Winta Yohannes

Glad to have you back!

Winta Yohannes was born in Eritrea on the 10th. of September 1974. At the age of three her mother and she immigrated to Germany escaping the effects of war. From an early age, she enjoyed painting, photography and shared a fascination for all visual arts but most of all she developed a fascination for the movies.

??

In 1990 she joined an acting group fostered by the Cologne Theatre, working with improvisation and different acting techniques. Awarded a scholarship as part of the parliamentary twin-ship program by the German Bundestag and Congress of the United States of America through Youth For Understanding (YFU), Winta spent 1991 as an exchange student in America.

Back in Germany she graduated with her A-levels from Schiller-Gymnasium in June 1994. In 1995 she went to New York for an intensive two-month workshop at “The New York Film Academy”. This is where she shot her first short “Do Your Thing” (16mm/ b & w), which got selected by the “Black Filmmakers Foundation (BFF) and was screened at Planet Hollywood as part of their talent showcase.

Fascinated by New York she stayed on to gain professional experience in various positions on independent films, music videos and endless student productions; leaving her with credits such as second Assistant Director on “The Blur of Insanity” feature film, shot on 35mm. In 1996 she also wrote her first feature screenplay “Crossroads” in collaboration with Lisa Bell, which was optioned by BET Television.

align="left">In January 1997 she began her studies in the Art and Technique of Filmmaking at the “London International Film School” in England. She was one of the few students selected by her school to take part in a script workshop held by Ken Dancyger, chairman of the Undergraduate Film and Television Department at the “Tisch School of Arts” NYC. Focusing on writing and directing, this is where Winta shot her following two shorts “Blues is My Middle Name” and Cherish” her graduation film.

Both films have gone to numerous film festivals around the world such as the BFM International Film Festival, where Verona Joseph from “Holby City” won the award for Best Lead Actress for her part in “Cherish”. The film was very well received and as a response to the film Pride Magazine wrote a 3 page feature on Winta in their column ???Hi Flyers??? and a full length interview of her alongside directors such as Anthony Minghella and Lynne Ramsay was published in the book ???In Short A Guide to Short Film-making in the digital Age??? in 2002 by the British Film Institute.

Winta successfully completed her studies in 2002 and moved to Berlin Germany, where she is currently working on getting her first feature film off the ground and works as a music video Director.?? Read more about Winta on her website.