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Documentary

Zwischen Himmel und Erde

BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH // 

ZWISCHEN HIMMEL UND ERDE

Documentary · 64 mins · German with English subtitles · 2020

Once in the little village of Ahnatal-Weimar, near the city of Kassel, there were three bronze bells hung in the church tower. During World War 1, two of the three bells were taken from the tower to be made into ammunition. In the year 1920, the village decided to trade the one remaining bell for three steel bells. These bells have hung there ever since and have now rusted through completely. The «Three steel sisters» have witnessed 100 years of village history and now their time has come.

But every end brings with it a new beginning. The church congregation came together to raise the funds for a set of new bronze bells. Through the process they experience what can be achieved with diligence, team work and the sweat of one's brow. After a long process they finally achieve what they had set out to do. Four new bronze bells finally make their way into the church tower.

The filmmaker Zenon Kristen, who grew up in Ahnatal-Weimar himself, accompanies the village on its journey which takes him to places unforeseen.

What began as an intimate documentary of Ahnatal-Weimar church's new bronze bells, quickly developed into a much more complicated story that extends far beyond the village borders. It is a film about how a village bands together, the value of peace in turbulent times, an almost forgotten ancient art form, and a sound which is too often ignored.

Zwischen Himmel und Erde Poster

BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH (English Title) · ZWISCHEN HIMMEL UND ERDE (Original Title) ·

 

A NOSTA FILMS Production in association with

the Evangelical church community AHNATAL-WEIMAR

Starring

UTE DILGER · THOMAS DILGER · THOMAS RAFFLER · UDU P. LEIS · FRIEDRICH LUNCKE · FRITZ FRÖLICH · ALBERT BACHERT CHRISTIANE BACHERT · JOSEF FLIER · STEFFEN MODDROW · WOLFRAM SPYRA

Directors of Photography ZENON KRISTEN · HARRY BESEL  

Assistant Director EIKE BISCHOFF · NIK BACZEWSKI  

Story Editor FRANZISKA KRAMER

Sound Mastering HARRY BERNSTEIN

Written, Produced, Directed, and Edited by ZENON KRISTEN

BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH // ZWISCHEN HIMMEL UND ERDE
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WINNER - Berlin Indie Film Festival - 20
WINNER - Venice Film Awards - Sept 2020-
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Montreal Independen
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Essex DocFest - 202
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Indie Film Salon Fi
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OFFICIAL SELECTION - Chicago Indie Film
FINALIST - New Wave Short Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Hong Kong Indie Fil
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OFFICIAL SELECTION - Toronto Independent
WINNER - Rome Independent Prisma Awards
Honorable Mention - Film Today - 2021.pn
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Tokyo International Short Film Festival
Verstärker

VERSTÄRKER

Short Documentary Video Series · 2018

V E R S T Ä R K E R
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Thinking back to summer 2018, when I was lucky enough to experience the first exhibition of Udo P. Leis' art project "Verstärker" in Nykobing, Denmark. The two big surreal funnels are not just reflecting the real world, they strengthen it. They make you think about it. It's about the hardness and the softness. Listen to the stones under the ocean surface. Two funnels, that seem to come from another world to remind us on our own. This short video is the first episode of the "Verstärker" journey.

Art installation by  UDO P. LEIS

Featuring electronic music artist WOLFRAM SPYRA

Video by ZENON KRISTEN

Fiction // Shorts

Läufer

LÄUFER // BISHOP

Short Film · 26 mins · German with English subtitles · 2017

An elderly, lonely man tries to overcome the trauma from his time as a soldier in World War II on the chess board. Slowly, his caretaker comes to realize his dilemma and tries to help the man.

LÄUFER (Original Title) · BISHOP (English Title)

A NOSTA FILMS Production Starring GEORGE PEMBERTON · ZENON KRISTEN · NIK BACZEWSKI · WERNER ENGEL 

Directors of Photography PHILEAS SCHÖNBERG · TORSTEN KANT 

Sound JOHANNES NEBE

Film-Editor / Grading ZENON KRISTEN 

Music / Sounddesign ROBERT CONNAN · YANNICK WANDEL

 

Written, Produced and Directed by  

NIK BACZEWSKI & ZENON KRISTEN

WINNER - Peak City International Film Fe
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WINNER - Global Film Festival Awards - J
Homeostasis

HOMEOSTASIS

Short Film · 12 mins · German with English subtitles · 2016

Lars takes it upon himself to start a new chapter. More sport, less stress, awareness of work-life-balance and most importantly: His own project. A project that is going to be successful if he concentrates on the right things, starting with shaping his body. 

