What is Bella Tola Films?
Bella Tola Films GmbH is the creative home for the documentary and visual journalism work of Anna Katrine Thuesen. Founded in 2021, Bella Tola Films brings compelling stories to life through authentic, visually captivating narratives, blending independent storytelling with commissioned multimedia projects.
What Do We Create?
Documentary films, both short and feature-length
Engaging visual journalism projects, including interactive and long-form storytelling
Short-form visual content for social media
The Stories We Tell
At the heart of every Bella Tola Films project is a person — and a fate. We believe the most powerful way to understand the world is through the people who live in it, struggle in it, shape it.
Our stories are slow-paced, slightly offbeat, and deeply human. They don’t chase headlines. They follow shepherds, scientists, pilots, mothers, and wanderers into the margins — and ask:
What does this moment in their life reveal about the rest of us?
We believe that even the most remote, specific story can ask universal questions:
What does it mean when a shepherd loses livestock to a predator in modern-day Nepal?
What can a traditional cowfighting festival in Valais reveal about family and inheritance?
Why do people travel to the edge of civilization to protect animals that may never have seen a human being?
Why do we still yearn to fly? Is the ground not enough?
These questions may sound abstract, but they land in real lives. And when supported by science, structured by narrative, and filmed with empathy — the human story becomes something more than anecdote.
It becomes a mirror.
What We Believe In
Completion
Every story has a beginning, middle and end — whether it unfolds in a 5-minute micro-documentary, a multi-episode series, or a long-form interactive project told in chapters or installments.
We don’t leave stories half-finished — not in structure, not in intention. Each project is shaped to land with clarity, emotional resolution, and narrative purpose.
Because a story that is seen through is one that can truly stay with you.
Collaboration
We work with likeminded storytellers, artists, and craftspeople.
Bella Tola Films can host collaborative projects through its structure — offering administrative support for grants, physical working space when possible, and a supportive mental space always.
Ideas are safe here. Ownership remains with their creators, unless otherwise agreed — always in writing, and always with respect.
Why “Bella Tola”?
Bella Tola is a real mountain — not the highest, not the flashiest, but steady and dignified. It carries a small glacier, rich with ancient material and memory. This is what Bella Tola Films wants to be: steady, approachable, quietly radiant.
Like the mountain, Bella Tola Films is rooted in solidity, clarity, and perspective — telling stories that stay with you.
It’s a name that reminds us: even smaller peaks can reveal vast horizons.
Anna Katrine Thuesen
I’m a filmmaker and visual journalist with a background that blends political insight, cinematic craft, and journalistic storytelling.
I hold a Bachelor of Science in European Studies from the University of Southern Denmark, an MFA in Film Directing from the University of Edinburgh, and a Master of Advanced Studies in Visual Journalism from the Danish School of Media and Journalism (DMJX).
This mix of disciplines shapes how I tell stories — with both analytical depth and visual sensitivity. Whether I’m documenting conservationists in the Himalayas, pilots navigating alpine airstrips, or the quieter moments of everyday life, I’m drawn to narratives that reveal something bigger about how we live, connect, and adapt.
I founded Bella Tola Films to create space for slow, place-based storytelling — stories grounded in real people, wild landscapes, and the tensions between tradition and change.
