Valentin Thurn

Author and Director

Valentin Thurn is a director of documentaries for TV and cinema. His documentary “Taste the Waste” won 20 international awards such as the German Environmental Media Award and the Eating City Special Award. It was a box office hit in Germany with more than 130.000 spectators. The sequel “Food Savers” won among others the Econsense Journalist Award. His bestseller book “Die Essensvernichter” about food waste has been translated into various languages.
His recent film “10 Billion – What’s on your plate?” won the German Nature Film Award and many others and was declared the most successful German cinema documentary in 2015. His book “Harte Kost” about the same topic – how to feed the growing world population – got the Salus Media Award.

In the last 20 years Valentin Thurn realized more than 40 documentaries, among them “I Am Al Qaeda” that has been nominated for the German TV Award in 2006.
Other films include: “Not with my daughter!” about Female Genital Circumcision in Europe.
“Killer Germs” about bacteria resistant to antibiotics spreading in hospitals.
“Where Have All The Children Gone?” Why is Europe’s population shrinking?
“The Lord Of The Wolves” about a biologist investigating the hidden life of a wolf pack in Romania.
“My Father Wants To Kill Me” about so-called honor killings in migrant families in Germany and France.

He is chairman of the association “Taste of Heimat”, board member of the association “Foodsharing Germany” and co-Founder of the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ), gathering journalists from over 50 countries.

Based in Cologne, Germany.
www.thurnfilm.de

Think global – eat local

Die wenigsten von uns wissen, wo ihr Essen herkommt. Es wird aus immer weiteren Entfernungen herangekarrt, aber immer weniger nachhaltig erzeugt. Derweil zerdrückt die Konzentrationswelle die „Kleinen“. Wie können wir die bäuerlichen Betriebe und damit die Vielfalt auf den Äckern rund um unsere Städte erhalten? Zum Beispiel indem wir Ernährungsräte gründen. Sie können die Kommunen dazu bringen, eine lokale Ernährungspolitik zu formulieren, neue Formen der Direktvermarktung unterstützen und eine Verbindung zwischen Landwirten, Gastronomen und Schulkantinen in der Region schaffen. Und viele Bürger an der Umsetzung der Essbaren Stadt beteiligen.