Team 

Co-Founder, Managing CEO (2021–present)

Diana is an award-winning Syrian-German filmmaker recognised for her innovative forms and intimate filmmaking as in her latest feature non-fiction Republic of Silence (Venice, Dok Leipzig 2021). An experienced editor and producer with worldwide theatrical releases as the Sundance Documentary Film Competition title 5 Seasons of Revolution (2023).

Diana has been a lead mentor for many years at major film labs including Berlinale Talents, Ex Oriente, Docs by the Sea, the Circle, Vision du Reel and teaches documentary film at EICTV.

She continues her directorial vocation and is currently working on her next feature documentary exploring identity, displacement, and transformation across the Middle East and Europe.

Diana was awarded Goethe-Institut Best German Film & Honorary mention at Dok Leipzig and is a co-recipient of the Celebration of Lives Award, EDN Award, Katrin Cartlidge Award together with Orwa. 

She is a member of AMPAS, IDA, Deutsche Filmakademie, APSA, a founding board member of DOX BOX and an advisory board member at DAE.

photo © Guevara Namer / No Nation Films

Co-Founder & Former Managing CEO (2014 - 2021)

Orwa is a George Polk Awarded documentary filmmaker. He co-founded Proaction Film and No Nation Films with Diana. His producing credits include all of Diana’s filmography as acclaimed films like the Oscar Short-listed Nocturnal, Republic of Silence (Venice, Goethe Best German Film Award), Silvered Water (Cannes, Grierson Award) and Return to Homs (Sundance Grand Jury Award). 

Having recently concluded his tenure as IDFA Artistic Director, Orwa returns to making films and leading the consultancy at No Nation Films, he ensures a complex narrative is realised under the most ethical and creative conditions, balancing financial and logistical needs.

An eloquent speaker and a film consults and mentor participating at various workshops and labs internationally.

A founding board member of DOX BOX, International Coalition of Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR), board member of European Festival Academy and IDA and a member of AMPAS, Deutsche Filmakedemie, European Film Academy and APSA.

photo © Guevara Namer / No Nation Films

Sonia Otto is a highly experienced Producer, Author, and Director based in Berlin. She studied Cultural Studies at Humboldt University in Berlin and Audiovisual Communication at the University of Seville.

Over two decades - from January 2001 to September 2021 - Sonia worked as a Creative Producer and author at INDI FILM Productions GmbH. Following this, she took on the role of Senior Producer at gebrueder beetz Filmproduktion Berlin GmbH & Co KG from October 2021 to May 2024.

Her extensive filmography as a producer includes acclaimed documentaries such as Neukölln Unlimited, Democracy, California City, #Female Pleasure, and Body of Truth. In addition to her producing work, Sonia Otto also directed the film #RACEGIRL.

Sonia has been engaged at No Nation Films as an associate consultant since 2024.

photo © Sonia Otto

Brigid O’Shea is an Australian native who has lived and worked in Europe since 2005. She has a fine arts degree obtained in Berlin and Melbourne. Launching her career at the Berlinale Talents, the Co-Production Market and European Film Market, she joined DOK Leipzig in 2010, and was appointed head of DOK Industry in 2015. In 2021, Brigid established the Documentary Association of Europe (DAE), to usher in a new generation of professionals collaborating together and to lobby on a pan-European level for documentary filmmakers. She is internationally respected as a mentor, moderator, and curator across a wide and diverse network.

Brigid has been engaged at No Nation Films as an associate consultant since 2024.

photo © Brigid O’Shea

Emma is a writer, researcher, and artist based in Berlin, and her practice focuses on intersections of sound, technology, and diaspora. She is currently a doctoral researcher at the Freie Universität Berlin, as a part of the project “Acoustic Disruptions” in affiliation with Intervening Arts Research Center (SFB 1512). She is a co-initiator of Spätifunk, a project with/about Berliner Spätis, and has ongoing collaborations with sōydivision and Asian Feminist Studio for Art and Research (AFSAR).

Emma has been with No Nation Films since 2021, supporting the CEO across internal and external operations and ongoing projects including film development and production.

photo © Katharine Lin

Celine Jünger is a Berlin-based film editor with a background in Cultural Studies, holding a BA from Humboldt University with a focus on visual culture and representation.

She is currently studying Montage Image & Sound at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). Celine is particularly drawn to experimental formats, documentaries, and essay films.

In 2024, she worked as an intern at No Nation Films, and has been engaged as an editor and assistant editor on several projects since then, also deepening her interest in feature-length documentary narration.

photo © Lenny Rothenberg

Philipp Schaeffer is a director and producer from Hamburg, Germany. After graduating in philosophy from King´s College London, he spent two years working on Augmented Reality projects between Los Angeles, the Canadian Arctic and Berlin.

Currently, he is pursuing further studies in documentary directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. His work has been nominated for the German Film Critics´ Award and the IDA Award, licensed by The New Yorker Documentary and shown at festivals like Sundance, Camerimage, and CPH:DOX.

Philipp joined No Nation Films as a production assistant intern in May 2025.