A short film profile for social media – Nana Petzet and the HAP Grieshaber Prize

Full-Service Film Production for VG Bild-Kunst and the Deutscher Künstlerbund

The HAP Grieshaber Prize is highly regarded in the German art world – and yet barely known beyond it. When it was awarded for the 25th time in 2023, its founders wanted to change that. VG Bild-Kunst, Stiftung Kunstfonds and the Deutscher Künstlerbund commissioned Basiliscus Film to produce a five-minute social media video with two tasks in one: to introduce the prize and to portrait its 25th laureate – Hamburg-based installation and performance artist Nana Petzet.

The film needed to spark curiosity, invite engagement and inform – while remaining entertaining throughout. No easy balance. Our solution: not a conventional double portrait that covers the artist first and the prize second, but a dramaturgically interwoven narrative in which the statements of Nana Petzet, scientist Timo Zeimet and the representatives of the cultural institutions complement each other organically.

Nana Petzet – Art as Research

Nana Petzet works the way a scientist thinks: methodically, curiously, at the boundary between art and ecology. In her installations she explores light pollution, biodiversity and human environmental impact – working in close collaboration with scientists.

For the exhibition in January 2024 at the Deutscher Künstlerbund in Berlin, she developed the installation »Blendung« (Glare): spherical lamps simulate a lunar cycle while simultaneously serving as insect traps. Together with Hamburg entomologist Timo Zeimet, she analyses which insects are attracted to artificial light sources – and which are not. The findings were presented publicly for the first time in this exhibition, which was developed specifically for the spaces of the Deutscher Künstlerbund.

For our camera team, this was a rare opportunity: we were filming not just an artist at work, but an ongoing research process. That calls for a different visual language – observational rather than staged, close without intruding.

Our Production – Three Cities, Five Interview Partners, One Week

This short film was a classic multi-location production with a tight schedule. Post-production began in week 49 – the film had to be ready in time for the exhibition opening in January 2024.

Hamburg – Studio and Harbour Biotope: At Nana Petzet's studio in Hamburg, we filmed the studio conversations, the presentation of the installation »Blendung« and the dialogue between the artist and scientist Timo Zeimet. We also accompanied Nana Petzet to the Peutegrund – a harbour biotope in Hamburg that has long inspired her and where she realised her own art project years earlier. These shots provided the atmospheric counterpoint to the studio material.

Bonn – VG Bild-Kunst: In Bonn we conducted three interviews at the offices of VG Bild-Kunst. Dr. Urban Pappi, Managing Director of VG Bild-Kunst, spoke about the significance and funding of the prize. Dr. Anke Schierholz, Head of the Legal Department, explained who HAP Grieshaber was and why the prize bears his name. Dr. Karin Lingl, Managing Director of Stiftung Kunstfonds, outlined the jury's selection criteria. The film also answers the question many people wonder about but rarely ask aloud: what does the »HAP« in Grieshaber actually stand for?

Dramaturgy: Why We Chose Not to Make an Explainer Film

The key conceptual decision was not to present the five interview partners one after another, but to interweave their contributions dramaturgically. Nana Petzet leads the film as its main protagonist. Her thoughts on art, science and inspiration are framed by the perspectives of the institutional representatives and deepened by Timo Zeimet's insights into the art-science collaboration.

Laid over the interviews is footage from the studio, the harbour biotope and archive material of earlier installations – creating a film that informs without lecturing, and that is visually as layered as Nana Petzet's own work.

What Took Shape in Post-Production

After the shoot, our editing suite in Berlin took over: footage review, fine cut on the AVID Symphony at the MacPro, colour grading, 2D graphic animations in After Effects for lower thirds and title cards, music research and audio finishing. The final film was delivered in HD quality for YouTube, social media and embedding on the websites of all participating institutions.