Biografia
Bärbel Jacks, a German citizen, started her career 1991 in Munich, at the commercial TV channel Tele 5, as TV journalist and producer. In 1993 she got an offer from an international television agency to build up a Correspondent Bureau in Moscow, becoming a Foreign Correspondent and Bureau Chief in Moscow, Russia. At that turbulent, history-making time, during Perestroyka, she spent more than three years in Moscow. Her work took her through all the former Soviet Union states, also into areas of war (e.g. Chechnya). Her numerous documentaries and background reports (social issues, politics, portraits, exclusive interviews) were shown with great success in many countries, such as Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Japan...
1996 she decided to go back to Germany, but never lost her passion for films and documentaries about foreign countries and cultures. Her stories are character driven, with human touch, the human being is always in the centre of the story and the action.
In 1997 her film "Living in the Ghetto. Jews in Hebron and New York" earned the TV-Award "Bayerischer Fernsehpreis". This feature documentary was shot in 35mm and was shown in correspondence with the German TV Premiere of Spielberg's "Schindler's List".
After working as a worldwide Chief Reporter on Air (ProSieben), she was hired as director for the international documentary series "Secrets of Power". Her responsibility as author and director for the films about and with Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev , George H.W. Bush and Hans-Dietrich Genscher gave her the opportunity to spend weeks and months close to top-ranking decision makers and to look behind the scenes of international power.
In 2007 Bärbel completed her first docufiction drama "Killerflu 2008" as Executive Producer and Co-Director. 94min. Primetime, ProSieben. Based entirely on hard facts the film unveils an imaginable catastrophe using a great number of hyper realistic visual techniques.
In autumn 2009 her first two documentaries of an international series about a mega construction project in Abu Dhabi were shown on TV with best ratings of the program. The documentaries include the construction of the Formula One Racetrack in Abu Dhabi (Yas Island) and the development of the signature 5-Star Yas Hotel.
Her follow-up projects as director in the UAE: Building the Impossible
* The F1 Launch Coaster. The world's fastest roller coaster, Ferrari
World (National Geographic) and a complex 4 hour documentary Saturday evening primetime, which gained best ratings on VOX, and is now sold worldwide: Skyscraper Burj Khalifa - Living in the world's tallest building
Her most recent productions as director are Bayern!, a documentary TV-Series and the Gold Medal awarded documentary "Drawing Against Oblivion", (2014). Bärbel enjoys working as both, director and producer. She is dedicated to keep telling stories that matter, that unveil personal characters and give a surprising look behind the scenes.
High profile productions, always celebrating originality, integrity and excellence. Powerful portraits which leave an impression on the minds and the hearts of an international audience.
