Chiara Sambuchi

Documentary film director, Journalist.

Chiara Sambuchi was born in Pesaro, Italy. She studied Philosophy and classical guitar in Italy and later Film studies. She worked as a producer for the correspondent office of RAI in Berlin. She has directed documentaries and reportages for several European broadcasters like ARD, ARTE, ZDF, YLE, RAI, and History channel. Her feature length documentary films “Wrong planet”, “Good morning Africa!”, “City of women, today”, “Spirits I’ve called” were and are still presented at major film festivals around the world. She has directed documentary films in post conflict regions of Uganda, in rural areas of Ruanda, in refugee camps at the European borders during the refugees' humanitarian emergency in 2014 and 2015. Her documentary films won several awards, like: the “Axel Springer Preis” for “Is today Tuesday or May?”, the “Honorable Mention” at the Prix Media of the French "Enfance Majuscule" for "Lost children. Thirty thousand minors missing", the Impact Doc Award for “Spirits I’ve called”. Her latest investigative feature documentary film festival “The Deal” had premiere at CPHDOX in March 2022, has been selected for the main competition at many international film festivals and won the “Spcial jury award” at Visioni dal mondo film festival in Milan.
Chiara Sambuchi also contributes as speaker and lecturer at panels and seminars related to the topics of her work, organized by universities, European institutions and NGOs. Since 2022 she’s a board member of the German film guide AGDOK and the of FERA, the Federation of the European screen directors.

 Filmography:  

The Srebrenica tape

90’ (in production)

My dream job in Paris

32’, ARTE

Chronicle of a environmental disaster, Author and Director
52’, 45’, ARTE/WDR

The deal, Author and Director
90’

Against the steel work
30’, ARTE/WDR

The spirits that I called, Author and Director
75’ Theatrical release

The Oba’s release, Author and Director
Video project for social Media, PIAM and regione Piemonte

Reporters against the mafia
30’, ARTE/WDR

Escaping sex trafficking, Author and Director
30', ARTE/WDR

Lost Children, Author and Director
52' ZDF/ARTE/SRF/Globonews, TVP, Deutsche Welle

The Viagra Chronicles, Author and Director
ARD, 90'

Europe or Death, Author and Director
30’

The Palace of the stranded, Author and Director
WDR, 45’

The trip to Mumbai, Author and Director
SWR, 45’

The race for land, Author and Director
ARD, 45’

City of woman, today, Author and director
ARTE/ARD and theatrical release, 90’

Talents for Germany, Author and director
WDR, 30’

The turtle and the cage, Author and director
In development, 80’

Valeria’s trip through the Andes, Author and director
KiKa/MDR, 30’

Fathers, Author and director
ZDF, 28’

Good morning Africa! Author and director
90’, ARD and theatrical release

A laptop against poverty, Author and director
ARTE/ZDF/Rai International/YLE
45’ und 52’

Wrong Planet, Author and director
75’, For theatrical release

Hendrik, Author and director
KiKa/MDR, 30’

The last battle of the imperator’s ship, Author and director
History channel Italy/ZDF, 52’

My world has Thausend secrets, Author and director
Life and thoughts of high gifted individuals with autism
ZDF, 30’

Sophias new world, Author and director
KiKa/MDR, 30’

The bagdad railway, Author
ARD/ARTE/History Channel Italy, 2 x 52’

Locked away, Author and director
ARD/MDR, 30’

Is today Tuesday or May? Author and director
Everyday life with dementia’s patients
ZDF, 30’

Foreign Neighbours, Author and director
The German Islam between Isolation und Integration
ZDF, 30’

Nightmare Iraq, Author and director
Patched-Up and Back to the Front
ZDF

The mighty product fetish, Co-Author and Co-director
ARTE/ZDF, 52’

The conscience of the world, Co-Author and Co-dreictor
ARTE/ZDF, 52’

Awards

For: The deal: Special jury mention, Italian feature lenght competition, Visioni dal mondo film festival

For: Spirits I’ve called: Impact Doc Award 2020

For: Lost children
”Honorable mention”, Prix Média 2018 dans la catégorie documentaire, Enfance majuscule

For: City of women, today
Honorable mention, International women film festival, LA

For: My world has thousand secrets, Life and thoughts of high gifted individuals with autism
First Award of the Axel Springer Academy, 2008

For: Locked Away
Special prize of the jury Axel Springer Academy

For: The conscience of the world
Silver Award at the international Film Festival „Prix Leonardo“, Parma

Festivals

The Deal

-CPHDOX

F:act category, International competition

-DOKUFEST, International Documentary and Short Film Festival, Prizren, Kosovo

International competition

-WIFF, Warsaw International Film Festival

International competition

-VISIONI DAL MONDO Film Festival

Italian feature lenght documentary competition

Spirits I’ve called

-Beyond Film festival 2020

International competition

-Innsbruck Nature film festival 2020

Nominee

-Ekofilm festival 2020

International competition

-BIFED 2020

International competition

Lost children

-Nomination at Prix Europa for the best European TV-reportage in 2017 (Category: Iris)

-FIGRA: Sguardi altrove film festival, Milan, 2018
Competition

The Viagra Chronicles

-TIFF Tirana international film festival
Panorama

-Austin international film festival
Competition "Heart of feature"

-Visioni del mondo film festival
Competition

City of women, today

-International women film festival, LA
Competition

-Milan Film festival “cinema italiano” 
Competition

Good morning Africa!

-Vancouver international film festival
Competition

-LaFemme Los Angeles film festival
Competition

-One world film festival, Prague
Competition

-International human right film festival, Kosovo
Competition

-International human right film festival Kampala, Uganda
Competition

„Valeria“
-Duisburger Filmwoche
Competion, category Children program

Wrong Planet:
- Achtung Berlin
Competition

-Belgrad Documentary film festival
Competition

The conscience of the world
-12th International film festival „Prix Leonardo“, Parma, Italy
Competition

The mighty product fetish
-Ecofilms Rodos
Competition