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Alice Nell
August 27, 2013

Startup of the Week: Global Eyes Production

Global Eyes Production, a new film and video production in Berlin, is based on niche expertise. The customers are NGOs, foundations, ministries, embassies and organizations working in the international field. The main focus of Global Eyes Production is to promote democracy and human rights, based on the expertise of its founder Josephine Landertinger Forero. All products are offered in five languages.

Hello Ms. Forero Landertinger. What makes Global Eyes Production unique and where does your potential lie?

J. Landertinger Forero, Global Eyes Production: GLOBAL EYES PRODUCTION is a media company that promotes intercultural dialogue and raises awareness of human rights issues through documentaries, video workshops and online journalism. As a result, we are interesting for institutions working in human rights and democracy work, which are looking for video productions that can implement their concepts visually. Recently a staff member of UN Women said to me: "We had commissioned a video production to produce a film about women's rights, but we first had to invest a lot of time with our contractor explaining the subject matter." That wouldn’t have happened with us.

How did the idea for Global Eyes Production originate?

J. Landertinger Forero, Global Eyes Production: My father worked for the United Nations for more than 30 years. This experience, the international environment and other less pleasant events in my life influenced my interest in human rights, women's rights, international cooperation, diversity and migration. As a child to binational parents, I grew up speaking five languages and had an interest in communication processes from early stages. Moving images fascinated me most, because images are often understood without the need for specific language skills. After several years working as an employed video producer for an organization, starting up my own company was the right step for my career. The cutting point between visual storytelling and democracy/ human rights/ immigration is my great passion.

So what have you been able to achieve at the beginning?

J. Landertinger Forero, Global Eyes Production: In the beginning it is important to have good and trustworthy partners who can recommend you or who can give your company a certain "standing". I was fortunate that well-known companies, such as Sony Latin America or the Investment Bank Berlin believed in my idea from the very beginning. Alliances with Irrepressible Voices and Humanity in Action are very important for the NGO sector. As for the documentary production, I am very committed to working with Colombian film productions and want the world to experience other stories than the commonly known about this country.

Finally: Where will Global Eyes Production be in about 3 years?

J. Landertinger Forero, Global Eyes Production: I definitely want to expand and build up two solid offices in Berlin and Bogotá. We want to be the partner of choice when it comes to overcome stereotypes, cross borders, to explain human rights visually and produce high-quality socially relevant documentaries – for cinema, the web, TV and transmedia. The latter is where I see a lot of growth potential. Transmedia is the future of documentary, and thus of Global Eyes Production. Projects such as "Alma" by Arte and Upian are pioneers and great examples. We want to follow.

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