HOMEOSTASIS (Original Title)

A NOSTA FILMS Production

Book / Starring NIK BACZEWSKI

Director of Photography / Film-Editor / Grading ZENON KRISTEN

Sounddesign ROBERT CONNAN

Music THE HAI

 

Written, Produced and Directed by  

NIK BACZEWSKI & ZENON KRISTEN

Music Videos

Nik Fields - Liebling

Nik Fields
LIEBLING

Musikvideo · 5:00 mins · 2023

In the music video produced for Nik Fields' song "Liebling" a trapdoor in the corner of the room of a ceramicist's pottery studio becomes the fulcrum of the story. In noble black and white, the video approaches the core of the story via malleable materials and contrasts the healing work of pottery with something sinister in the form of dark slime, which here stands for something completely different.

Starring JUNA SCHWAN · MARC PHILIPPS · GILLIAN LUNA
ANNA KRÄMER · YIHAN QIU · ANNE BARDMAN · FANNI LAAKSO a.o.

Director of Photography HARRY BESEL
Camera Assistant MATTI REIßIG Team Assistant ELISA LUTTER
Film-Editor / Grading ZENON KRISTEN
Music by  NIK FIELDS (NIK BACZEWSKI)

Video Written and Directed by NIK BACZEWSKI & ZENON KRISTEN

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Angel in the Sky

Nik Fields
ANGEL IN THE SKY

Music Video · 3:00 mins · 2023

After "Liebling" we decided to do something completely different. No script, no long preparation, no expensive cinema camera, no actors or extras. Just the two of us, the guitar, a cardboard airplane and an old video camera from the 90s that we had bought for 10 Euros on Ebay, including original sealed VHS-C tapes. The old Nosta spirit at its best in a bittersweet time of change.

Starring NIK FIELDS (NIK BACZEWSKI)
Filmed and edited by ZENON KRISTEN
Music by  NIK FIELDS (NIK BACZEWSKI)

Video directed by NIK BACZEWSKI & ZENON KRISTEN

I'm still young

Nik Fields
I'M STILL YOUNG

Music Video · 3:00 mins · 2023

As with "Angel in the Sky", we limited ourselves to a rough idea with which we entered our unusual shooting location. After both we and our technology finally got used to the climate, this swimming pool became a true playground for us. We may have grown up in the meantime, but never old enough to feel young together, at least for a moment. A good feeling for "I'm still young".

Starring NIK FIELDS (NIK BACZEWSKI) · GABRIELLA BACZEWSKI
Filmed and edited by ZENON KRISTEN
Music by  NIK FIELDS (NIK BACZEWSKI)

Video directed by NIK BACZEWSKI & ZENON KRISTEN
supported by TILL KRÜGER

Mapo Blue Jays

DJ Dingo Susi

MAPO BLUE JAYS

Animated Music Video · 3:12 mins · 2017

The song „Mapo Blue Jays“ is included on DJ Dingo Susi’s  „Nice Fortress“-EP, which was released 2013. The reason for this video coming to life much later than the song has to do with the fact that it’s been quite a „Susiphean challenge“, the culmination of thousands of hand drawings and hours spent sitting in front of a scanner. The result of this is a  kind of analog, yet digitally collaged video which invites you to take a little trip into my interpretation of the DJ Dingo Susi universe.

 

Music by  DJ DINGO SUSI (BENJAMIN WILD)

Video (concept & animation) by ZENON KRISTEN

A Taste for Waste

DJ Dingo Susi

A TASTE FOR WASTE

Music Video · 5:09 mins · 2019

"A Taste For Waste" by DJ Dingo Susi is the first song of his Album "Air Force One".The depicted scene of this nerve-wracking music video was neither scripted nor stage-managed, it just happened. And fortunately in front of a 4k-Camera. You may have never seen a fight of a beetle trapped in a spiderweb that detailed. Will he succeed?

Musik  DJ DINGO SUSI (BENJAMIN WILD)

Video (Kamera & Schnitt) ZENON KRISTEN

OFFICIAL SELECTION - Music Shorts Film F

Commercial

ynspirewater

ynspirewater //

start your campaign

Commercial I Tutorial · 01:18 mins · German · 2021

In this short clip for ynspirewater, Juna tells us how you can create a campaign to promote drinking water in the world's poorest regions with just a few clicks. Simple and motivating. Try it yourself and do something good!

Client ynspirewater.org

Starring JUNA SCHWAN

Concept JUNA SCHWAN · ZENON KRISTEN

 

Director / Editor ZENON KRISTEN

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