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Janine Benyus

Actor
Janine Benyus is an American science writer, innovation consultant, and author best known for popularizing the field of biomimicry. Biomimicry is the practice of learning from and then emulating nature's forms, processes, and ecosystems to create more sustainable designs. She co-founded Biomimicry 3.8, a consultancy that helps innovators apply nature's lessons to solve design challenges. Benyus has written several books on the topic, including "Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature." Her work has influenced architects, engineers, and designers across various industries, promoting a shift towards more ecological and regenerative practices. While not directly involved in film as an actor or director, her ideas and work have been featured in documentaries and educational films related to sustainability and innovation. She is celebrated for her ability to translate complex scientific concepts into accessible and inspiring narratives.

Films

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Space Cleaners

Space Cleaners

2019 | 23 min | Documentary

The amount of space debris in Earth orbit is steadily increasing. ESA estimates that there are 600,000 objects larger than 1 cm in diameter in orbit. These objects could soon not only endanger space travel but also make GPS navigation and other satellite-based technologies unusable. The film documents the work with the topic of space debris and makes the viewer aware that not only our human actions on earth, but also our actions in space have profound consequences for us and our environment.

Winter

Winter

2014 | 29 min | Documentary

Landscapes change and people change with them. This happens over centuries and decades, but sometimes also in the fleeting moment of transition from night to day. Then everything changes and nothing remains as it was. "The snow hid everything beneath itself, until people finally forgot." Director Martin Prinoth (DIE GESCHÖPFE DES VESUV), born in Bolzano, is a graduate of the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg. He is a member of the German-Italian artist collective YOVO! YOVO! and co-founder ...

The Netz: SEEK II

The Netz: SEEK II

2009 | 29 min | Icons & Media Art

While doing research for his film THE NET, Lutz Dammbeck came across the groundbreaking exhibition “Software – Information Technology: Its New Meaning for Art”, which took place at the Jewish Museum in New York in 1970. Curated by Jack Burnham, this exhibition presented the symbiosis of conceptual and media art with what were then new technologies developed for the American military. One of the central exhibits was the installation Seek by the Architecture Machine Group of the Massachusetts Institute ...

Fukushima and the Bats

Fukushima and the Bats

2015 | 82 min | Documentary

This environmental documentary by young, Berlin based filmmaker Philipp von Becker looks at the various issues surrounding the so-called 'energy shift' to green power in Germany. Wind power is a preferred energy source. As a result, ever-increasing numbers of wind turbines are built across the country, casting an expanding mark on previously unspoilt landscapes. In the countryside, the construction of wind parks faces huge opposition - especially if the plants are built in forests. By examining ...

Nur das Beste

Nur das Beste

2013 | 80 min | Documentary

Obsessive perfectionism? Two dog breeders, two tomato growers, a ballerina, and a quality manager talk about their self-optimization processes. The quality manager attempts to further optimize the already nearly perfect workflow. The ballerina fights with iron discipline against the deterioration of her own body. The tomato growers constantly try to set themselves apart from the competition. The two dog breeders use blood and hearing tests to approach their dream of breeding the perfect Dalmatian. NUR ...

In die Welt - Into the World

In die Welt - Into the World

2009 | 87 min | Documentary

In all its intensity and diversity, the everyday miracle of birth is shown with the means of direct cinema, without commentary, interviews or explanation, and connected to the cycle of standardized processes in the Viennese hospital. A chronicle of the beginning of life and its organization. "Sober and at the same time of physical force, intimate, yet not voyeuristic, distanced, but never apathetic." (Jury statement Duisburger Filmwoche) "The balance of the design draws us into the spell of the ...

Overgames

Overgames

2015 | 164 min | Documentary

A harmless game show or a deep-rooted experiment in re-education? When the game show “Nur nicht nervös werden” (“Don't get nervous”) first aired on West German television in 1960, no one suspected that the seemingly innocent competitions could be based on ideas from American psychiatry. But that is precisely what Joachim Fuchsberger, the host of the show at the time, claimed years later in an ARD talk show. When asked about the origins of the game mechanics, he provocatively retorted: “A crazy, mentally ...

Focus on Infinity

Focus on Infinity

2014 | 80 min | Documentary

Where do we come from and where are we going? Whoever wants to answer the most important questions must decipher the secret of the universe first. A journey to people and machines. The locations and research sites where theoretical physicists, cosmologists and quantum physicists trace the question of the origin and future of the universe are not only of architectural beauty themselves, but also provide answers to literally earth-shattering questions... "FOCUS ON INFINITY captivates primarily through ...

Archive of the Future

Archive of the Future

2024 | 91 min | Documentary

Behind the imposing walls of the Natural History Museum in Vienna lies a world that few get to see. While visitors stroll through the magnificent exhibition halls, scientists work in the background to preserve millions of exhibits. Taxidermists attach delicate butterflies to chipboard, beetles are carefully archived, and a stuffed giraffe is maneuvered through narrow corridors. Every artifact tells a story, every detail contributes to the preservation of our knowledge. With calm powers of observation, ...

Lord of the Toys

Lord of the Toys

2018 | 96 min | Documentary

Max "Adlersson" Herzberg from Dresden, 20 years old, has decided not to spend his life working. On YouTube, he reviews knives and gangsta rap special editions. More than 300,000 active fans follow Adlersson and his "Pfandangels" posse, who excel at boozing, trash-talking, humiliating those weaker than themselves, and testing limits. Is Max a violence-glorifying influencer with right-wing tendencies or maybe just an ordinary adolescent in search of stability and identity in a time when the lines ...