Hello.
I am Asbirg. I am a dreamer. And a magician. I create things in my imagination, write them down and create them in moving images. I am a filmmaker. A dream maker.
My work is various - documentary, fiction, music video, fairy tales and drama.
My passions - people from all over the world, their stories and film. Born in 1987, I grew up on a farm. My journey spans continents, from Zurich to Pemba (Mozambique), London, ... to Münster. Filmmaking is my compass, regardless of location. My short films SELDA, FLORES and THE NEIGHBOR ignite fresh perspectives, evoke emotions, and liberate self-expression.
My mission is simple: stir emotions, liberate voices, and let stories reshape the world.
THE NEIGHBOR celebrated its World Premiere at the 2023 Long Island International Film Expo, Long Island, New York, and won the Best International Film.
I hold a degree in sociology, anthropology, film and photographic studies.
Currently I am working on my feature length debut ỌMỌ together with the writer and director Ulan Garba Matta.
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Contact: asbirg [at] andersona.de
Instagram: @asbirg.naranjo @der.nachbar.film
Der Nachbar
(Länge: 16 min | 2023)
Der Rentner, Herr Kummer, will unbedingt zu einem Weihnachtsfest seiner entfremdeten Familie, die ihn überraschend eingeladen hat. Eine Geschichte über den Verlust der Illusion.
Rüdiger Kummer (74) lebt in einem Mehrfamilienhaus. Langsam schleicht sich eine Krankheit in sein Leben. Er selbst weiß lange Zeit nichts davon. Der ewige Junggeselle lebt zurückgezogen, unterhält sich aber gerne mit den jungen Nachbarn über historische Ereignisse. Der dunkle Monat November macht ihm schwer zu schaffen. Unerwartet ruft ihn sein Bruder an, den er schon lange nicht mehr gesehen hat, und lädt ihn ein, Weihnachten mit ihm und seiner Familie zu verbringen.
Inspiriert von einer wahren Geschichte.
English version:
The Neighbor
The pensioner Mr. Kummer is desperate to attend a Christmas party of his estranged family, who have invited him by surprise. An illness slowly makes its way into his life. He himself knows nothing about it for a long time. The eternal bachelor lives a withdrawn life, but enjoys talking to the young neighbors about historical events. Unexpectedly, his brother, whom he hasn‘t seen for a long time, calls him and invites him to spend the holidays with him.
A story about the loss of illusion, based on a true story.
Trailer:
CAST
Rüdiger Kummer: Erwin Geisler
Noelia Fuchs: Paula Essam
CREW
Screenplay & Director: Asbirg Naranjo
1. AD: Lukas Lanzrath
Director of Photography: Jakob Gehrmann
1. AC: Orkan Bayram
Gaffer: Malte Hafner
Lighting technician: Mourad Al Deeb
Editor: Jessica Schneller
Assistant Editor: Anna-Maria Nacke
Colorist: Sarina Laudam
Producer: Asbirg Naranjo andersona films
Production Assistant: Vadims Ivanovs
Soundtrack: Patricio Naranjo
Sounddesign: Anna Bäumer, David Nacke
Make-up: Mare Jaeschke
Sound recordist: Patricio Naranjo und Vadims Ivanovs
Costume: Asbirg Naranjo und Mare Jaeschke
Art direction: Asbirg Naranjo und Tuula Kainulainen
Catering and Set Runner: Cherin Pechuel-Loesche
Still photography: Tuula Kainulainen
Casting Noelia: Jacqueline May
Location Scout Apartment: Franziska Hackenes
English subtitles: Ade Richardson
Social Media: Linda Zeuner
Graphic design: Manuel Lozano
Festivals & Screenings
• World premiere: Long Island International Film Expo, Long Island, New York – Award for Best International
Film, July 2023
• Weyauwega Film Festival, Wisconsin USA, October 2023
• Christmasfilmfestival, Berlin, Germany, December 2023
• Leo ́s Kino, Leopoldshöhe, Germany, January 2024
• Women's International Film Festival Nigeria WIFFEN, Abuja, Nigeria, March 2024
• FrauenFilmTage Bielefeld, Germany, March 2024
• Short Film Breaks, Romania and world wide, February 2024 and onwards
• 6. Accra Indie Film Fest-Aif, Accra, Ghana, July 2024
• Raleigh Film and Art Festival, Raleigh, USA, October 2024
• 3. International Diyarbakır Short Film Festival, Diyarbakir, Turkey, October 2024
• Vienna International Film Awards, Vienna, Austria, December 2024
• Christmas Screening German Embassy in Accra, Ghana, December 2024
• Community Screening for Dementia Society, Münster, Germany, January 2025
• Screen Talent Europe Showcase, Berlin, Germany, February 2025
• Femme Filmmakers Festival, UK, September 2025
• Community Screenings for Care Workers & Volunteers, Münster and Münsterland, Germany, May & December 2025
Director statement
"DER NACHBAR ist für Menschen wie Rüdiger. DER NACHBAR ist dafür da sich an Rüdiger zu erinnern, ihn überhaupt kennenzulernen. DER NACHBAR ist für Menschen, für all die Menschen, die alleine leben und die scheinbar Niemanden haben, die kaum Kontakt haben zu ihren Familien, die kaum Besuch bekommen, die so gut wie keine Hilfe haben. Und die dann krank werden.
Was passiert denn dann mit Einem? Was wird aus Einem?
Dieser Film ist schmerzvoll und kraftvoll zugleich, weil er genau das zeigt - und er ist eine Hommage an meinen Rüdiger, an meinen Nachbarn Rüdiger. Für ihn habe ich diesen Film gemacht, um ihm ein Denkmal zu setzen und jemanden, der absolut unsichtbar ist, durch und durch unsichtbar, obwohl er tausend Wände angemalt hat, um ihn sichtbar zu machen."
"THE NEIGHBOR is dedicated to people like Rüdiger. THE NEIGHBOR is there to remember Rüdiger, to get to know him at all. THE NEIGHBOR is for people, for all those people who live alone and seem to have no one, who have hardly any contact with their families, who hardly get any visitors, who have practically no help. And who then become ill.
What happens to someone then? What becomes of one?
This film is painful and powerful at the same time because it shows exactly that - and it is a homage to my Rüdiger, to my neighbour Rüdiger. I made this film for him, to set up a monument to him and someone who is absolutely invisible, invisible through and through, although he painted a thousand walls, to make him visible."
Filmvorführung & Verleih
Schreibt uns gerne an, unter hallo [at] andersona.de an, wenn ihr den Nachbarn zeigen möchtet.
Tags: Asbirg Naranjo Asbirg Anderson Münster Filmmaker Director Writer Regisseurin Autorin Kurzfilm Film Demenz Nachbarschaft