Valentin Thurn

Valentin Thurn

Valentin Thurn (* 1963 in Stuttgart ) is a German documentary filmmaker , journalist and author. a. known as the director and producer of Taste the Waste (2011).

Life

A study of geography , anthropology and politics in Frankfurt , Cologne and Aix-en-Provence , he graduated with a Diploma - geographer from. In 1985/1986 he also trained as an editor at the German School of Journalism in Munich . Thurn has been working for the public broadcasters arte , ARD and ZDF since 1990 . Since 1994 he has owned his own production company, Thurnfilm / Valentin Thurn Filmproduktion.

He is the author of more than 40 documentaries on social , development , environmental and educational issues. He has taught at the Goethe-Institut in Mumbai , the Miguel Aleman Foundation in Mexico City , the Research Network in Hamburg , the RTL School of Journalism in Cologne , the Environment Media Center Macedonia , the Third World Journalists Network and the Business Ethics Network and the Cologne University of Applied Sciences .

In addition to his work for television and teaching, Valentin Thurn has also published two books, written over 20 radio features and written articles for newspapers and magazines. In 1993 he founded the "International Federation of Environmental Journalists" with journalists from over 50 countries. Thurn was spokesman for the nationwide working group "Environmental Cooperation with Eastern Europe" in the Federation for Environmental and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND, 1990–1994) and a member of the advisory board of the Heinrich Böll Foundation for environmental projects in Eastern Europe (1994–1997). As a jury member he was invited to the Biodiversity Reporting Award for journalists from Colombia , Bolivia and Guatemala (1999–2002) as well as to the “Festival Vert - Rencontres de Meaux” ( France 1995).

He wrote u. a. also for Die Zeit (and the associated “Zeitmagazin”), Die Woche , Natur & Kosmos and Merian . He is also the editor of the non-fiction books "WüstenErde" (about desertification ) and "Class Enemy Nature" (about the environment in Eastern Europe).

He has already given numerous lectures, including a. also at the Goethe-Institut Zagreb , in the Bavarian state parliament in Munich, at the Internorga trade fairs in Hamburg and Anuga in Cologne, at the round table in the NRW environment ministry in Düsseldorf, in the Baden-Württemberg environment ministry in Stuttgart, the political soup pot in Cologne, in the biosphere reserve Münsingen , Green Visions Munich, “United Against Waste” in Wiesbaden, Vienna and Zurich, Baden-Württemberg Film Academy in Ludwigsburg and the Institute for World Food in Berlin and Bonn.

There are also various television and video appearances, etc. a. at WDR (e.g. 2015 as a studio guest on the program Planet Wissen ), ARD and TEDx .

He also co-founded the online platform foodsharing.de , which gives private individuals, retailers and producers the opportunity to offer or collect excess food free of charge so that it does not end up in the bin.

In April 2014, the online platform tasteofheimat.de for Cologne was launched under his leadership, which aims to present food producers from their region to consumers.

In 2016, Thurn founded Germany's first nutrition council in Cologne with politicians and representatives from business and science.

