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Der Spatz im Kamin

fiction | 123 min | CH 2024 | Arri Alexa

The Sparrow in the Chimney

Written and Directed by Ramon Zürcher
Director of Photography Alex Hasskerl
Produced by Zürcher Film, SRF
Cast Maren Eggert, Britta Hammelstein, Luise Heyer, Andreas Döhler, Milian Zerzawy, Leo Zoe Voss, Paula Schindler

in cinemas autmn 2024

Berlin Ulysses

a film by Kilian Helmbrecht & Alex Hasskerl

Directed by Kilian Helmbrecht
Director of Photography Alex Hasskerl,
Kilian Helmbrecht
Produced by ATARA FILM, ZDF, 3sat

on television march 2024

Raffly came to Germany from Jakarta to study and has become an expert in one of the most sought-after professional fields.
When he decides to stay in Berlin, he is challenged not only by one of the toughest housing markets but also xenophobic structures and restrictive authorities. As he navigates the bureaucratic challenges, the allure of a European life fades. Where will he choose to stay? And what does one expect from the place to call home?

Großstadt Odysseus

documentary | 31 min | DE 2024 | Panasonic

Von Salz und Federn

fiction | 9 min | D 2023 | Panasonic

Salt and Feathers

Written and Directed by Kilian Helmbrecht
Director of Photography Alex Hasskerl
Produced by ATARA FILM
Cast Anne-Rebekka Düsterhöft, Anjorka Strechel

premiere at the Nordic Film Days 2023

The Girl and the Spider

Cahiers du Cinéma 2021 | Top 10 Film Award
Encounters Berlinale 2021 | Best Director
Berlinale 2021 | FIPRESCI Prize
German Film Critics Association Awards | Best Screenplay (Best Film – Nominee)
Film Critics Society Awards 2022 | Best Non-U.S. Release (Nominee)

Written and Directed by Ramon & Silvan Zürcher

Director of Photography Alex Hasskerl

Produced by Beauvoir Films, Zürcher Film, SRF

Cast Henriette Confurius, Liliane Amuat, Ursina Lardi, Flurin Giger, André M. Hennicke, Dagna Litzenberger Vinet, Lea Draeger, Sabine Timoteo, Birte Schnöink etc.

Lisa is moving out. Mara is left behind. As boxes are shifted, walls painted and cupboards built, abysses begin to open up, yearnings fill the room and an emotional rollercoaster is set in motion.

A tragicomic catastrophe film. A poetic ballad about change and transience.

Das Mädchen und die Spinne

fiction | 98 min | CH 2021 | Arri Alexa

RUBICON

documentary | 90-120 min | DE/TZ/NO/CN 2023

Rubicon (WT)

an ATARA FILM production
Directed by Robert Morgenstern & Kilian Helmbrecht
Director of Photography Alex Hasskerl

in cinemas autumn 2023

The future is always in flux and history never stops – for better or for worse. The noise of media is a constant, anxiety inducing cacophony of doom, warning of global pandemics, species extinction, catastrophic climate crisis, the end of democracy. Never did this drum beat felt more acute and more alive than in 2020.

As we enter 2021, we hope it will be brighter, we hope someone else will fix the problem – like a new government. Or perhaps we can ‘science’ our way out of the mess we’re in? But hope is often what we cling to when we feel we’ve lost control or power to change.

RUBICON is not a film about hope, it’s not about someone else providing the fix or suggesting ­answers to write a perfect future. The Film is about the power of doing something, no matter who or where you are.

The Love Europe Project (Babylon)

fiction | 99 min | D 2019

Grimme Award 2020 | Fiction

Episode BABYLON

Written and Directed by Sebastian Stern

Cinematography Alex Hasskerl

Produced by Sperl Film + Fernsehproduktion, ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel, ARTE

Cast Philipp Franck, Rosalie Malinská, Esther Kuhn, Sephan Zinner u.a.

A group of young directors teamed up to explain their love for Europe in short films. This love is not uncritical and grievances are not swept under the carpet.

“The Love Europe Project” combines nine of these shorts in a film in which Europe is rediscovered through the eyes and daily lives of people from different backgrounds.

BABYLON

fiction | 12 min | D 2019 | Red Dragon

Nicht ganz koscher

fiction | 120 min | DE/IL 2022 | Arri Alexa

No Name Restaurant

Bavarian Film Awards 2022 | Best Production

Munich Film Festival 2022 | One Future Prize

German Film Award 2011 | Best Screenplay

in Cinemas Summer 2022

No Name Restaurant

Directed by Stefan Sarazin & Peter Keller
Director of Photography Holger Jungnickel & Alex Hasskerl
Produced by Enigma Film
Cast (Numan Acar), Luzer Twersky, Hitham Omari etc.

