Born in the late 70s, Jacob made his degrees in film science, art history and sociology at universities of Berlin/Barcelona. Stills in photography are his main equilibrium besides the passion for film, which fascinates him profoundly.
Spending ages in the magic of darkrooms, Jacob considers himself as a master in the chemical process of LITH PRINTING. Moving forward, he invested in a large format printer, which in combination with his broad skills delivers excellent fine art prints on a wide range of media.
Besides his base in Berlin, he mainly lives in Sumatra/Indonesia since January 2010, from where he is working for several GTZ/GIZ - projects as filmmaker & photographer.
One of the projects supported good governance in the province of Aceh. Although the well-known Tsunami of 2004 took endless lives, civil war was effectively destroyed, and now – peace in Aceh is stabilized. Jacob was able to realize a grand exhibition ´ACEH RECONSTRUCTED AND AT PEACE` in Banda Aceh in order to celebrate the five years jubilee of the Peace Agreement in August 2010. Due to the great success the Delegation of the European Union reopened the exhibition in Jakarta and Brussels.
IN CASE YOU HAVE TROUBLE OPENING THE FOLLOWING FILM- LINKS - MOST LIKELY DUE TO A MISSING PLUGIN IN YOUR BROWSER - YOU CAN ALSO VISIT:
-> JACOB´S GIZ YOUTUBE CHANNEL <-
Within the framework of the Social Protection Programme Jacob made two films on the socio- economical challenges of different society levels in the Southeast Asian Metropolis Jakarta:
-> Trailer ´DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL - HOPES FOR THE FUTURE` 6.19 min <-
-> Documentary ´TWO STORIES - ONE COMMUNITY` 24.57 min <-
He supported after that the Thailand-based ASEAN sustainable Agriculture project by implementing video- interviews with selected farmers and government officials, which will be used for conferences, workshops, and for a planned feature film end 2013.
In early 2013 Jacob made an Image film for one of GIZ´s biggest projects: the TTC - The Technical Trainers College in Riyadh/Saudi Arabia. The main objective was to represent their innovative educational concept and to underline the great success they have on site:
-> Image film ´TTC - AN INSTITUTION FOR THE FUTURE OF SAUDI ARABIA` 20.06 min <-
Furthermore a snappy Recruiting film was implemented, 4.23 min (for in-house use only).
Jacob is one of 11 filmmakers that were creating LAST STATEMENT - this collaborative film based on actual last statements from death row inmates in the United States correctional system is currently running on festivals. The film can be seen here:
-> Film ´LAST STATEMENT` 31.37 min <-
During summertime 2013 Jacob flew to Cairo & Tunis for SWEEP-Net: the GIZ project works at institutionally anchoring the principles of a sustainable and integrated solid waste management in Mashreq and Maghreb countries and in all the networks member countries:
In November 2013 Jacob was asked to teach at a Berlin high school the different steps in processes of filmmaking. The challenge was to “translate” two contemporary poems into poetry clips in order to investigate new ways of interpreting literature:
-> 2 poetry clips ´MORGENDLICHE REINKARNATION & NEBEN DEN PHOTOS` 3.00 & 2.47 min <-
Afterwards Jacob made several short films for a GIZ project, which is implementing Content Development & Distance Learning, such as this film that helps to move on with their E-Learning platform:
-> ´LE COMPOSTAGE: TECHNOLOGIE PROMETTEUSE POUR LA VALORISATION DES DÉCHETS` 10.10 min <-
This March Jacob made short films for the ´Global Safety Days 2014` - an Initiative that the BASF Company is running every 1,5 years.
In autumn 2014 Jacob finished an extensive portrait about the current status in the field of solid waste management - for GIZ it was shot in 6 countries:
An image film about the interactive art object „Yes to innovation“ (5 min) that Roche Pharma AG implemented for their 5200 employees in Penzberg/München was created.
