Born in St Petersburg, Russia, Lena Karbe is a Germany-based filmmaker. Having studied film internationally (École normale supérieure, University of Oxford and University of Television and Film in Munich), she founded her own production company KARBE FILM GmbH in 2018 with the focus on documentaries for national and international audiences, based in Munich. Lena sees her mission in fostering new perspectives and amplifying voices and opinions outside the status quo. Karbe Film documentaries often deal with the topics of identity, exploitation and empowerment. She has produced several feature films before starting to write and direct. Documentary series CHINESE DREAM about the lives of migrant workers from African countries in China that she co-directed with Tristan Coloma was shown at more than 30 festivals worldwide and was published on ARTE in Spring 2020. CHADDR - A RIVER BETWEN US by Minsu Park that Lena Karbe produced, was shortlisted for the German Film Prize in 2022 and nominated for Grimme Prize 2023. BLACK MAMBAS, her feature film debut as a writer/director, premiered at CPH:Dox in Copenhagen in March 2022, where it won the F:ACT Award. The film has had a nationwide cinema release in Germany in November 2023 and since been shown at 40+ festivals worldwide.
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