Zsuzsanna Geller-Varga – Documentary filmmaker, Visual storyteller, Editor, Colorist

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Everything I have been doing for the past 20 years is related to STORIES.

Stories have fascinated me since my childhood. The different ways of storytelling have been influencing and shaping my work – be they the films I directed, other people’s stories that I filmed, projects I consulted on, journalism I produced, teaching documentary ethics, the creation of corporate/branded content, earning a doctorate in liberal arts or, lately, editing and color grading.

My storytelling skills and experience have shaped my editing and colorist work immensely. I have combined these experiences with my practical and technical skills, people skills, a fondness for humor and visual attentiveness. Telling stories through creating rhythm and pace by editing and defining moods and meaning by color has become the synthesis of my filmmaking.

Always a dedicated team-player, I know you can’t fly solo. Nobody can. That’s another thing I love about filmmaking. Now, let’s work together on your next project, and let’s shape your strong content into a colorful story!

– Zsuzsanna

Zsuzsanna Geller-Varga
freelance documentary filmmaker, visual storyteller, editor, colorist

Contact:
colorist “at” aromo “dot” com

Colorist work

Take a look at my color reel:

COLORIST REFERENCES

Emergency Exit – Night of Literature

Yardley Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center

KORE (Association for Premature Babies) fundraising spot

Turkey Earthquake Survivors – VOA 52 Documentary

The Kindergarten of the Municipality of Budapest – long version

DARE TO CARE – Rabbi Perl’s Guide to Caregiving – 1. The Invisible Caregivers

Be the Miracle – Chabad Center for Jewish Life fundraising spot

World Day of Premature Babies – Family Day – event video

“We Gotta Leave Egypt!” – Family Passover – Chabad Center for Jewish Life event video

A fundraising video for Mesoras Hatorah primary and middle school

Bayview Rehabilitation at Scalabrini – short film

Lincolnwood Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center – short film

Documentaries

DOCUMENTARIES

About

ABOUT

Zsuzsanna Geller-Varga is a documentary filmmaker, visual storyteller, video editor and colorist based in the New York City area.

Born and raised in Hungary, Zsuzsanna Geller-Varga began her career as a freelance journalist and news reporter at various Hungarian newspapers, magazines and television channels.

She received a master’s degree in journalism specializing in documentary films from the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism as a Fulbright scholar. Her thesis documentary (Screw Your Courage) won awards at US film festivals (Best Documentary Short – Atlanta Film Festival, Best Short Doc – DocSide Filmfestival) and was broadcast on public TV in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Zsuzsanna then worked for New York Times Television as a video-journalist on well-known documentary series about the tribulations of doctors and hospitals (Trauma: Life in the E. R., Maternity Ward, Critical Hour, Resident Life on TLC and Discovery channels).

She directed and filmed her own documentaries in Hungary (see Filmography). Her films have been well received at international film festivals and broadcast by Hungarian Television.

As cinematographer, story editor and editing consultant (see Filmography), she has also contributed to independent documentary films, as well as corporate and branded content (see Other works).

Zsuzsanna was head tutor at Verzio DocLab, a rough-cut workshop at the Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival. She taught documentary ethics at DocNomads, the international masters program. She completed her D.L.A. degree at the University of Theater and Film Arts in Budapest focusing on documentary storytelling.

Zsuzsanna moved back to the U.S. with her family in 2021. She was a commissioning editor at Voice of America’s (VOA) documentary series, 52 Documentary. Currently she is working as a freelance colorist, video editor (Davinci Resolve Studio) story-editor and story-producer.

AROMO FILM LTD.

Aromo Film Ltd. is a documentary film production company producing historical and contemporary non-fiction programming for broadcast and cable, in partnership with other production companies (see Filmography).

Besides documentaries, the company also produces videos for commercial clients and non-profit organizations. Clients include: Compasslight, National Association for Premature Babies, European Youth Center, Kindergarten of the Municipality of Budapest, MONA – Foundation for Women in Hungary, Chabad Center for Jewish Life, Mesoras Hatorah School, Marquis Health Consulting Services, etc. The non-profit videos are used for awareness-raising, community outreach and fundraising. (See Other works).