Johanna Jannsen (Schleswig-Holstein)

Biography

Johanna Jannsen is a documentary filmmaker based in Flensburg, near the Danish border. Alongside directing films for ARTE and NDR and working on international documentary co-productions, she explores personal stories through collaborative and sensory-driven filmmaking. Her short documentary MY FATHER / M‘ATHAIR screened at over 20 international festivals. In 2026, she founded schnüüsch film, an independent production company based in Schleswig-Holstein. Through documentary and hybrid films, the company aims to tell stories shaped by trust, curiosity and long-term relationships with its protagonists, giving them the time and space to unfold naturally.

Project

ELIAS

Poetic Documentary Short Film

While awaiting the birth of his first child, blind Afghan refugee Elias moves between the streets of Kiel and memories of Afghanistan as the film searches for a shared cinematic language to make sense of a world that cannot simply be seen.

ELIAS is an essayistic short documentary that explores sensory perception through an inclusive filmmaking process. At ist center is Elias, a blind Afghan refugee building a new life in Kiel with his wife as they prepare to welcome their first child. Having lost his sight at the age of five, Elias retains vivid visual memories of Afghanistan. Addressed to his unborn child, his letters lead the film through a rich sonic landscape. He reflects on his childhood, the home he left behind, and his present life in Kiel, a city he has never seen yet one that will become his child‘s homeland. Structured around the chapters Dreams, Trees, and Sea, the film unfolds through memory, sensation, and association. Written reflections intertwine with fragments of everyday life, immersive soundscapes, and observational scenes. Rather than treating blindness as its subject, the film embraces Elias‘ perspective, exploring how cinema can evoke experiences that lie beyond visual representation. Developed in close collaboration with Elias, ELIAS searches for a cinematic language between listening, remembering, and seeing, transforming acoustic perception into visual expression.