The current situation regarding climate change is one of the few major topics that mankind has to face. Global warming, for instance, is mainly caused by greenhouse gases - the GIZ project IKI-MRV has the task to investigate these circumstances by monitoring, reporting, verifying within the perspectives of a local environment:
-> Trailer ´RENFORCEMENT DES CAPACITÉS POUR LES INVENTAIRES DE GES ET LE MRV` 4.13 min <-
In April 2015 Jacob recorded with the former Minister of Environment Prof. Dr. Dr. Klaus Töpfer a keynote speech, which was used as opener for an international GIZ conference with more than 400 experts.
In late Spring 2015 a group of eleven delegates from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan - led by the national heroine Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Ali - came to Germany for a 5-day-study trip. The main objective was to demonstrate significant examples for the main thematic issues of the GIZ project Sustainable Use of Ecosystem Services in Jordan, such as the protection and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, with a focus on their economic importance and value for society:
Jacob has recently made two films for the GIZ health program PAsAR based in Cameroon. The development of the health system in the country is stagnating at a low level. Children and women in particular have only limited access to medical care. The area of reproductive health, including family planning, appropriate health care for women during pregnancy and childbirth and access to contraceptives, is insufficiently developed. The objective of PAsAR is to improve the provision of reproductive health services to the population, and that the majority has access to modern contraceptives. Further, functioning midwifery schools operate in several countries regions and the graduates are integrated into the national labour market:
-> Documentary ´LE PLANNING FAMILIAL: C´EST POUR NOUS!` 14.50 min <-
-> Documentary ´LA SAGE-FEMME: AU SECOURS DES FEMMES CAMEROUNAISES` 14.06 min <-
The Central African states - CEMAC - are among the richest in Africa in terms of mineral resources. However, they have yet to use these resources to generate any substantial development momentum. Furthermore, this region is characterised by both domestic and interstate conflict and crises, which are frequently attributable to weak governance and the unregulated extraction of natural resources. The GIZ project REMAP is currently assisting the CEMAC commission in the area of organisational development, aiming to turn the regional organisation into a capable partner for its member states in the field of extractive resource governance. Main focus is a greater transparency and a sustainable economic growth that can reduce the discrepancy between the wealth of natural resources in the region and the poverty of the general population. Jacob flew twice to Cameroon in order to produce an image film for the project (french with english subtitles):
In March 2017 Jacob finished a trailer for REMAP and its image film (english Version):
-> Trailer ´RESOURCES AND RISKS: GOVERNANCE OF RAW MATERIALS IN CENTRAL AFRICA (CEMAC)` 3.25 min <-
Late 2016 Jacob flew to Cameroon for the forestry and environmental programme ProPFE.
Cameroon is endowed with a rich biological diversity. This high degree of specie, genetic and ecosystem diversity is of significant socioeconomic, scientific, and medicinal importance to its people. However, these environmental, economic and social functions of Cameroon´s forest ecosystems are under threat from factors such as migration, population growth, rising demand for fuel wood, expanding agricultural activities and a lack of alternative sources of employment and income for the populace. Illegal logging and poaching exacerbate this situation. Therefore, the programme ProPFE of GIZ supports their partner ministries in devising and implementing a sector strategy for environmental and forest conservation. It also works with the partners on continued development of policy and strategy guidelines and legal frameworks. The Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED) and the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF), along with their subordinate technical offices, are carrying out their mandates in coordination with other stakeholders such as civil society, local non-governmental organisations and local representatives of residents of protected areas. This film is demonstrating a dense and prosperous insight into the current situation:
-> Image film ´MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT - NATURE PROTECTION AND SUSTAINABLE PROTECTION` 11.52 min <-
A 2nd film was produced for ProPFE: the tree ´prunus africana` as product is an important and reliable local income source for communities living in and around national park forests. Monitoring the challenging exploitation is of utmost importance:
Renewable energies and energy efficiency are key topics for the energy policies of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Safeguarding a sustainable energy supply is a special challenge common to all the countries of this region. Until now, however, each country has attempted to solve the related problems on its own, as no joint platform existed. Against this background, GIZ established the Regional Center for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) in Cairo 2008. Having today 17 Arab countries among its members, RCREEE strives to lead renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives and expertise in all Arab states:
-> Image film ´RCREEE - ENERGY FOR A BETTER LIFE` 22.21 min <-
A dramatic rise in the prevalence and incidence of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes in recent years has led to several major healthcare reforms in Uzbekistan as part of the country’s drive to improve health service efficiency. Following independence, the Uzbek Government immediately invested several hundred million US dollars in better quality healthcare. Its aim: to give the Uzbek people access to state-of-the-art healthcare technology. Although this high-tech medical equipment is now available, a shortage of skilled health workers is compromising service quality and delivery. To address this issue, GIZ and the Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Republic of Uzbekistan initiated the project ‘Advanced training for medical and technical professionals working with high-tech medical equipment’. The objective - The Uzbek population in selected regions has better access to modern diagnostic and therapeutic techniques in the public healthcare system:
-> Image film ´USE OF MODERN, ADVANCED MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY IN UZBEKISTAN` 3.11 min <-
Since 2009, GIZ has been implementing a programme on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office to support police reform processes in Africa. Many police institutions fail to provide adequate security for the population, so public confidence in law enforcement is low in most countries. Regional police partnerships are also limited in number, and there is insufficient coordination of joint operations, for instance in peace missions organised by the African Union (AU). The objective of the GIZ Police Programme Africa is to strengthen the institutional and personnel capacities of national and regional police institutions in Africa’s (post-)conflict countries and fragile states. This boosts public confidence in police institutions among Africa’s rural, urban and border populations. This film provides insights into the topic, and was e.g. successfully streamed during the German Congress on Crime Prevention – GCOCP 2018 (in german: DPT – Deutscher Präventionstag 2018):
IN CASE YOU HAVE TROUBLE WATCHING THESE FILMS - MOST LIKELY DUE TO A MISSING PLUGIN IN YOUR BROWSER - YOU CAN ALSO VISIT:
-> JACOB´S GIZ YOUTUBE CHANNEL <-
Ghana has made great progress in its economic development. However, large sections of the population live close to the poverty line. Despite a very positive development overall, the government is not generating sufficient revenues, which are needed to provide central public services. The Ghanaian Government is therefore committed to decentralisation in order to promote democratic development. One of the main objectives is, that selected districts / local authorities have improved the collection, management and data-driven planning of their finances to implement the 2030 Agenda. Further, national and subnational institutions are able to finance inclusive development:
Tumaco is the community with the largest cocaine cultivation in Colombia - over 23,000 ha. Since the disarmament of the former FARC guerrillas during the government's peace process (2016), several illegal armed groups are arguing about the lucrative drug area and trying to annihilate each other. From January 2017 to August 2018, there were 369 targeted homicides on just 200,000 inhabitants. Currently FARC dissidents, ELN guerrillas and various paramilitary groups are present. They are responsible for killings, evictions, express kidnappings, torture and blackmail. PROMOPAZ supports communities and individuals to develop protection mechanisms against violence and to enforce human rights - an insight into this AGEH (Association for Development Cooperation) project will be given via a portrait of an implemented specialist on site:
-> Image film ´TUMACO - BETWEEN PACIFIC PARADISE AND BRUTE FORCE` 2.37 min <-
Jacob has an own 4K copter - some call it misleadingly a drone - that is ready to travel anywhere. With aerial photography & videography new, further leading perspectives can be achieved:
-> AERIAL INSIGHTS 4.06 min <-
He is also fit in graphic design. Amongst others his concepts were published several times for GIZ. The portfolio and his CV are available upon request.
Jacob is currently working on a film for a peace project in Colombia.