David Cebulla

David Cebulla ([ˈdaːvɪt tseːbʊla] born in 1991 in Jena) is a German filmmaker and director of nature documentaries.

Life

Early life

David Cebulla studied biology and ecology^[1] at the University of Jena and conducted dendrochronological research on the climate adaptedness of individual tree species.^[2] From 2015 onwards, he worked on sets of various film productions, including for the ZDF, Warner Bros.^[3] and as assistant director for the series teaser of "Azur".^[4] From 2016 to April 2018, he was social media and artist manager for the wildlife and nature filmmaker Andreas Kieling.^[5] Since 2019, Cebulla has been a full-time filmmaker.

Work as nature filmmaker (2019–present)

Cebulla produces mainly documentaries about nature and wildlife. His films are released on video-on-demand, including Prime Video, Vimeo on Demand, and Pantaray TV, as well as on DVD. He shows his films to audiences and holds presentations.^[6][7][8] In film production, Cebulla uses ecological methods to record wildlife and appears as a protagonist himself.^[5] His own productions are known for featuring only wildlife, but no animals from game enclosures.^[9][10]

In 2016, he made the short film "Hidden Beauty – The Orchids of the Saale Valley," in which he searched for some of Germany's rarest orchid species.^[11] In 2020's "The Return of the Wildcat", Cebulla went in search of the European wildcat, documenting genetic evidence as well as rare footage of individuals living in the wild.^[10][12] In 2022, he released the film "Wild Forests," for which he spent a year observing life in forests without any forestry activity and documenting wildlife in its natural habitat.^[13]

By his own account, he is currently working on the to date most extensive film project about the Common hamster.^[9] For "The Last Common Hamsters" he filmed wild common hamsters in Germany, rare black common hamsters,^[14] cemetery hamsters in Vienna, hamster breeding for reintroduction in France, small-scale farming in Poland, hamster hunting in Hungary, and common hamsters in the steppes of Kazakhstan.^[9][5]

Filmography (selection)

• Hidden Beauty – The Orchids of the Saale Valley (2017) – director and producer
• The Return of the Wildcat (2020) – director and producer
• Wild Forests (2022) – director and producer

Awards (selection)

General

• 2018: Medal "People 2017" for special cultural achievements in Thuringia^[15]
• 2019: Walter Dexel Scholarship from the City of Jena^[16]

Hidden Beauty – The Orchids of the Saale Valley

• 2018: International Film Competition Nature and Adventure Dortmund – nature film: winner^[17]
• 2019: Virgin Spring Cinefest – Film on nature / environment / wildlife: winner (gold)^[18]
• 2019: International Open Film Festival (IOFF) – Film on nature / environment / wildlife: best award^[17]

The Return of the Wildcat

• 2020: Virgin Spring Cinefest – Film on nature / environment / wildlife: winner (gold)^[19]
• 2020: Nature Without Borders International Film Festival – Wildlife/ nature documentaries: excellence^[20]
• 2022: Tulum World Environment Film Festival – Jury's Award Feature Films: Ocean and Wildlife Conservation: winner

Wild Forests

• 2023: Virgin Spring Cinefest – Film on nature / environment / wildlife: winner^[21]