Meet Ela Elisabeth Beken

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ela Elisabeth Beken.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a director, producer, author, and actress. As far back as I can remember, I always had some artistic seeds percolating in my heart. I had to take some detours, however, before arriving where I am today. First, I studied film production in Munich/Germany and, for over ten years, I worked for some of the important television network channels in Europe. Prior to discovering the joy of film making, I employed acting, singing, literature, and some other artistic mediums to communicate the early row artistic ideas.

Above all, however, I really liked being on stage and acting out different kinds of characters. I studied acting for film and theater in Munich, Germany, first at the Deutsche Academy for Acting (DAS) and then at the International School for Acting for Film and Theater. Naturally, my earlier work as an actress for television, film, and stage productions were mainly produced in Germany. Around this time, I have studied with the renowned German actor, director, and producer Ulli Lommel (1944-2017) who is known for his cult movies and collaborations with such luminaries as Andy Warhol and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Ulli Lommel became my mentor and has deeply influenced me as an artist, filmmaker, and human being.

As long it lasted, telling stories this way alone was really exciting for me. One day, however, I realized that there were more variety of costumes to wear and more stories to tell. Consequently, I started to write my own stories and develop my own ideas. I wrote the screenplay for the 2010 movie Jetzt Wirds Ernst. I was also the assistant director and actress for this movie. It was inspired and developed from a year-long social project of acting and film-making with the immigrant children in Munich. With the Ministry of Culture’s support, it was directed by the eminent Bavarian director and producer Rüdiger Nüchtern with whom I have been collaborating on several other projects. I have just finished my novel Gang Bang Sisters, which I wrote after conducting long research on the streets of Munich under Rüdiger Nüchtern’s guidance.

Naturally, my experiences as an actress influenced me as a director. In 2010, I have coached the actors for the production of Job-Suey-No Dinner for Sinners, which was directed by the German television director Peter Ludwig. Studying the tools of acting and learning how to use them to express myself as an actress has always been beneficial whenever I worked with actors. I see my actors through a different set of lenses. Being able to talk the same language as my actors helps me to bond with them, work more effectively, and reach my goals faster.

Before I came to the US, I was the youth representative and coordinator as well as one of the founding members of the Bavarian Institute of Migration (BIM) in Germany. I have also worked as a teacher for stage and camera acting for children K-12 at different theater and film schools in Munich, Germany.

Upon my arrival in Los Angeles, I was already working on my documentary and my novel. I felt, however, that I needed some fresh inspirations. As an artist, it was always important to me to constantly grow and not get stuck in one place. I wanted to have new inputs through new lenses and I knew that this big City of Angels had much to offer for my artistic growth. I was open to new ideas and excited to learn. So, I have decided to go back to school again and, consequently, studied film at Santa Monica College. I studied Film History with Professor Josh Kanin, who also happens to be the son of the award-winning screenwriters Michael Kanin and Fay Kanin. His lectures were always inspiring for all of his students. Many students got tears in their eyes during his lectures and at the end of his 4-hour lectures, some of us did not even want to leave the lecture hall and stayed longer in order to have the most rewarding conversations about filmmaking with Dr. Kanin. Learning about filmmaking through his eyes was very special. It was a true gift to be in his class. It is also remarkable that I had to travel to Los Angeles all the way from Europe to understand European film history. Understanding the film history provided a special lens that I needed to deepen my understanding of film making and its influence over people.

These new experiences expanded my horizons as a filmmaker. It helped me to make my documentary A Piece of Germany more universal and making essentially a German story touch people’s hearts from all over the world. During the many festival screenings of my film, it was amazing to witness that we all spoke a universally intelligible language of film making. Miraculously, my film resonated with many people from all sorts of backgrounds.

My documentary film A Piece of Germany won, among many others, the Best Foreign Film award in Garifuna International Indigenous Film Festival in Los Angeles and the Best Documentary Film Award in Eurasia Film Festival in Moscow, Russia. I received 2018, the Best Director Award at the Aphrodite Film Awards in New York and I was nominated for Best Director at the Borderland Film Festival in New Mexico. In brief, I must say that realizing the rich dimensions of the exhilarating art of film making fulfilled the missing elements of my life.

Currently, I have been working on several projects—including a documentary film about the international cellist Yo-Yo Ma and another documentary film about the life and work of the Swiss photographer Jacqueline Peyer. I just started the post-production of my other future documentary film, Three Musical Portraits. This last project is another very special journey and, at the moment, I have been learning about music and spirituality.

