STEN MENDE
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Sten Mende studied cinematography at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg (FABW) and has been working as a freelance cinematographer for commercials, television, and cinema since 2000.
Early in his career, Mende began a long-standing collaboration with Friederike Jehn. Their feature film “Weitertanzen” received an award at the Hofer Filmtage, and Sten Mende was nominated for the German Camera Award in 2009. 2009 also saw his first collaboration with Johannes Naber on “Der Albaner,” which premiered at the Munich Film Festival and received several awards.
This was followed by films including: “Freier Fall” by Stephan Lacant, Hanno Oldersissen’s “Rock my Heart – Mein wildes Herz,” which has been invited to numerous national and international film festivals featuring Emilio Sakraya, and “Gut gegen Nordwind,” by Vanessa Jopp starring Nora Tschirner and Ulrich Thomsen.
For television, Mende shot the striking three-part “Winnetou – Der Mythos lebt” by Philipp Stölzl, for which he was nominated for Best Cinematography at the German Television Awards (2015) and for the German Camera Award (2017).
He filmed the award-winning “Unter dem Radar,” directed by Elmar Fischer, and the radical chamber play “Seven Hours,” directed by Christian Görlitz and starring Bibiana Beglau (Munich Film Festival), which received both the Jupiter Award and a Grimme Award nomination for Best Fiction.
His first collaboration with Netflix, 2017, was the genre piece “Kidnapping Stella,” directed by Thomas Sieben, with Jella Haase, Max von der Groeben, and Clemens Schick. Together with Johannes Naber Sten Mende recently shot “Curveball,” which screened at the Berlinale 2020 in the series “Berlinale Special” and received the German Film Award in Bronze.
Sten Mende is a member of the German Film Academy.
Sten Mende is represented by Katrin Näher.
WINNETOU – Der Mythos lebt
COMING UP
BACH - EINE WEIHNACHTSGESCHICHTE (AT)
Sten Mende shot a historical film for ARD/BR about Johann Sebastian Bach and the creation of the famous Christmas Oratorio. Eikon Media is producing and Florian Baxmeyer is directing.
Shooting took place at the beginning of 2024, the film is in post-production now.
MORDNACHT
"Mordnacht" for ARD/Degeto with director Friederike Jehn and produced by X Filme was shot in 2023 and will be broadcast on ARD on May 1. It is already available in the ARD Mediathek.
Maximilian Brückner plays a man who is suspected of murder after returning to his home village and has to cooperate with the weird inspector, played by Rosalie Thomas.
VARIA
FELLINI / COSTANTINI
Es ist einfach unfassbar unterhaltsam, Fellini beim Erzählen zu zuhören. Ein tolles Buch über das Kino!
Sten Mende