Academy Films

Alwin was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, the hometown of KRAFTWERK, WIM WINDERS and serial killer PETER KURTEN (Fritz Lang’s 1931 film ‘M’, in which a serial child killer terrorizes Berlin, is often said to have been based upon Kürten)

As a youngster Alwin was into comics, photography and painting, and served a 3-year apprenticeship as a photographer.

A friend then asked him to shoot some of his film school projects in Munich and this is where his love affair with filmmaking began.

He was accepted into the NATIONAL FILM AND TV SCHOOL IN BEACONSFIELD where he learned a number of vital lessons, including how to queue properly at the lunch counter, and that when things are going really badly (like the camera falling out of the back of the van on the way to a shoot) the best thing to do is have a cup of tea!
Beaconsfield was also where he met Ngozi Onwurah (his future wife) and Lynne Ramsey (for whom he shot the critically acclaimed feature ‘Ratcatcher’)

Alwin has DOP’d for some of the greatest commercials directors in the world (his portfolio includes Mercedes ‘Office’ for Frank Budgen, Levis ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ for Ringan Ledwidge, and Smirnoff ‘Sea’ for Danny Kleinman) and is now keen to show that something must have stuck from these experiences.