WE MAKE HIGH-END DOCUMENTARIES, DOCU-FICTION AND DRAMA - FOCUSING ON NATURAL-HISTORY, SCIENCE, SOCIETY, HISTORY OR JUST: ON LIFE. OUR FILMS MAKE THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE.

Mission


Germany From Above is colourFIELD’s most recent and biggest ratings-buster in Germany, voted the best documentary series of the last 30 years by the audience of our country’s most popular tv broadcaster ZDF. Other colourFIELD films made it big all over the world: Beautiful Minds – A Voyage Into The Brain, The Virus Empire or Automatic Brain were licensed to 50 and more countries – and still counting.

colourFIELD films are visually driven, with an exceptional journalistic depth, a quirky sense of humour, edgy, entertaining storytelling and always a great love for music: The cinema motion picture Germany From Above is even regularly performed live in some of Germany’s biggest concert halls, with great philharmonic orchestras playing the score live to the giant screen. The splendid original score was created by composer Boris Salchow from Los Angeles.

For colourFIELD’s team members please see section Team. Petra Höfer and Freddie Röckenhaus co-founded colourFIELD in 1994 in Munich.

Our films got international acclaim, being on the schedules of not just the big German networks and broadcasters ARD, ZDF, WDR, Radio Bremen, HR and French-German joint-venture ARTE TV, but also being chosen by highly ranked international players, such as National Geographic TV, the Discovery Channel, BBC Worldwide, Al Jazeera or NHK Japan, RAI Italy. colourFIELD productions are shown at festivals from Shanghai to Tokyo, also in German embassys, consulates and Goethe Institutes around the globe, and earned awards around the world.

colourFIELD is based in the city of Dortmund, Germany’s total football capital, residing in a beautiful former industrial loft in the leafy, tree-lined heart of town. Matchdays of Borussia Dortmund are strictly off duty.

Germany From Above is colourFIELD’s most recent and biggest ratings-buster in Germany, voted the best documentary series of the last 30 years by the audience of our country’s most popular tv broadcaster ZDF. Other colourFIELD films made it big all over the world: Beautiful Minds – A Voyage Into The Brain, The Virus Empire or Automatic Brain were licensed to 50 and more countries – and still counting.

colourFIELD films are visually driven, with an exceptional journalistic depth, a quirky sense of humour, edgy, entertaining storytelling and always a great love for music: The cinema motion picture Germany From Above is even regularly performed live in some of Germany’s biggest concert halls, with great philharmonic orchestras playing the score live to the giant screen. The splendid original score was created by composer Boris Salchow from Los Angeles.

For colourFIELD’s team members please see section Team. Petra Höfer and Freddie Röckenhaus co-founded colourFIELD in 1994 in Munich.

Our films got international acclaim, being on the schedules of not just the big German networks and broadcasters ARD, ZDF, WDR, Radio Bremen, HR and French-German joint-venture ARTE TV, but also being chosen by highly ranked international players, such as National Geographic TV, the Discovery Channel, BBC Worldwide, Al Jazeera or NHK Japan, RAI Italy. colourFIELD productions are shown at festivals from Shanghai to Tokyo, also in German embassys, consulates and Goethe Institutes around the globe, and earned awards around the world.

colourFIELD is based in the city of Dortmund, Germany’s total football capital, residing in a beautiful former industrial loft in the leafy, tree-lined heart of town. Matchdays of Borussia Dortmund are strictly off duty.

Team


Freddie Röckenhaus

Journalist, Filmmaker, Co-Owner

Freddie was awarded Germany‘s leading journalism prize, the Henri-Nannen-Preis. He also received a number of awards for his works in television and film, such as the German Television Award (Deutscher Fernsehpreis), the German Camera Award (Deutscher Kamerapreis), the Gold Award at the New York Festival, Silver Plaque at the Chicago Film Festival or the Audience Award at the ParisScience Festival.

Before founding colourFIELD, along with Petra Höfer, he was staff editor at Germany‘s prestigious weekly paper DiE ZEIT, later joined as a staff editor Germany‘s most influential nationwide daily paper Süddeutsche Zeitung, where he is still a regular contributing writer. From the University of Bochum Freddie got his university degree in Sport Sciences, German Language and Literature, and Social Sciences.

