The Way We Carry Water

Framing stories through the lens of a global perspective, Jannis is a union operator working in New Mexico. Creative since childhood, Jannis is best described as German determination meets Costa Rican “pura vida.”

From Duisburg, Germany, Jannis spent his formative years in Mallorca, following train tracks to the ocean by day and sharpening his colored pencils by night. He completed high school in Costa Rica among the Ticos and collectivistic culture of Central America. Landing back in the states, he earned an e-media degree from UC and later a film tech certificate from CNM.

Professionally, Jannis has built an extensive list of camera department credits on productions like Coyote v. Acme, The Lost Bus, and Flamin’ Hot. He climbed over 11 years, from loader, to 2nd AC, and finally to camera operator – and yeah, he learned the hard way that when someone tells you, “microwave the donut,” they don’t mean the lens donut.

Jannis has continued to sharpen his skills on numerous award-winning short films. Starting with repeated 48Hr Film Festival wins in his early career, and success at Albuquerque Film & Music Experience, he’s garnered several Best Cinematography awards, including wins in 2022 for Blue Boy at Madrid International Film Festival and Misanthrope at Guernsey Film Fest, and in 2024 for The Countryman at Oceanside International Film Festival in California. He has several current projects in post.

Today, Jannis wants to broaden his horizon. As a trilingual with the travel bug, he hopes to frame up wherever there’s a story needing to be told.