To save the once largest Jewish community in the world from being shut down, Ben, an ultraorthodox Brooklyn Jew visiting Jerusalem, is sent out to be the desperately needed tenth man for the ceremonies of Pesach.

Having missed his plane and been kicked out of the bus in the Sinai desert, his last hope is Adel, a grumpy Bedouin looking for his camel. When their car breaks down, it becomes a matter of their very survival. Though rescued by the monks of St. Catherine, Ben is too sick to go on. It is the Bedouin disguised as Ben who rushes on toward Alexandria, to save the Jewish community…

FADO

Max-Ophüls Award 2016 | Best Director

New Berlin Film Award 2016 | Best Director

Sehsüchte Film Festival 2016 | Best Feature Film

FIRST STEPS Award 2016 | NO FEAR Award

Chicago International Film Festival 2016 | Best Director

German Film Critic’s Award 2016 | Best Debut Film

Written and Directed by Jonas Rothlaender

Director of Photography Alexander Hasskerl

Produced by Stickup Filmproduktion, ATARA FILM, dffb, primeira idade, rbb

Cast Golo Euler, Luise Heyer, Albano Jerónimo, Pirjo Lonka, Isbael Abreu, Duarte Grilo, Suzana Borges, Rui Morrisson

Young doctor Fabian travels to Lisbon to win back his ex-girlfriend Doro. While the two of them are gradually getting closer again they are being haunted by their fears. Fabian’s jealousy once again puts their relationship to the test…

FADO

fiction | 101 min | D/PT 2016 | Arri Amira

Wada

fiction | 28 min | DE 2015 | 16mm

Wada'

Filmfest München 2015 | Student Camera Award

San Sebastian International Film Festival 2015 | Cannes short film corner award

Carbonia Film Festival 2016 | Best short movie award

Directed by Khaled Mzher
Director of Photography Alexander Hasskerl
Produced by dffb, ATARA FILM
Cast Ahmad Faraj, Hani Al-Shami, Inaam Wali, Ahmad Dahawish, Ayham Majid Agha

Ibrahim is a refugee who has been living in Berlin together with his wife and son since the 80s. He recently entered a struggle with his feelings of responsibility towards his family back home who have immense difficulties because of the war raging in Syria.

Wada’ observes how war conditions shape people’s behaviors and thought patterns into new forms; how despair and inability to find solutions drive them to search for answers beyond reality.

Everything is fine with us

(Neue Heimat)

Written and Directed by Henrietta Langholz

Cinematography Alexander Hasskerl

Produced by ATARA FILM, dffb, HfbK

Cast Renate Serwotke, Marie Gruber, Mirco Reseg, Anne von Keller, Vincent Grages

Marielena is in her late 60s and it’s moving day. She’s leaving the house where she once raised her family.

Unhappy and overwhelmed, she pointlessly sorts through old files, invites a rep for glass cleaner into the house and moves like a sleepwalker through the chaos around her. Her son Martin is the only happy one, because he can finally sell the house.

Neue Heimat

fiction | 14 min | D 2015 | 35mm

La Incorrupta

fiction | 36 min | E/BR/DK 2016 | Red Dragon

The Uncorrupted

Directed by Tamar Guimarães
Director of Photography Alexander Hasskerl

Cast Fabu David Fernández, Nacho Sanchez, Itsaso Arana, Judith Pujol

Exposición producida por el Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia con el apoyo de la Danish Arts Foundation

The Strange Little Cat

German Film Critic’s Award 2015 | Best Cinematography (nomination)

Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival 2013 | Best Film International Competition

CPH PIX 2013 | New Talent Grand PIX

Int. Cinephile Society Awards 2014 | Best Picture

Indiewire Critics’ Poll 2014 | Best First Feature

Written and Directed by Ramon Zürcher

Director of Photography Alexander Hasskerl

Produced by dffb, Silvan Zürcher

Co-Produced by Ramon Zürcher, Alexander Hasskerl

Cast Jenny Schily, Anjorka Strechel, Mia Kasalo, Luk Pfaff, Matthias Dittmer, Leon Alan Beiersdorf, Armin Marewski, Sabine Werner, Kathleen Morgeneyer, Monika Hetterle, Lea Draeger, Gustav Körner

Siblings Karin and Simon are visiting their parents and their little sister Clara. That evening, other relatives will be joining them for dinner. This sequence of family scenes in a Berlin flat creates a wondrous world of the everyday: Coming and going, conversations, all manner of doings, each movement leading to the next, one word following another.