I am especially excited, however, working on a screenplay soon for a future fiction movie inspired by my documentary A Piece of Germany and another screenplay of my novel Gang Bang Sisters.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I had a life full of challenges, just like many other people in the world. It was not always easy, but every challenge taught me to be a better human being and made me stronger. Managing my profession as a filmmaker and writer, as well as being a mom of two little children has been a challenge.

On top of all these, because of my husband’s job, all of these new experiences were happening in Los Angeles—a completely new town in a completely new country where I was just settling. I remember when I told my friend Ulli that I was moving to Los Angeles, he told me that it would take a while before I discovered the ins and outs of the city. He lived in LA for more than 30 years. He further commented that as soon as I figured out what was where I would just love this city. It happened exactly like that. Indeed, it took me some time to figure things out and I am still learning. When I arrived here, I realized that the big city from which I thought I came was, in fact, a relatively small town. Suddenly being in a big city like Los Angeles and a new country was a challenge.

I had to construct everything from scratch. When I arrived in LA, I left behind a system of social support and everything else that was familiar. As an artist, I also left everything behind—a network of connections and many opportunities. In the beginning, it really felt like I died and was born again in LA. I knew this was not going to be easy. I had nothing but my husband’s endless love. I was experiencing joy and anxiety at once. I also knew very well, I had to keep growing professionally. I knew Los Angeles would make me artistically stronger and professionally recognized. During this time, I started working on the production of my long-term film project—a future documentary A Piece of Germany—and keep working on my novel Gang Bang Sisters.

If I had to create a short film that described my struggles at that time, I would probably have made a surrealistic-scene in which you would see a female hero with multiple arms each of which accomplishing a different task (unlike the Dr. Octopus character in Spiderman): for example, typing a novel incessantly, cooking for a whining child, editing a film on three screens, nursing a younger child, shooting some action scenes on a big and awkward looking camera, etc. As a passionate artist and a mother of two gorgeous children, I learned to love challenges because they took me where I am now.

I must also point out; Los Angeles has been a gift for me. I love it here in America. I am really grateful for the time I spent in this city of angles. I perceive Los Angeles as a place of diversity where I have a special opportunity to grow as an artist and human being. If you work hard here and have something to offer, people will check it out. As soon as I arrived here, I sensed a positive approach to life. I noticed genuine politeness and kindness in all segments of society. It is not superficial. I really like this. For example, people whom I have just met would offer help for no other reason than being polite and kind. I have established wonderful friendships. From the get-go, I felt welcomed and accepted here. My good friend James Nash, who is a member of DGA and a former CBS director, told me a few weeks ago “Ela, here in America, you can be anything you want.” I like that. I really have the feeling that I am free and I can grow and flourish here. I am accepted as the person who I am. Nobody is telling me who I am supposed to be. People in LA think in more connected ways and they seem to be open-minded in all sorts of ways. I have also noticed that people here are more health conscious too. I live in Santa Monica and, for example, smoking is not allowed in common areas. This is a dream for me and insurance for the future of my children. Today I realize that being here was not giving up my experiences and knowledge and an already established network in Europe but rather an opportunity to build a bridge between the two continents. This makes me feel enriched and free.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am an artist—a director, producer, author, and actress.

Investing many years of my life in different parts of filmmaking for television and cinema—behind and in front of the camera—took me where I am now.

Today I live in Los Angeles and I produce my own projects. This gives me the artistic freedom I have always wanted.

As a passionate film person, I remember the earlier times when it was not easy to reach people. You know what I am talking about: preparing portfolios, the demo-tapes, knocking on the doors of agencies, production companies, etc. Today, in our globalized world nothing is too far to reach. It took me a while to realize this but now I can work on my own stories and be reachable by anyone who wants to work with me from all over the world. I receive messages from Russia, China, Spain, Italy, etc., from people who feel my recent work resonated with them. This makes me really happy and realize the power of making a film. I feel I can have a big influence. You are telling stories not just for your friends in the social media but for everyone and for many generations to come. Once I make my art available in the world, it is out there forever. I can no longer control who is going to read it or see it. So, as an artist, this makes me feel that I carry a big social responsibility.

People are all different, of course, but I am also like many other filmmakers or writers telling stories about people.

