{{Short description|German documentary filmmaker}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}} {{COI|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Marcel Mettelsiefen | image = Marcel Mettelsiefen.jpg | caption = Mettelsiefen in 2022 | alt = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1978}} | birth_place = Munich, West Germany | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, producer | years_active = 2012–present | notable_works = ''Watani: My Homeland'', ''Children of The Taliban'', ''In Her Hands'' }}
'''Marcel Mettelsiefen''' (born 1978) is a German documentary filmmaker. He has won six BAFTA awards<ref>{{cite web |title=BAFTA Awards Database: Marcel Mettelsiefen |url=https://awards.bafta.org/keyword-search?keywords=Marcel+Mettelsiefen |website=BAFTA |access-date=2025-09-15}}</ref> and four Emmy awards, and was nominated for an Oscar in 2017 for ''Watani: My Homeland'' in the category of Best Documentary Short. In 2023, he won two BAFTA's for ''Children of the Taliban''. In the same year, ''In Her Hands,'' was nominated for three ''Emmy'' awards, and won the award for Outstanding Politics & Government Documentary.
Mettelsiefen has a background in photo journalism and has reported from the Middle East and Afghanistan, and South America.
Mettelsiefen studied political science and medicine at the Humboldt University in Berlin.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Europe |first=Canon |title=Marcel Mettelsiefen – Canon Ambassadors |url=https://www.canon-europe.com/pro/ambassadors/marcel-mettelsiefen/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=Canon Europe |language=en-EU}}</ref>
== Career == Mettelsiefen was born in Munich to a German father and an Ecuadorian mother and began taking photographs after graduating from high school. He came to photojournalism through his work for the magazine ''Zenith – Zeitschrift für den Orient'', founded in 1998.
In early 2000, he traveled to Israel and the Palestinian Territories, photographing for the Associated Press news agency. After his return, he began working for the news German Press news agency, for which he reported from crisis areas such as Afghanistan (2001), Iraq (2003) and Haiti (2004).
In addition to his work as a photographer, Mettelsiefen studied politics and medicine at the FU Berlin. In 2008, he went to Afghanistan for 14 months, where he started a cooperation with ''Spiegel'' correspondent Christoph Reuter from Kabul.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-26 |title=Marcel Mettelsiefen |url=https://www.akademie-solitude.de/en/person/marcel-mettelsiefen/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=Akademie Schloss Solitude |language=en-US}}</ref>
At the beginning of the Arab Spring, Mettelsiefen traveled to the besieged areas in Egypt and Libya for the news magazine ''Der Spiegel''. From 2011 to 2014, he travelled undercover to Syria more than 28 times and produced numerous reports and short documentaries for which he received numerous international awards, including the Emmy Award, Bafta, Grierson and the Dupont Award.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Syria Changed My Life:" An Interview with Marcel Mettelsiefen |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/syria-changed-my-life-an-interview-with-marcel-mettelsiefen/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=FRONTLINE |language=en-US}}</ref>
One of Mettelsiefen's films is the short documentary ''Watani: My Homeland'', which tells the story of children in war-torn Syria. Over a period of three years, Marcel documented the life of a Syrian mother and her four young children in the besieged city of Aleppo. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2017 and won a Peabody Award, a Grierson Award, and an Emmy Award.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6195494/awards/ |title=Watani: My Homeland (2016) - Awards - IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2024-06-21 |via=m.imdb.com}}</ref> thumb|upright|Mettelsiefen in 2015 In his four-part documentary series "Afghanistan – The Wounded Land", Mettelsiefen combines archival footage with first-hand testimonials from Afghans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Afghanistan: The Wounded Land {{!}} PBS America {{!}} UK |url=https://www.pbsamerica.co.uk/series/afghanistan-the-wounded-land/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=www.pbsamerica.co.uk}}</ref>
''Children of the Taliban'' followed a cinematic account of the lives of children in Afghanistan told through the lens and stories of four young children.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nicholson |first=Rebecca |date=2022-12-15 |title=Children of the Taliban review – this beautiful documentary is an absolute must-watch |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/dec/15/children-of-the-taliban-review-this-beautiful-documentary-is-an-absolute-must-watch |access-date=2024-06-21 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
His feature documentary ''In Her Hands'' premiered on the opening weekend of the Toronto Film Festival 2022 and was sold to Netflix.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.netflix.com/title/81521475 | title=Watch in Her Hands | Netflix Official Site | website=Netflix }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Ayazi |first1=Tamana |title=In Her Hands |date=2022-11-16 |type=Documentary |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21945344/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |others=Zarifa Ghafari |publisher=HiddenLight Productions, Moondogs, Propagate |last2=Mettelsiefen |first2=Marcel}}</ref>
In 2023, Mettelsiefen released ''Tanja'', a documentary about Tanja Nijmeijer, a Dutch woman named who was once part of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The film, according to Mettelsiefen, is meant to depict her as a strong but not necessarily likeable woman and a victim of male chauvinism. Mettelsiefen first met Nijmeijer in the early 2010s, while reporting on the Colombian peace process on behalf of ''Der Spiegel'', but he did not secure enough funds and support for a documentary on her until 2019. In his original draft, the film would "hide" her at first and describe her indirectly through interviews with other people, then show her on camera midway. However, his editors rejected that idea.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Macnab |first1=Geoffrey |title=DOK.fest Munich Int'l Comp: Tanja: Up In Arms by Marcel Mettelsiefen |url=https://businessdoceurope.com/dok-fest-munich-intl-comp-tanja-up-in-arms-by-marcel-mettelsiefen/ |access-date=8 August 2025 |work=Business Doc Europe |date=11 May 2023}}</ref>
