Jonas Nellissen (*1986) studied ethnology and systematic musicology in Hamburg. In 2013, as part of the Kaltstart Theater Festival, he completed training as an event manager. From 2015 to 2017, he took on the role of production manager at the International Summer Festival at Kampnagel Hamburg before moving to the Elbphilharmonie.
For nearly nine years, he pursued music alongside his main career—until 2015, when he returned to an old passion sparked by a bargain-bin camera at the age of nine.
Since 2019, he has been working independently as a filmmaker, director, and cinematographer. His portfolio includes work for artists such as Anna Depenbusch, Josh "Socalled" Dolgin, Jessica Nupen, Juan Dominguez, Reinhold Beckmann, OutOfTheBox, Michael Schulte, and Danube’s Banks. His work has earned him awards like "Best Low-Budget Music Video" at the Rome Music Video Awards, the Euro Video Song Award, and "Best Male Director" at the Munich Music Video Awards.
His short documentaries, such as A Fish on Land (winner of the Caritas Germany "Gutmensch" Film Competition) and Plan F, explore fundamental questions about human coexistence and the future of our society. Lately, he has focused on complex theater productions, including Performing Denkmal, GEMeinsam, and Reparation Nation.
Jonas’ storytelling remains deeply sensitive, meeting his protagonists with great respect and relying on subtle visual narration rather than excessive pathos.