The Impact of Mental Health in Audiovisual professionals
Sane Cinema joined us in 2023 to contribute to the conversation of well-being in the 10th anniversary of the EWA Network. Since then, we have continued to discuss why working in the screen industries can be destabilising for filmmakers, and ways to address this issue. On 2026's EWA Network's Berlinale event, we will discuss ways to promote well-being in filming environments.
Today, the data is clear. Enough voices have spoken out for us to understand that there is a mental health crisis in the film industry. We might even have felt it ourselves. This event zooms in on the challenges and risks that we face as film professionals, but more importantly it seeks to identify relevant solutions that are even piloted by filmmakers.
Hungarian director and lecturer Asia Dér, German writer/director Kerstin Polte, and German/US-based producer Christine Günther have faced the challenges head-on, and they will share their practices towards healthier, prepared and collective ways of working.
We’re also counting on the participants’ input and sharing of best practices on this day. Let’s together examine how to find the strength and support, and define what are the necessary steps looking ahead. The session is introduced and moderated by Sane Cinema’s Louise Højgaard Johansen
Louise Højgaard Johansen (she/her) is the founder of Sane Cinema, an international initiative that pushed for healthier practices in the film industry, through awareness, training and education. Collaborators include Erich Pommer Institut, ACE Producers, National Film School of Denmark, FAMU, VŠMU, Marché du Film, EFM etc. Louise is aDanish festival programmer and film industry consultant for almost 20 years in Copenhagen, Reykjavik and Athens, and today she is based in Prague. In the past, she produced documentaries in her own company, incl. Grandma Lo-fi (2011) and Last and First Men (2020), and she holds a Master in Film Studies from The University of Copenhagen.
Christine Guenther is a producer and storyteller with two decades of experience building ambitious, globally resonant film and television projects across continents. She has worked in more than 20 countries, navigating everything from major studio series to high-risk, high-complexity productions in some of the world’s most challenging environments. She is co-founder and managing partner of FIREGLORY Pictures, a transatlantic boutique production company based in Los Angeles and Berlin, focused on bold, creator-driven storytelling with international reach. Christine’s credits include European production on the Emmy-winning series "Killing Eve", HBO Max’s "The Flight Attendant", and Starz’s "Counterpart", as well as premium documentary series such as Joe Berlinger’s "Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial", Liz Garbus’ Emmy-nominated "The Fourth Estate", Netflix’s "Abstract: The Art of Design", and "Ugly Delicious". Beyond producing, she lectures and leads masterclasses on leadership, sustainability, future-facing creative practice, and the art of building a meaningful life while working in a high-octane industry.
Director and screenwriter Kerstin Polte completed her film studies in the Film Class at the University of Arts and Design Karlsruhe (HfG Karlsruhe) and at the Zurich University of the Arts. She was a scholarship holder at the Munich Screenplay Workshop, the European Directing Program EKRAN, and Netflix’s Grow Creative Program.
Her graduation film 510 METERS ABOVE THE SEA was screened at more than 150 international film festivals and marked the beginning of her successful career. LAST ROUND premiered at the renowned Locarno Film Festival. In 2016, she released the award-winning documentary NO ZICKENFOX, which portrays the world’s largest women’s wind orchestra. Kerstin’s first feature film CLOUD WHISPERS was praised by critics and won several prestigious awards, including the Bavarian Film Award for Best New Director.
Kerstin Polte has directed various episodes of the series WIR and BECOMING CHARLIE, which have been nominated for the German Television Award and the Grimme Award. Her latest feature film BLINDGÄNGER is currently showing in cinemas.
Her work delights both audiences and critics alike. She has established herself as an innovative and influential filmmaker within the German film industry. At the heart of her poetic and humorous storytelling are unconventional, resilient characters and relationships that shed new light on our society. For her, diversity in front of and behind the camera is a key to deep, emotional understanding of human connection—especially in times when divides are growing deeper.
She is a member of the German Film Academy, teaches at various film schools, and serves as a jury member for the federal cultural film funding board.
ASIA DÉR is a Hungarian-Slovak documentary filmmaker known for her intimate, character-driven storytelling and long-term observational approach. She was born in Bratislava, spent most of her life in Budapest, and has been based in Vienna, Austria, since 2025.
She graduated from the DOCNomads international MA program and holds a PhD (Doctor of Liberal Arts) from the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest.
Her debut feature, Her Mothers (2020), co-directed with Sári Haragonics, premiered at Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival and was screened at more than 30 international festivals, including Sarajevo, Thessaloniki, and Taipei. Among other recognitions, the film won Best Feature Documentary and Best Editing at the Moscow DOKer Festival and the Social Awareness Award at Crossing Europe.
Her second feature, I Won’t Die, follows an art gallery owner confronting life after a terminal cancer diagnosis. The film premiered in 2023 at the A-category Warsaw Film Festival.
Asia has participated in industry programs such as ZagrebDox Pro, East Doc Platform, Docu Rough Cut Boutique, DOCCIRCLE, and Cannes Docs. She is a founder and former presidium member of the Hungarian Documentary Association (MADOKE), a part-time lecturer at freeSZFE and DOCNomads, and an active advocate for independent filmmaking in Eastern Europe.