Jens Wohlrab
Jens Wohlrab (Jounalist), born in 1961 in Dinslaken, Germany, studied journalism, German, and history at the University of Muenster. After graduation he trained with the newly founded RTL television studios in Leipzig. Less than a year later, he became an editor there. During the following three years he mainly worked on the TV programs "RTL Aktuell", "Punkt 12", and the "Morgenmagazin"
Jens Wohlrab (Journalist)
Jens Wohlrab (Jounalist), born in 1961 in Dinslaken, Germany, studied journalism, German, and history at the University of Muenster. After graduation he trained with the newly founded RTL television studios in Leipzig. Less than a year later, he became an editor there. During the following three years he mainly worked on the TV programs "RTL Aktuell", "Punkt 12", and the "Morgenmagazin". After these three years he resigned his secure job with RTL because he felt somewhat restricted by the private format of that time. In 1999, after the Leipzig RTL studios were closed, Jens Wohlrab and several of his former colleagues founded the media production company "newsdoc"; the company was established as partner of the MDR (Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk). Starting in 2001 he finally could devote himself to longer formats. He shot his first four-part film for the prime time evening program called "Emergency Animal Clinic" ("Notruf Tierklinik"), a forerunner of many of today’s TV-series. In 2002 he made the documentary "Medical Blunder" ("Wenn Ärzte Fehler machen").This film attracted sensational attention. Its first showing on NDR, the film was also shown on 3Sat, Phönix, Arte, and in Austria. In 2003 Jens Wohlrab started his most lavish production up to now: the twelve-part series "GDR privately" ("DDR privat"). It caused a tremendous media response nationwide. During the twelve 30-minute documentaries different movie film directors portray their view of life in the former GDR with regard to special topics like vacation, fashion or the organization of leisure activities. The unusual editing technique of the films has often been copied thereafter by other film directors. "DDR privat" was also shown on other ARD stations, on 3Sat, Phönix, Arte, the ORF, in Holland and in Luxembourg. In 2003 Jens Wohlrab traveled to Havana for the first time. There he met cameraman and documentary filmmaker Jochen Beckmann a year later. The two teamed up and have since then regularly produced magazine reports for the TV station MDR, e. g. for the TV programs "Brisant", "hier ab vier", and "Dabei ab zwei".