More at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Röckenhaus

Petra Höfer ✝ 6.6.2017

Journalist, Filmmaker, Co-Owner

Petra was honoured with a number of awards for her work in television and film, such as the prestigious German Television Award (Deutscher Fernsehpreis), the German Camera Award (Deutscher Kamerapreis), the Gold Award at the New York Festival, Silver Plaque at the Chicago Film Festival , the Audience Award at the ParisScience Festival or the European Science TV Award of the European Union in Lisbon.

Before founding colourFIELD, along with her husband Freddie Röckenhaus, worked freelance for the investigative ARD network programme Monitor, and as a staff editor for Germany‘s nationwide daily paper Die Tageszeitung in Berlin. At the University of Bochum Petra got her university degrees in Sport Sciences, German Language and Literature, and Social Sciences.

More at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra_Höfer

Lisa Rückwardt

Assistance of the CEO

Lisa first joined colourFIELD in 2015, as an intern, later as a freelancer, and contributed to colourFIELD productions such as Migrating Birds and Our Forests. In recent years, as a film student at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences, she trained as the producer of short films and serial productions. In 2021 she took over Assistance of the CEO position at colourFIELD.

Lisa holds two university degrees, bachelor and a master, both from Dutch universities. She studied Psychology and Media Sciences at the Roosevelt University College in Middelburg, Netherlands, with the bachelor degree, and later, for her master degree, at the Vrijen Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands, in Comparative Arts and Media Sciences.

Johannes Fritsche

chief editor, technical supervisor.

Johannes, before he joined colourFIELD in 2011, produced a variety of independent and low-budget short films in Berlin. As editor he contributed to the controversial documentary movie Gangsterläufer (Gangster Runner). He was involved in the multi award winning colourFIELD production Automatic Brain, the movie production Germany From Above or later Underworlds - Germany From Below or Migrating birds. Johannes also organizes colourFIELD‘s production facilities.

Jo has a degree from the private University Of Applied Sciences SAE in Berlin in Digital Filmmaking. Before colourFIELD Johannes worked with the film companies Hanfgarn & Ufer and Studio TV, both in Berlin.

Susanne Rostosky

journalist and filmmaker

Susanne has been working as a producer for a number of colourFIELD productions since 2009, including Germany From Above, Underworlds - Germany From Below, Migrating Birds or currently The Magic Forest. Before colourFIELD she produced and directed documentaries such as Aliens among us (Fremde unter uns) for 3Sat or Treasure Hunt on Silk Road (Schatzjagd auf der Seidenstraße) for ZDF-Terra X. She also occasionally writes and produces short clips for consumer protection and for the ARD educational format Knowledge Before Eight (Wissen vor Acht).

Susanne has both a university degree from University of Mainz in Film Science, Journalism Studies and Psychology, and from the Ludwigsburg Film Academy a degree in Science Journalism.

Niomi O’Hara

Journalist and producer

Niomi spent most of her life in Australia, but holds also the citizenship of the Republic of Ireland, where she originates from. Currently she lives in Dortmund, with spells in Dublin and Perth, Western Australia.

Niomi served about ten years at the ABC, Australia’s equivalent to the British BBC, where she hosted and produced her own radio show. As a steady freelancer for colourFIELD she already took care of the English versioning of Russia from Above, with John Malkovich. Currently she is contributing to several new colourFIELD projects, including 66.5 Degrees North - The Arctic.

Niomi holds two university degrees, in Film and Journalism (Communication) from Murdoch University Perth, and in Performing Arts from the acclaimed Academy Of Performing Arts in Perth. Before she joined ABC she served as a Personal Referent in Politics, and she also frequently hosts festivals, talk panels and other live events.

Kay Schlasse

journalist, cartoonist, songwriter.

Kay studied German Language and Literature for a while, and contributed cartoons to magazines such as Der SPIEGEL, before he was overwhelmed by the incredible success of his rock band Extrabreit in the 80‘s to 90‘s. The band is still active, but it‘s calmer schedule allows Kay more freedom now.