It is a carefully staged chain reaction of actions and sentences. And in between, silent gazes and anecdotes about experiences. Putting the absurdities of daily life on display, the film assembles seemingly unspectacular details and snippets into an exciting choreography of everyday life.

Das Merkwürdige Kätzchen

fiction | 73 min | D 2013 | Arri Alexa

Wild New Zealand

documentary | 3 x 59 min | DE/NZ/GB 2016

Wild New Zealand

Nomination for the German Camera Award 2017

Two international Emmy Awards nominations 2017 for “Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary” and “Outstanding Narrator” (Sam Neill)

Green Screen Festival 2017 | Best Cinematography

Deutscher Naturfilmpreis 2017 | Jury Award for Outstanding Cinematography

New Zealand - Earth's Mythical Island:

Wild Extremes

Directed by Robert Morgenstern
Director of Photography Alexander Hasskerl, Kilian Helmbrecht, Robert Morgenstern, Christina Karliczek-Skoglund, Moritz Katz
Produced by ATARA FILM, BBC, NDR, arte
Narrated by Sam Neill

Isolated from the rest of the world since the time of the dinosaurs, New Zealand’s magnificent wildlife has been left to its own devices for 80 million years, with surprising consequences.

Narrated by actor Sam Neill, this three-part wildlife series transports viewers to an exotic and mysterious island chain, revealing how the country’s rich, intriguing wildlife manages to survive.

The Great Plai Chumpon Death Party

fiction | 16 min | D 2010 | S16mm

Directed by Valerie Bäuerlein
Cast Eva Kessler, André Jung, Liv Lisa Fries, Dominik Bender, Denzel Ebe

Yesterday my Friend Bought a Bike

fiction | 10 min | D 2011 | Red

Directed by Ramon Zürcher
Cast Nadine Pasta, Nell Pietrzyk, Jeannette Franke

Jacqueline at the Beach

fiction | 20 min | D 2010 | S16mm

Directed by Maxim Lebedev
Cast Quila Maaß, Anna Grisebach, Robert Lyons, Iván Gallardo

A Minor History of Trembling Matter

art project | 32 min | BR 2017 | Red

Directed by Tamar Guimarães, Kasper Akhøj
Director of Photography Alexander Hasskerl, Bárbara Alvarez

One Man’s Land

documentary | 30 min | D 2017

Directed by Kilian Helmbrecht
Director of Photography Kilian Helmbrecht, Alexander Hasskerl

The Shirt

fiction | 6 min | D 2010

Directed by Jonas Rothlaender
Cast Johannes Allmayer, Michael Schweighöfer
Next-Generation Cannes 2011

Gated

fiction | 7 min | D 2012 | 35mm

Directed by Ingo J. Biermann
Cast Arnd Klawitter, Mark Zak

Hunting Grounds

fiction | 30 min | D 2011 | S16mm

Directed by Jonas Rothlaender
Cast Walter Plathe, Eric Bouwer, Julia Philippi, Nadja Engel

shooting THE SPARROW IN THE CHIMNEY
© Anna Korbut

Alex Hasskerl - Director of Photography

”It’s the creative process within filmmaking that drives me. To visualize a story by looking at things carefully. To transform emotions and the director’s visions in light and shadow and rhythm and compositions. To experiment with narrative perspectives and to challenge the ordinary viewing habits of an audience.”

Based in Berlin and working internationally

Alex studied at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb).

His first feature film as DoP, The Strange Little Cat (2013), premiered at the 63rd Berlinale Forum and was nominated for Best Cinematography by the German Film Critics Association.

In the same year he completed a two-month scholarship at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.

While shooting and producing in New Zealand for a BBC three-part series, he won the Student Camera Award for his work on Wada’.

As co-founder of, and DoP with ATARA FILM, he led his team to two International Emmy nominations, and a German Camera Award nomination for their acclaimed 2017 series New Zealand: Earth’s Mythical Islands. This was followed by a Grimme Award nomination for Einmannland in 2018.

He shot his second feature, Fado, in Portugal, which premiered at the Berlinale 2016, and was awarded Best Feature Film Debut by the German Film Critics Association during the festival. One year later Alexander joined the Berlinale Talent Campus.

His latest work, The Girl and the Spider, a Swiss production, premiered at the 71st Berlinale (Encounters) and won the FIPRESCI prize.

Alex is a member of the German Society of Cinematographers (BVK) and the European Film Academy.

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