Testimonials
What people say
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"Like being at a rock concert"
Andrea Reuter, Producer & Moderator, Helsinki-filmi
“The first time I saw Tatjana Samopjan lecture was at the Industry day of the Umeå European Film Festival in 2015. I had never heard her name before and had no expectations of the lecture. From the first minute that she spoke, I was hooked. By the end of the lecture, I was totally mind-blown.
I have been to countless lectures on storytelling, dramaturgy and development during the last decade and they tend to be variations of the same themes and thoughts.
What made Tatjana stand out was her unique and fresh perspective, her way of combining concepts from unexpected fields and of course her natural gift of inspiring the audience.
I immediately booked her as a keynote speaker for the event I moderated and co-curated at the time. TV Drama Vision is the oldest and foremost drama series event in the Nordics. As I suspected, Tatjana’s lecture became the talk of the event; the thoughts and concepts she introduced were referred to by the other lecturers throughout the whole programme. This has been the case at all the conferences where I have seen her lecturing since.
I have seen all of Tatjana’s lectures and she just keeps on growing as a lecturer.
The amount of new thoughts, insights and perspectives that she provides every time is extremely impressive and to top it all off, she is really entertaining and f-ing cool! The feeling in the audience at a lecture by Tatjana is like being at a rock concert or a self help guru’s pep talk; the audience is inspired, enlightened and shocked into seeing their own and others’ storytelling in a totally new light.”
"Tatjana really helped us believe that it was doable"
David Herdies - Founder & Producer, Momento Film
“Tatjana came into the process with one of our documentaries, BELLUM, at a stage where we felt pretty lost. It’s a complex story, taking place in three disparate countries - at first glance, completely disconnected. On top of that, the plan was to have another layer in the shape of a reflective and philosophical voice-over. So, quite a puzzle to make these different pieces come together in one film and we had our doubts we could even make it happen.
But Tatjana proved us wrong and really helped us believe that it was doable. She immediately saw the potential of the film and came with concrete ideas how to get us there. During two intense workshop sessions she helped us with the structure of the film as well as to figure out the theme of the film; what it was really about.
Tatjana has the rare talent of both being able to catch and analyse the smallest details as well as to zoom out and see the bigger picture and the underlying subcontexts of a story.”
"Connects it all in a way that inspires the mind
and ignites the heart."
Sara Broos, Swedish Filmmaker, Program Director
at Alma Advanced Screenwriting Program
"I’ve engaged Tatjana Samopjan on many occasions as a lecturer and dramaturge at Alma Advanced Screenwriting Program. Tatjana’s passion is contagious and our students love to participate in her mind-blowing masterclasses that open up new perspectives, both in life and art. She does it with gravitas and a lot of humour.
Tatjana’s sensitivity for nuance, her keen ear for the writer’s voice, combined with her sharp intellect and a personal approach make her unique.
Her understanding of storytelling goes far beyond dramaturgical models and analytical tools. She weaves together threads from the established Western storytelling traditions with the ones coming from other cultures, experiences of the mystical, the natural world and the depths of the human psyche. Tatjana connects it all in a way that inspires the mind and ignites the heart."
"Tickles your mind and helps you see things in an entirely new perspective."
Siebe Dumon, Head of Talent Development TV
Flanders Audiovisual Fund, VAF, Belgium
"Tatjana connects dots that seem to be scattered allover the place. Wherever there's chaos, she brings order. Wherever there's order, she pokes gently but deeply, searching for the richer and more layered insight and content.
She is an inspiring, intelligent, experienced and warm-hearted woman and audiovisual expert who will tickle your mind and help you see things in an entirely new perspective."
"Combines craft, technical skill and storytelling without ever losing touch with Poetry and Life itself."
Gabriela Pichler
Screenwriter and film director
Johan Lundborg
Screenwriter and cinematographer
Anna-Maria Kantarius
Film producer, Garagefilm
"A meeting with Tatjana always gives an energy boost. She goes into creative collaboration with engagement och skill. The meetings generate new thoughts and ideas. She narrows down the themes, puts her finger on the underlying structures and conflicts. She broadens our perspective and puts our work in a larger context which we still may not have the words for.
She looks for the big in the small, for the small in the big.
Tatjana helps us navigate the interaction, the interplay, of form and content. She sees the characters' functions in the script, and their meaning in the whole, but at the root lies her burning interest in the human being and our existence. She has the ability to combine craft, technical skill and storytelling without ever losing touch with Poetry and Life itself."
"Fascinating insights that will ignite the imagination"
Gerhard Maier
Co-founder & artistic director SERIENCAMP, Germany
"In an industry, where interdisciplinary perspectives and the ability to extend your horizon beyond immediate utilitarianism are hard to find, Tatjana offers a vision and voice that looks beneath the veneer of the trivial, to poke at the connecting tissue of storytelling and reality-making, of personal experience and social dynamics.
To investigate the topics of audiovisual creation and consumption through different lenses with the goal to put the various facets into a mosaic to offer a broader view, calls for courage: Not all answers are readily served up by conventional wisdom but have to be hunted down in fields off the mainstream.
With analytical rigor and sharp wit, Tatjana offers fascinating insights that will ignite the imagination. With these traits Tatjana proved to be a stirring speaker, an astute consultant and an inspirational workshop instructor who I repeatedly booked for our events - be it an interdisciplinary storytelling conference „Plot“, our serial storytelling conference „Seriencamp“ or a post-graduate program at one of Germany's most prestigious film schools."
Some people I have worked with and for
