Daniel Koehler

Bio

Daniel Koehler began his filmmaking career directing, shooting and editing the award-winning short documentary The Tobacco King, which follows white Zimbabwean farmer George Botha’s efforts to cultivate a new life in Zambia after losing his home in Zimbabwe. The film played in film festivals across the United States, including Starz Denver where it received a Special Jury Prize for its “unflinching and nuanced portrait.” His next film, Win or Lose, which follows a photographer’s campaign against a discriminatory amendment to the North Carolina Constitution, won a Student Academy Award and premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival. From 2012 to 2014, Daniel worked with two-time Academy Award nominated filmmaker Marshall Curry in Brooklyn, New York. He collaborated with Marshall on his film Point and Shoot, which tells the story of a young Baltimore native who set off for Libya to join the rebels fighting dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary. Most recently, Daniel received the inaugural Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship to spend nine months in Botswana making a documentary film about cultural change among the San.

Reflection

I grew up in Uganda, East Africa and witnessed many expressions of faith growing up – some interesting, some frightening, and some inspiring. When I was asked to shoot a scene at a Pentecostal church for Sacred, I was excited. I’m intrigued by the idea of interacting with the Holy Spirit and other principles of the Pentecostal movement. Over the past nine months, I’ve been working in and around the Ghanzi area in Botswana, Southern Africa, so I chose to shoot with one of the many “fire” churches there. I witnessed and captured praying in tongues, attempts of healing, and emotional outpouring, whether shouting, crying, or dancing. It was truly a unique experience, and I’m excited for others to share in it.