Director
Jan Philipp Weyl
Jan Philipp Weyl was born in Krefeld, Germany, in 1987.
His feature film "Running Against the Wind" (2019) was Ethiopia's official Oscar entry in the category "Best International Film" 2020, for which Jan received the debut award of the prestigious Peace Prize of German Cinema - Die Brücke in 2021.
Karlheinz Böhm personally invited Jan to Ethiopia in 2005 to see the development projects of his foundation Menschen für Menschen - Karlheinz Böhms Äthiopienhilfe (People for People - Karlheinz Böhm's Ethiopia Aid) after he collected 23,500 euros in donations as an 8th grade student. Jan is co-founder of the fundraising association "Moltke - Schüler für Afrika e.V." (Moltke - Pupils for Africa), which to date has financed over 120,000 euros for the construction of two schools in Ethiopia.
Jan studied film production and media business at the University of Television and Film (HFF) Munich(2012), as well as anthropology and art history at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (2010).
In 2016, he was a participant of Werner Herzog's Rogue Film School. Herzog has been Jan's mentor ever since.
As a participant of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami's masterclass in Cuba, Jan shot the feature film "Buena Vista Chico" (2016) with Kiarostami as executive producer. The film is still unreleased after the sudden death of Abbas Kiarostami.
Jan gained experience in the film industry immediately after his Abituretliche. After internships with Ernst Kalff (REM RapidEyeMovement), Christine Rothe, Bernd Eichinger (Constantin Film), Patrick Zorer, Nina Maag, Thomas Friedl (UFA Cinema), between the years 2007 - 2011, he worked as a set recording manager, recording supervisor and assistant director on more than 40 productions in theatrical, TV and commercial film, including Constantin Film, Bavaria Film, TV60, Hofmann & Voges, Collina Film, Lichtenberg & Grey, Pulse Films, Blue Eyes Fiction.
Jan lives in Los Angeles, Munich and Addis Ababa.