== Filmography ==
* 2024 ''state of rage'' * 2023 ''A Second Shot'' * 2023 ''Tanja'' * 2022 ''Children of the Taliban'' * 2022 ''In Her Hands'' * 2021 ''I Want My Country Back'' * 2020 ''El conserje'' * 2019 ''Afghanistan – The Wounded Land (TV Series documentary) (4 episodes)''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Afghanistan. The Wounded Land |url=https://looks.film/en/afghanistan/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=LOOKSfilm (production company)}}</ref> * 2019 ''Cajun Navy'' * 2016 ''Watani: My Homeland'' (Documentary short) * 2016 ''Slum Britain: 50 Years On'' (TV Movie documentary) * 2016 ''Children on the Frontline: The Escape'' (TV Movie documentary) * 2014–2016 ''Frontline'' (TV Series documentary) (2 episodes) * 2014 ''Unreported World'' (TV Series documentary) (1 episode) * 2014 ''Syria: Children on the Frontline'' (TV Movie documentary)
== Awards and nominations == {{BLP unsourced section|date=June 2024}} * Winner:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-26 |title=News 2023 Nominees (Documentaries) - The Emmys |url=https://theemmys.tv/news/44th-nominations/documentaries/,%20https://theemmys.tv/news/44th-nominations/documentaries/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=theemmys.tv |language=en-US}}</ref> Emmy Outstanding Politics & Government Documentary – ''In Her Hands.'' (2023) * Nominated:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-26 |title=News 2023 Nominees (Documentaries) - The Emmys |url=https://theemmys.tv/news/44th-nominations/documentaries/,%20https://theemmys.tv/news/44th-nominations/documentaries/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=theemmys.tv |language=en-US}}</ref> Emmy Outstanding Direction Documentary – ''In Her Hands.'' (2023) * Nominated:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-26 |title=News 2023 Nominees (Documentaries) - The Emmys |url=https://theemmys.tv/news/44th-nominations/documentaries/,%20https://theemmys.tv/news/44th-nominations/documentaries/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=theemmys.tv |language=en-US}}</ref> Emmy Outstanding Editing Documentary – ''In Her Hands.'' (2023) * Nominated: Peabody Award Best Documentary – ''Children of The Taliban.'' (2023) * Winner:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-20 |title=CURRENT AFFAIRS - CHILDREN OF THE TALIBAN |url=https://www.bafta.org/television/awards/current-affairs-5 |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=www.bafta.org |language=en}}</ref> BAFTA Best Documentary – ''Children of The Taliban.'' (2023) * Winner:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-20 |title=CURRENT AFFAIRS - CHILDREN OF THE TALIBAN |url=https://www.bafta.org/television/awards/current-affairs-5 |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=www.bafta.org |language=en}}</ref> BAFTA Craft for Best Cinematography – ''Children of The Taliban.'' (2023) * Winner: Grimme Preis – ''Afghanistan – A Wounded Land.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=57. Grimme-Preis 2021. Afghanistan. Das verwundete Land (LOOKSfilm für NDR/ARTE) |url=https://www.grimme-preis.de/archiv/2021/preistraeger/p/d/afghanistan-das-verwundete-land/ |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-date=15 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250115203115/https://www.grimme-preis.de/archiv/2021/preistraeger/p/d/afghanistan-das-verwundete-land |access-date=24 February 2025 }}</ref> * Nominated: The Rose d’Or Award – ''Afghanistan – Ein Verwundetes Land.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rose d’Or 2020 finalists announced |url=https://www.rosedor.com/2020/11/12/rose-dor-2020-finalists-announced/ |access-date=2025-02-24}}</ref> * Winner: Rory Peck Award – ''Children on the Frontline: The Escape'', Sony Impact Award for Current Affairs. * Nominated:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-18 |title=The 89th Academy Awards {{!}} 2017 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2017 |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref> Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) – ''Watani, My Homeland (2016)'' * Winner: Prix Europa prize for Best TV Programme about Cultural Diversity – ''Children of Syria'' * Winner: Prix Italia – Best TV Documentary, Current Affairs – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Winner: Cinema for Peace Award – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Winner: Cinema for Peace – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Winner: International Emmy – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Winner: Grimme Preis – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Winner: Bayeux-Calvados Award – Long-Format Television – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Winner: Grierson Award – Best Documentary On An International Contemporary Theme – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Winner: One World Media – Television Award * Winner: Edinburgh TV Awards – Producer/Director Debut Award * Winner: RTS – International Documentary * Winner:<ref>{{Cite web |title=2015 Television Current Affairs {{!}} BAFTA Awards |url=https://awards.bafta.org/award/2015/television/current-affairs |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=awards.bafta.org}}</ref> BAFTA Current Affairs – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Winner:<ref>{{Cite web |title=2015 Television Current Affairs {{!}} BAFTA Awards |url=https://awards.bafta.org/award/2015/television/current-affairs |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=awards.bafta.org}}</ref> BAFTA CRAFT – Factual Photography – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Winner: Peabody Awards – Documentary – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Winner: Amnesty International Media Awards – Gaby Rado Memorial Award – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Nominated: BAFTA CRAFT – Best Newcomer (Marcel Mettelsefien) * Nominated: Amnesty's Media Award – Documentary – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Nominated: Frontline Awards – Broadcast – ''Children on the Frontline, Syria (2014)'' * Winner: Hanns-Joachim-Friedrichs-Preis – ''Agony in Aleppo (2014)'' * Winner: Edward Murrow Award – ''Homs a City Under Siege (2012)''
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *{{commons category-inline}} * {{IMDb name|id=4984327}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mettelsiefen, Marcel}} Category:Living people Category:Film people from Munich Category:1978 births