About us
Manusarts was founded in 2013 by Jana and Petja Pulkrabek. From early age the siblings of German-Czech origin grew up with the idea of turning their fascination for film, theatre and art into a profession. Manusarts specializes on artistically ambitious films with a personal signature, as well as interdisciplinary theatre productions with international partners. Visions arise in the head and heart, the hands accomplish the art. - Many hands create an artform.
With more than forty in-house productions, covering the fields of film, theater, music, dance and art exhibitions, the company focuses on international co-productions and cultural exchange. In order to deepen the cultural alliance of the Nordic regions, Manusarts founded the network platform “Move the North” in 2019, presenting cultural activities on an average of more than one hundred days, promoting cultural events in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. The festival creates cultural ties between the cities of Hamburg, Copenhagen and Malmö and brings together artists from all disciplines.
As part of the official “Hamburger Kultursommer 2021”, Manusarts presented a two-week festival for art, culture and music “Hamburger Kultur International”, which presented 45 international artists and 31 events. The follow up festival in 2022 “Nordic Summer Vibes” was hosted on the outdoor stage of Planten un Blomen, presenting a wide range of music, literature, theatre and improv comedy.
ManusArts realisiert nicht nur Filme, Theaterproduktionen, Konzerte und Ausstellungen, sondern ist auch Veranstalterin des in drei Ländern aktiven Cross-Border-Festival Move the North, sowie von Filmtagen und Musik- und Kulturfestivals.
Mit Factory Drop, Occasus und Nachtrausch hat ManusArts drei mit öffentlichen Mitteln geförderte Kurzfilme realisiert und entwickelt derzeit erste Spielfilmprojekte. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf einer eigenen Filmsprache, um dem Unfassbaren und Unerwarteten eine Bedeutung zu geben und auf audiovisuellen Elementen, welche die Geschichten von außergewöhnlichen Charakteren und Geschichten zum Leben erwecken.
Kultur bewegt
Seit 2015 engagiert sich ManusArts für eine strategische und nachhaltige Kulturbrücke zwischen Deutschland und Skandinavien. Mit dem House of International Theatre ist ManusArts seit 2017 in Kopenhagen ansässig und bringt seitdem regelmäßig eigene Theaterproduktionen und Kulturevents in Kopenhagen (Dänemark) und Malmö (Schweden) auf die Bühne. Um den kulturellen Schulterschluss der nordischen Regionen zu vertiefen, hat ManusArts 2019 mit dem Move the North Festival eine grenzübergreifende, internationale Netzwerkplattform geschaffen. Ziel ist es, durch Austausch, Zusammenarbeit und gemeinsame Koproduktionen die nordischen Regionen kulturell enger zusammenwachsen zu lassen und gemeinsam neue Impulse zu setzen. Mit über 30 Projekten präsentierte Manusarts gemeinsam mit internationalen Partnern im Kick-Off Jahr 2019 an über 100 Tagen Kulturveranstaltungen in Deutschland, Dänemark und Schweden. Es folgten u.a. die Festivalreihen Hamburger Kultur International und Nordic Summer Vibes, die mit skandinavischem Schwerpunkt internationale Kultur in Hamburg präsentieren.
Für ihre Initiative einer Kulturachse über die Ostsee wurden die Manusarts Geschäftsführer Jana Pulkrabek und Petja Pulkrabek von der SZENE HAMBURG als „Hamburger des Monats“ ausgezeichnet. Hier der Link zum Artikel.
Die Geschwister Jana und Petja Pulkrabek freuen sich, unter den zehn Kulturakteuren vertreten zu sein, die in der SZENE HAMBURG Gedanken und Stimmen aus der Hamburger Kulturszene zum Kultursommer 2021äußern. Hier der Link zum Artikel.
Jana Pulkrabek is a producer, director, writer and actress, also working as artistic director and festival leader. She studied acting in New York at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute and Actor’s Studio, as well as directing and production in London (Ealing Studios) and Berlin (ISFF). After three years in each city: New York, London and Berlin, she worked in Hamburg for the production companies Tatamifilms and Maxfilm and was in charge of running the children's theater “HoheLuftschiff” for two years. Jana has been developing and coordinating international theater projects since 2010, among others for the department of international cultural exchange of the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media. She produced, wrote and directed several theatre productions, which also toured internationally. Her short film "Nachtrausch", which was funded by the Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein Film Foundation, screened at several international film festivals. In January 2017 Jana co-founded Copenhagen's international theatre stage HIT-House of International Theater. She was named Hamburger of the Month together with her brother Petja by SZENE HAMBURG for creating the international network platform Move the North, which links artists between the Metropolitan Regions of Hamburg and Greater Copenhagen.
