)[19]
  • 2020: Nature Without Borders International Film Festival – Wildlife/ nature documentaries: excellence[20]
  • 2022: Tulum World Environment Film Festival – Jury's Award Feature Films: Ocean and Wildlife Conservation: winner

Wild Forests

References

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  1. ^ "Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek". portal.dnb.de. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  2. ^ Jetschke, Gottfried; Cebulla, David; Frischbier, Nico; Krichler, Thomas. "Nachgebohrt: Jahrringanalysen zur Klimaangepasstheit von Weißtanne und Fichte". Das Blatt. 23 (3): 24–25.
  3. ^ "David Cebulla". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  4. ^ Reyst Fantasy Teaser, retrieved 2023-05-18
  5. ^ a b c "Naturfilmer und Ökologe David Cebulla". Wildbrücke. March 2023. pp. 34–37.
  6. ^ Burghardt, Armin (2023-02-08). "In Rastenberg ruft die Mopsfledermaus". Thüringer Allgemeine. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  7. ^ "Auf der Spur der Wildkatze | Freie Presse - Stollberg". www.freiepresse.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  8. ^ "Orchideen im Saaletal im Fokus". Ostthüringer Zeitung. 2023-02-08.
  9. ^ a b c Könau, Janek (2022-07-04). "Der Hamsterfilmer". BILD Thüringen. p. 9.
  10. ^ a b Allgemeine, Thüringer (2019-11-05). "Schön und gefährdet: Den Wildkatzen bei Jena auf der Spur". www.thueringer-allgemeine.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  11. ^ "David Cebulla Fotografie | Bildstrecke". wandermagazin.de. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  12. ^ Purr and Roar (2020-04-14). "Sofa Premiere: The Return of the Wildcat". Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  13. ^ "Online-Filmpremiere: Wälder ohne forstliche Nutzung in Thüringen". Jena TV - Sehen, was bewegt. (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  14. ^ Aschenbrenner_, _Der | (2022-10-16). "Landwirt und Filmemacher kooperieren für den Feldhamsterschutz". OscarAmFreitag (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  15. ^ OTZ (2018-07-20). "Filmemacher aus Jena erfolgreich". www.tlz.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  16. ^ "Walter-Dexel-Stipendium: Der Filmemacher David Cebulla nahm den Preis entgegen". Focus. 2019-11-28. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  17. ^ a b Verborgene Schönheit - Die Orchideen des Saaletals | Offizieller Trailer | Naturfilm Doku | Jena, retrieved 2023-05-18
  18. ^ "Monthly Selection : JUNE 2019 – VS CInefest". Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  19. ^ "Monthly Selection : APRIL 2020 – VS CInefest". Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  20. ^ "NWBIFF Fall 2020 Winners". www.nwbiff.com. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  21. ^ "Presse - Naturfilmer David Cebulla". David Cebulla (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
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