Team
Christian Schidlowski
Producer, Managing Director
Christian has been working as a documentary filmmaker for more than 20 years. His films have been commissioned by broadcasters such as ARTE, ZDF, WDR, NatGeo, NHK and the Discovery Channel, and sold to more than 30 countries. Aside from his directorial work, he has acted as executive producer and creative director on high-end documentary series for both the German and international market. His recent work includes “Asia from Above”, “The Borderless Sky”, and “Equator – Line of Life”. He studied at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin and at the Tisch School of the Arts in New York.
www.christian-schidlowski.de
Carolin Neubauer
Co-Founder, Shareholder
Carolin worked for documentary production companies in Munich, Sydney, Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg for over a decade before founding Cocoa Film GmbH with Christian Schidlowski in 2018. Until 2024, she served as managing director of the company. During that time, she headed the production of 14 films for ZDF/Arte and RBB/Arte. She now has moved on to start a new venture in another business area, but still supports the Cocoa team with advice and assistance. Carolin studied Audiovisual Media in Stuttgart and holds a Master’s degree in Media Arts and Production from UTS Sydney.
Sven Heiligenstein
Line Producer, Creative Director
Sven has been working in documentary film as a production manager and line producer for over 20 years. He worked for the ZDF, NDR, ARTE and various international Coproduction partners. During his assignments as an aerial producer, production manager for wildlife productions and docudrama he collected a vast range of experiences and expertise which since 2024 he contributes to the Cocoa Film as a creative producer and co-author. Sven studied English, Russian and economics and in Hamburg and St. Petersburg.