Petja Pulkrabek is a screenwriter, director, producer and festival director. After studying film at the Medienakademie Hamburg and studying film and theater at the Freie Universität Berlin, he has since worked on several short films and international cultural projects. Petja, together with his sister Jana, was named Hamburger of the Month by SZENE HAMBURG (January edition 2019) for creating the network platform Move the North, which links artists between the regions of Hamburg and Greater Copenhagen. His short film "Occasus" (2016), funded by the Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein Film Foundation and Nordmedia, was presented at numerous film festivals around the world and won two awards for best camera (Best Cinematography: Norway Tamil Film Festival; Bangalore Shorts Film Festival). Petja Pulkrabek is currently working on the production of his new short film Silent Routines, which he wrote and will also direct. The dance film was funded by the FFHSH and is a collaboration with the free dance company Kiel.
Board
Prof. Manuela Rousseau is the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility Headquarters at Beiersdorf AG, Hamburg, where she has been a member of the Supervisory Board since June 1999, with further engagement on the Supervisory Board of maxingvest ag since April 2009. Since 2009 Manuela has been a member of Women in the Supervisory Boards e.V. (FidAR). In 1992, while already active as Group Spokesperson for Beiersdorf AG, Manuela Rousseau began teaching at the Hamburg University of Music and Theater as a lecturer for the cultural and media management course. Her area of expertise is fundraising management. In addition to numerous lectures in Germany and abroad, she is involved in various committees. In 1999 she was awarded the Federal Medal of Merit for her voluntary work. In 2002, Vogue Business voted her one of the 100 top business women in Germany. In 2008, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Sponsoring Association. We would like to thank Manuela Rousseau for her work as Manusarts Advisory Board from 2014 - 2020.
Prof. Dipl.-Bibl. Prof. h.c. Klaus-Peter Nebel (head of the international course in media and culture management at the Latvian Academy of Culture in Riga) has been a professor and head of the master's course for media and culture management at the Academy of Culture (LKA) in Riga since 2000. Since 2001 he has also been teaching at the National Institute of Business at the Moscow State University of Human Sciences. In 2005 and 2013 he received the professor h.c. award. Peter was the Director of Corporate Communications at maxingvest AG (holding company for Beiersdorf AG, Tchibo GmbH and Tesa AG) until 2010. Prior to this engagement he was the Head of Press & Public Relations at Beiersdorf AG for over 25 years. During this period, P. Nebel was voted as best press spokesman in Germany several times. He has written several books and was the editor and columnist of the culture magazine “Mail from Riga”.
Christian Pothe is a lawyer and Attorney at Law with licenses in Hamburg and New York with further comittment as Managing Director of VANO Food Chain Management GmbH. He was previously engaged as the vice president of FC St. Pauli, as lawyer and CEO of the law and tax consultancy firm Buse Heberer Fromm, and as managing director of Bucerius Education GmbH. In addition, Pothe is the co-author of the handbook "Kanzleimanagement in der Praxis" and board member of the German Society for Professional Service Firms - DGPSF. Pothe has remained involved with football on a voluntary basis, as chairman of the DFB youth committee and also as a member of the executive committee of the Hamburg Football Association.
Thomas Dias Fernandes (tax consultant, certificated industrial and business lawyer) was born in Flensburg in 1978. He trained commercial and employment law at the University of Hamburg. After working for five years in auditing and tax consulting at the Rödl & Partner firm in Hamburg and Nürnberg, he has become tax consultant for the Kanzlei Kück in Hamburg in 2015. “As a father of two children and member of the Advisory Board at Manusarts, linking linking dry tax matters with lively art and culture is particularly important to me.”
Ruth Bäßler was responsible for the international cultural exchange program of the Hamburg Ministry of Culture until 2016. After studying theology, sociology and librarianship at the University of Hamburg, she worked as a teacher, lecturer and test developer of school and thesis tests. During her time with the Hamburg cultural authority, she was particularly committed to cultural exchange programs with Marseille, Toulouse, St. Petersburg, Groningen and Copenhagen.
In addition to her work on the advisory board of Manusarts, she does voluntary work for the Monsoon Theater, the Alfred Schnittke Academy and other musical projects.
Dietmar Hamm (real estate specialist and center manager) was born 1964 in Hamburg. After gaining Europe-wide experience in real estate management and marketing, he took on the management position of the Levantehaus in Hamburg in 1999. As a cultural venue, the Levantehaus hosts and initiates festivals, performances, concerts and readings. Under his guidance the Levantehaus was awarded with the "Kulturmerkur" in 2004, a highly acclaimed prize for cultural achievements in Hamburg. Further nominations and awards followed. "Bold cultural concepts challenge me and I enjoy supporting and accompanying culture."