Kay since 2009 was contributing to colourFIELD productions, including the entire Germany From Above series, Underworlds - Germany From Below and Migrating Birds. He is always involved in the development of the computer animated sequences. Kay also wrote the successful novel Hart wie Marmelade (As Hard As Marmelade). Before colourFIELD he worked with Hamburg based tv company MME as a writer-producer.

More at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Havaii

Awards


FBW - GERMAN FILM RATING AGENCY

RATING: PRECIOUS
Russia From Above (2020)

NEW YORK FESTIVALS

GOLD AWARD WINNER
Russia From Above (2019)

GEORG VON HOLTZBRINCK PRIZE

PRIZE FOR SCIENTIFIC JOURNALISM:
Our Magic Forests (2018)

GERMAN NATURE FILM AWARD

JURY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE:
Best Visualization
Our Magic Forests (2018)

ÖKOFILMTOUR, 13TH FESTIVAL OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURE FILM

BEST CHILDREN’S AND YOUTH FILM / HEINZ SIELMANN STIFTUNG
Our Magic Forests (2018)

SCI-DOC / EUROPEAN SCIENCE AND NEW MEDIA FESTIVAL

ENVIRONMENT AWARD
Migrating Birds - Scouts Of Distant Worlds (2017)

JAPAN WILDLIFE FILM FESTIVAL

BEST EDUCATION AWARD
Migrating Birds - Scouts Of Distant Worlds (2017)

New York Festivals

Gold Award Winner
Migrating Birds - Scouts Of Distant Worlds (2017)

53. CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Silver Hugo
Migrating Birds - Scouts Of Distant Worlds (2017)

11th INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE FILM FESTIVAL GREEN SCREEN

Heinz Sielman Award
Best Science Film
Migrating Birds - Scouts Of Distant Worlds (2017)

DEUTSCHER NATURFILM PREIS

Jury-Award for outstanding performance
Best script
Migrating Birds - Scouts Of Distant Worlds (2017)

Grimme Prize

Nomination
Underworlds – Germany From Below (2015)

German Camera Award

Nomination
Underworlds – Germany From Below (2014)

Sichuan TV Festival Panda Award

Nomination
Automatic Brain (2013)

EU Filmdays Tokyo

Official German entry to the festival
Germany From Above – The Movie (2013)

Shanghai Film-Festival

In Programme
Germany From Above – The Movie (2013)

FBW – German Film Rating Agency

Rating: Precious
Germany From Above – The Movie (2012)

New York Festivals

Gold Award Winner
Automatic Brain (2012)

Chicago International Film Festival - TV Awards

Silver Plaque Winner - Science And Nature
Automatic Brain (2012)

European Science TV Awards

Best Documentary
Automatic Brain (2012)

Pariscience

Audience Award - Prix de Lycées
Automatic Brain (2012)

German Camera Award

Special Prize of the Jury
Germany From Above (2011)

Media Award Aviation and Aerospace

Best TV-programme
Germany From Above (2011)

Grimme Prize

Nomination
Germany From Above (2011)

German TV Award

Nomination
Germany From Above (2010)

Shanghai Film-Festival

Programme
The Virus Empire (2009)

German TV-award

Winner
Blut und Spiele (2007)

Grimme Prize

Nomination
Beautiful Minds – A Voyage Into The Brain (2007)

German TV-award

Nomination
Beautiful Minds – A Voyage Into The Brain (2006)

Prix Europa

Nomination
Beautiful Minds – A Voyage Into The Brain (2006)

Grimme Prize

Nomination
The Fatal Eleven (2006)

Henri Nannen Prize

Best Investigative Achievement
Freddie Röckenhaus (2005)

Grimme Prize

Nomination
Truck Stop Geiselwind (2000)

Grimme Prize

Nomination
Glamoroso! (1999)

German TV-award

Nomination
Truck Stop Geiselwind (1999)

Grimme Prize

Nomination
Jobsavers – Jobkillers (1996)

Grimme Prize

Nomination
Counting Peas (1995)