Filmography

Brigitte Uttar Kornetzky
«Das Fremde ist nicht das Fremde, sondern nur das Andere in uns. Es sind die anderen Wesen, andere Nationen in uns selbst.»
Brigitte Uttar Kornetzky is a human and animal rights activist who resides in Switzerland officially since 1998. She is a multi-facetted personality, trained in juridical science, philosophy, art, art history and music.
It was in the decade of the beginning 90s that Brigitte decided to use her expertise in film making for working towards the betterment of society. She went on to produce and direct human rights films in Africa and subsequently moved her focus towards animal rights specifically elephants in India. Since 2011, Brigitte has made various films depicting the plight of elephants in India, like her film Where the Elephant Sleeps, released 2016.
In 2014, Brigitte founded an NGO named “Elefanten in Not” (Elephants in Need) in Switzerland to help alleviate health problems of the Indian elephants and help supporting Indian organisations regarding wildlife and especially elephants.
Brigitte is a multiple awarded filmmaker and journalist, an inspirational speaker and educationist at numerous universities and colleges in India.
With the heartbeat of a conservationist, for international justice and a healthy and self-sustainable environment not only in front of her house door in Switzerland but across the globe, there is with one word to say:
She is a passionate wild life lover who loves life to the fullest.
In den Jahren nach dem Studium finden zahlreiche Auslandsreisen statt, unter anderem nach Ägypten, Italien, Neuseeland, Griechenland, Türkei, USA, New Mexico, Marokko, Mauretanien, Sierra Leone und den Iran, und später Indien und wieder vermehrt Afrika.
“Viele dieser Reisen sind mit Filme machen verbunden, und haben mein Leben extrem geprägt, vorallem das Reisen in Kriegsgebiete, wie den Iran am 16.01.1991— am 17. 01.1991 griffen die Amerikaner den Iraq an, Zweiter Golfkrieg–, und nach Sierra Leone. Mein Film über den Warlord Charles Taylor, der über meinem Kopf an der Nigerianischen Grenze gefasst und ab dann schwer bewacht inhaftiert wurde, die Angst eines ganzen Volkes zu erleben, hat nicht nur mein Filmschaffen geprägt, sondern auch meine Persönlichkeit.”
Films
2004 TIMEFLAKES (87min), Dokumentarfilm, DVD, Italien, Schweiz
2004 MIRRORS AND PRAYERS, IRAN DURING THE IRAQ WAR, Dokumentarfilm, Teil 1 (54min) und Teil 2 (70min), DigiBeta, Iran
2011 GOD NO SAY SO (88min), Dokumentarfilm, Sierra Leone
2012 IMAGINE, THE SKY (83min) Sierra Leone 2012, Dokumentarfilm, DigiBeta
2016 WHERE THE ELEPHANT SLEEPS (99min, 39sec) Dokumentarfilm), DCP
2023 ELEPHANTS, FROM ZERO TO HERO (80min, 27sec) Dokumentarfilm, Indien (release to follow)
Awards/Auszeichnungen
2010 SPECIAL MENTION FOR IT`S OUTSTANDING SPIRIT, 5th Monaco Charity Film Festival, for God No Say So (88min), FM PRIX DE SOLEURE, Nomination für den Dokumentarfilm GOD NO SAY SO (88min), Solothurner Filmtage, CH
2011 Filmfestivalförderung Swiss Films für GOD NO SAY SO
2011 GOD NO SAY SO (88min), Dokumentarfilm, Sierra Leone NOMINATION PRIX DE SOLEURE 2011, Solothurner Filmtage
2011 PERSÖNLICHE AUSZEICHNUNG DES VATIKANS PAPST BENEDICTUS XVI, Staatssekretariat in Rom, Italien “Mögen Ihre Filmproduktionen den Menschen helfen, die Würde der menschlichen Person anzuerkennen, und den Frieden und die Gerechtigkeit zwischen den Völkern zu fördern.” für den Dokumentarfilm GOD NO SAY SO (88min)
2012 Filmfestival-Förderung Swiss Films für IMAGINE, THE SKY, CH
2015 Filmförderung Postproduktion des Kantons St. Gallen for WHERE THE ELEPHANT SLEEPS, CH
2016 FINALIST at the Vaasa Film Festival, Finland
2017 INTERNATIONAL AWARD OF MERIT at the Int. Film Festival Jakarta for Environment & Conservation for WHERE THE ELEPHANT SLEEPS, Bali, Indonesia
2017 CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE and NOMINATION of the festival with SPECIAL MENTION at the 7th Dada Phalke Int. Film Festival for WHERE THE ELEPHANT SLEEPS, New Dehli, India
2018 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE at the 7th Bangalore Short FF, 2018, for the documentary film BEHIND BARS, Indian Premiere, India
2018 BEST DIRECTOR AWARD at the 7th Kolkata Short Film Festival 2018 for WHERE THE ELEPHANT SLEEPS.
2018 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE for BEHIND BARS, documentary short, India
2018 HONORABLE JURY MENTION at the 6th Indian Cine Film Festival for WHERE THE ELEPHANT SLEEPS, Mumbai, India
2019 NOMINATION ESTONIAN PEOPLE`S AWARD, for WHERE THE ELEPHANT SLEEPS (99min), Pärnu Film Festival, Estonia
2019 3rd TIGERLAND INDIA FILM FESTIVAL, Keynote- Speaker in the International Symposium on Human-Elephant-Conflict (HEC), Bhophal, India
2019 3rd TIGER AWARD for her Efforts in Biodiversity and Conservation, India
2019 3rd TIGER AWARD for her documentary films WHERE THE ELEPHANT SLEEPS and ELEPHANT KITCHEN, Bhopal, India
2019 BEST INDIAN FEATURE ECO-DOCUMENTARY AWARD for WHERE THE ELEPHANT SLEEPS, at the TINAI ECO FILM FESTIVAL Chennai, India
2019 ESTONIAN PEOPLE`S AWARD NOMINATION 2019 for WHERE THE ELEPHANT SLEEPS (99min), XXXIII Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival, (3. Platz), Estonia
2019 GUEST OF HONOR, inaugurating the Science Festival & the Science Film Festival in Kolkata, by invitation of the Honorable Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India
2019 SOWING AND REAPING. MASTERCLASS by Invitation of the Honorable Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India; Ministry of Earth Sciences, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India; SRFTI, CSIR-NISCAIR, International Science Film Festival of India, 6-9 November, (on location), India
2019 GETIKA AWARD ZOO ZURIC for Exceptional Achievements in Wildlife Conservation
2019 NOMINATION ESTONIAN PEOPLE’ S AWARD, 3rd place
2020 MASTERCLASS. SCIENCE FILM MAKING IS YOUR PASSION. PROVOKE THE CHANGE. By Invitation of the International Science Film Festival of India, Kolkata (online), India