Filmography

• 1990: Forays through the Atlas Mountains (3 films of 45 min / ARD)
• 1991: When the desert comes (45 min / ARD)
• 1995: Clear cutting in the Siberian taiga (15 min / ARTE)
• 1996: Chernobyl - on the trail of death and lies (45 min / ARD)
• 1997: "I whistle my company" - civil courage at work (45 min / WDR)
• 1998: Jurassic Alb - The Swabian Oil Shale (30 min / SWR)
• 1999: Enterprise Desert - Concentration Camp in South Württemberg (30 min / SWR)
• 1998: Spain's thirsty earth (30 min / SWR)
• 1998: The desert reaches Spain (30 min / SWR)
• 2000: All hands off board - Where the big ships die (30 min / ARTE)
• 2000: Die Schwabenkinder - Child labor and children's markets in Upper Swabia (30 min / SWR)
• 2000: The Story: Help We're Shrinking - Does Germany Need Immigration? (45 min / WDR)
• 2000: The Lord of the Wolves - A wildlife biologist in the Carpathian Mountains (45 min / ARTE)
• 2000: "Nobody was allowed in on the Schabbes" - The Jewish quarter in Haigerloch (30 min / SWR)
• 2001: Two mums and no dad - When lesbian children's wishes come true (45 min / ARD)
• 2002: The story: Death on the glacier - who is to blame for the Kaprun tunnel fire? (45 min / WDR)
• 2002: Champion for a day - Of winners and losers (30 min / ARTE)
• 2003: Planet Wissen: Die Dinosaurier (60 min / SWR / WDR / BR-alpha)
• 2003: The Trail of the Toros - fighting bulls on a long hike (30 min / in the series "Worldwide", WDR)
• 2003: "Papa loves a man" - children and their homosexual fathers (30 min / in the series "37 °", ZDF)
• 2004: Oh these Beckers - a family in the spotlight (30 min / ARTE)
• 2004: The doctor and the irradiated children of Basra (45 min / WDR)
• 2004: The call for the child (45 min / ARTE)
• 2005: A child at any price (60 min / ARTE)
• 2005: Bitter Pills (60 min / ARTE)
• 2005: "My father wants to kill me" - women fleeing honor killings (54 min / ARTE)
• 2006: Certificate of poverty - child poverty in rich Europe (55 min / theme evening: "Poor Children", ARD)
• 2006: "My child in your belly" - The dark business with surrogate mothers (30 min / in the series "37 °", ZDF)
• 2006: "I am Al Qaeda" - The life of Zacarias Moussaoui (54 min / ARTE)
• 2006: Without papers in Germany (co-author / 29 min / ARD)
• 2007: "Not with my daughter!" - Female circumcision in Europe (41 min / ARTE)
• 2007: Right of thumb behind bars - ways out of violence (29 min / WDR)
• 2007: "Vaccination - Just a small needle prick?" (60 min / ARTE)
• 2008: Found food - living from waste (30 min / WDR)
• 2008: Sperm donor unknown - Anna is looking for her father (45 min / WDR)
• 2008: Death in the hospital - The fight against the super bacteria (45 min / ARTE)
• 2009: A guide for life (30 min / ARD)
• 2009: Innocent in jail (45 min / ARD)
• 2009: The defiant public servant - an officer unpacks (30 min / WDR)
• 2010: Guillaume Depardieu - "It's hell!" (44 min / ARTE)
• 2010: Freshly on the garbage - The global food waste (44 min / ARD)
• 2011: Taste the Waste (feature film)
• 2013: Less is more - The limits to growth and a better life (Production / 52 min / ARTE)
• 2013: The Meal Savers (44 min / ARD)
• 2014: Killer germs - danger from the animal barn (52 min / ARTE)
• 2014: The Milk Rebels (Production / 45 Min / WDR)
• 2015: 10 billion - how do we all get full? (Movie)
• 2017: corporations as saviors? The business with development aid (Arte) - together with Caroline Nokel, first broadcast on May 9, 2017, 8:15 pm on ARTE
• 2018: Helpless heroes - whistleblowers without protection (44 min / ARD) - together with Caroline Nokel, first broadcast on November 22, 2018, 11.25 p.m., WDR
• 2019: bought agricultural policy? How industry and the agricultural lobby rule through - The story in the first (44 min / ARD) - together with Tatjana Mischke, first broadcast on April 29, 2019
• 2019: Can the electric car save the environment? - The story in the first (44 min / ARD) - together with Florian Schneider