There are many ways to tell a story. It may be tricky to find the right balance between reality and fiction. I see reality as a lesson from which one learns and not something to be emulated. For example, no one wants to see people committing suicide after watching a film because of its depressive and hopeless nature. In that way, I feel a particular social responsibility towards the younger viewers and I aim to produce the kinds of movies that uplift and give hope to those who are stuck at a place. Especially in Europe where I grew up, domestic and movies from other parts of the world were very influential. When the characters are well played, the movie may provide a too real looking set of models for the young audiences and they may experience difficulty distinguishing between reality and fiction as the movie characters become powerful idols for them.

Colors was a wonderful movie from the 1980s which touched my heart from the very beginning until the last second. It was directed by the amazing Robert Duvall and miraculously acted by Sean Penn and Robert Duvall—two of my favorite actors someday with whom I really would like to work. I remember as a teenager, everyone in my middle school in Germany was copying the gangster types from this movie. Many of them would act like the characters in the movie as if they were living in that kind of ghetto in Germany. Actually, those children were from well-off middle-class families and did not live in the ghettos. However, some of them, I remember, became real-life criminals from copying the characters in the movie. Similarly, another movie from Germany Christian F., directed by Uli Edel, was extremely influential in the 80s and 90s in Germany. Many children and teenagers were idolizing the main character Christiane and some other characters in the movie. As a result of the undue influence of this movie, a lot of children ended up taking heroin and other drugs and running away from home.

I have seen some German directors who made ghetto movies just because it was hip and making money in Hollywood at the time. For the sake of authenticity, sometimes those directors would even cast teenage non-actors from the actual ghettos. After the production, some of those teenagers carried over their movie roles into real life and became real gang members. Some of them even ended up in real German jails. So, whenever I write or direct I feel I have a responsibility. I know that whatever I do or write it will not be only for my artistic satisfaction. It will be out there in the real world. So many people young or old will read my stories or see my films. I always think I will have some influence on people and I see this as an opportunity to shape people’s way of thinking and send them a message. As a mother, it is important to me that I give especially young people some sense of hope for the future.

My novel is about some homeless and neglected children in the streets of Munich. I did long research and conducted fieldwork for this project. I remember, one day a girl who was living in a shelter asked me: “Ela, do you think a foster child can make it too; can a foster child be successful too?” This touched my heart very deeply. Hence, in the story of Gang Bang Sisters, my recent novel, I wanted to give children hope and I want to show them that “yes, they can make it.” While I believe in giving deep seeded lessons and broader messages in my stories and movies, at the same time, I don’t think there are answers to all questions. I believe some questions need to be left alone and contemplated and resolved by themselves.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
One of the lessons I have learned in my life was to always look forward and live a happy life. While I seek lessons from my experiences, I never look back and say I should have done this or that differently. I believe that when we make decisions we all make the best possible ones under the circumstances which we live. I do not regret the decisions I have made in the past. I am happy with where I am now and I know that the choices I have made took me here. I am excited and looking forward to what is coming next.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Throughout my life, there have always been some special people who supported me. They will always have my gratitude. I have learned much from all of them but some of them were very important for me and my life.

I am very thankful for my husband Münir’s support in everything I do. Producing A piece of Germany together was very special. Having such a distinguished composer like him 24 hours at my side was not only a benefit for our film but it was also a personal gift for me as this film was very special and very private for me. The soundtrack for this film has always occupied my mind since the film’s inception. I really wanted to have a piece of music that would amplify the inner feelings of the children depicted in my film and my personal journey in making this film. These feelings were really special and pure. So, scoring the soundtrack was not going to be easy. My husband was exceptionally receptive to my thoughts and the most secret inner feelings day by day.

I think many musicians could have written high-quality music for this film, but I also think no other musician could have come up with any better music than what he composed for A Piece of Germany. I know this because no other person could have spent so much quality time with me and understand my thoughts and feelings. I think at the end, just before he wrote the music, we felt the same emotion for the depicted children’s feelings when they were abruptly taken away from the only home and country they have ever known. It was a unique and special collaboration for anyone to experience. Additionally, my husband was also my first-hand academic advisor as a scholar and professor since the beginning. His academic support helped me to develop the materials and see many issues more clearly. He helped me to connect with some of the fundamentally universal questions and so much more that is beyond words. I am so thankful that I have him.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I believe in me and my work. I listen to the voice in my heart. I remain loyal, honest, and stay true to myself. I stay behind every decision I make. I don’t betray myself. I don’t lie. I believe in karma. I look forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://filmfreeway.com/1427036
• Email: elisabethbeken@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisabethbeken/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elisabethbeken
• Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ela-elisabeth-beken-27022210b
• Other: https://filmfreeway.com/1427036

Image Credit:
Headshot photographed by Silvia Spross

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