Awards

• 1995: “Prix Leonardo” of the “International Medication Film Festival in Parma”, Italy for the films “The radioactive legacy of Wismut AG” and “Smog in Northern Bohemia”
• 1997: "Prize for the most courageous film" at the Green Vision environmental film festival in St. Petersburg 1997, Russia for the film "Kahlschlag in der Taiga"
• 1998: International Green Pen Award from the Asia-Pacific Forum of Environmental Journalists
• 2001: Journalism Prize from the German Society for Geography
• 2003: First prize in the radio category at the Development Policy Media Prize from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
• 2003: Felix Rexhausen Prize from the Association of Lesbian and Gay Journalists for the film "Papa loves a man"
• 2004: European television award at the Ökomedia film festival for the film "The doctor and the irradiated children of Basra"
• 2006: 2006 nomination for the German Television Award
• 2007: Award as "Best Documentation" at the Eberswalde Film Festival - The Provincial for the film "Not with my daughter!"
• 2008: ARGUS journalist award on the subject of "Correct use of antibiotics" for the film "Death in the hospital"
• 2010: Journalist Award of the NRW Taxpayers' Association for the radio feature "'There is no scandal' - The Hessian tax investigation affair"
• 2011: LovelyBooks readers' award for “Die Essenvernichter” - the book for the film “Taste the Waste”, 3rd place in the non-fiction / advice category
• 2011: Hoimar-von-Ditfurth-Prize (best journalistic achievement (together with the film "Radioactive Wolves")) of the German Environmental Aid for " Taste the Waste "
• 2011: “Goldene Onion” audience award as best documentary of the municipal cinema in Esslingen for “Taste the Waste”
• 2011: Audience award (third place in the preferred film competition) of the Thüringer Allgemeine Zeitung for "Taste the Waste"
• 2011: Nomination for the International “Gold Panda” Award as best long documentary in the category Nature and Environment, Sichuan TV Festival, China for “Taste the Waste”
• 2011: Grand Prix, International Festival of Ecology and Environment Protection Films at Marele Premiu Eco Fest Oradea, Romania
• 2011: Plaquette of the International Scientific Film Festival, Szolnok, Hungary
• 2011: Environmental Media Prize of the German Environmental Aid for "Taste the Waste"
• 2011: Honorable recognition in the Environment category at the Sun Child Festival 2011, Armenia for "Taste the Waste"
• 2011: Grand Prix Ekotopfilm at the "Prize of the Government of the Slovak 38th International Festival of Sustainable Development Films", Republic of the Slovak Republic for "Taste the Waste"
• 2011: Documentary film award at the 37th Ekofilm International Film Festival on the Environment and Natural and Cultural Heritage, Czech Republic for "Taste the Waste"
• 2011: "Best Film" at the Atlantis Nature and Environment Film Festival Wiesbaden for "Taste the Waste"
• Prix ​​Italia's Special Prize in the Expo2015 section for "Fresh on the trash"
• 2012: First prize in the environmental section at the ImagéSanté Festival, 2012, Liège, Belgium for "Taste the Waste"
• 2013: econsense journalist award for "Die Essenretter"
• 2014: Lammsbräu sustainability award for Thurn's commitment to social and environmental issues. Especially for the film "Taste the Waste" and the online platform "foodsharing.de"
• 2014: "Fair Milk" journalist award for the WDR production "Die Milchrebellen" by Karin de Miguel Wessendorf and Valentin Thurn
• 2015: “Best Documentary” for 10 billion - How do we all get fed up? at the Swedish "Peace and Love Film Festival" in Örebro
• 2018: Special prize of the jury at the NaturVision Film Festival in Ludwigsburg for corporations as saviors? The Development Aid Business (2017)

Fonts

• Hard fare: How our food is produced - In search of solutions for feeding the world . With Stefan Kreutzberger. Ludwig book publisher. Cologne. 2014. ISBN 978-3-453-28063-2 .
• Taste the waste: recipes and ideas for food savers . With Gundula Oertel. Kiepenheuer & Witsch. Cologne. 2012. ISBN 978-3-462-04483-6 .
• The food destroyers. Why half of all food ends up in the trash and who is responsible for it . With Stefan Kreutzberger. Kiepenheuer & Witsch. Cologne. 2012. ISBN 978-3-462-04483-6 .
• Class enemy nature. The environmental disaster in Eastern Europe . With Bernhard Clasen. Focus. To water. 1992. ISBN 3-88349-397-X .
• Desert earth: the fight against thirst, drought and desertification . Peter E. Stüben. Focus-Verl. To water. 1991. ISBN 3-88349-394-5 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Valentin Thurn in the catalog of the German National Library
• Valentin Thurns employee profile at Thurnfilm
• Interview with Valentin Thurn , published on Jetzt.de Sueddeutsche Zeitung (Steffi Hentschke, September 12, 2011)
• Article: "Food waste: Bring the crooked cucumbers!" (Spiegel.de, Christoph Behrens, January 22, 2012)
• How do we get full in the future? Interview with filmmaker Valentin Thurn - video from April 15, 2015 in the ARD media library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ An overview of all award winners and laudators. In: UmweltMedienpreis. On DUH.de, accessed on November 1, 2019.
2. ↑ "The Development Aid Business"