Heike Bachelier
Filmmaker
“I make films that are rooted in authenticity, blending emotion and political insight to tell stories that resonate, challenge, and engage”
I am a German documentary filmmaker working across Europe now living in Scotland. My work is shaped by a background in political philosophy and ethnology, studied in Munich and Cologne, and by early experience as a live TV director and as a producer for WDR, ZDF and ARTE.
My debut feature Feindberührung (Enemy Engagement), produced for ZDF Kleines Fernsehspiel and France 3, won the PRIX EUROPA for Best Documentary Feature, audience award in Mainz film festival and received a nomination for a major European broadcasters’ history prize in Budapest. I am also the author of Ein ganz normaler Feind (Droemer/Knaur).
My film The Moo Man was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and released in UK cinemas, sold to Netflix, Channel 4, Amazon and iTunes. Of Fish and Foe, produced for BBC Scotland, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to great critical acclaim
Current projects
A mini-documentary series with re-enactments in late-stage development, supported by the Big 5 programme of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, and Creative Scotland, and currently engaging with production and broadcast partners.
Luna and Me – A deeply personal, feature-length investigative documentary in development, exploring how we love our dogs to death – revealing how well-intentioned human behaviour around aggression and responsibility can have tragic consequences.
Films
Enemy Engagement
A former GDR dissident confronts the Stasi informer whose betrayal led to his imprisonment – an intimate portrait of two men and the workings of a dictatorship.
About the film
“A documentary like Feindberührung has been long overdue.”
Filmdienst
“An honest, emotional exchange that goes into painful detail.”
AZ Essenheim
“The fact that the film captures a conversation down to its last painful detail in aremarkable calm and sensitive manner “
Hofer Anzeiger
“A solid yet moving study.”
Tagesspiegel
“The depth of the emotional wounds comes across with striking intensity.”
Frankenpost
“A remarkable documentary. A haunting film.”
Saarbrücker Zeitung
The Moo Man
In a quietly defiant stand against industrial farming, a maverick British dairy farmer chooses love over profit, forging extraordinary bonds with his cows in this funny, tender, and quietly political portrait of life on the margins.
“One of the best British documentaries in many a moo-n. This gentle, honest film keeps its audience enthralled from sunny start to tear-stained finish”
Nick Roddick, Evening Standard
“iI has a sneaky, low-key charm”
David Gritten, Telegraph
“Moving and brilliant… An epic (platonic) romance between man and beast. Could 2013’s most heartbreaking love story take place between a man and his prize dairy cow?”
David Jenkins, Little White Lies
“We live in a world of unsung heroes, and it’s a pleasure to see a film willing to sing the praises of one of them.”
Chris Tookey, Daily Mail
“Cogent but restrained in its politicking, The Moo Man contains plenty of wit, wisdom and compassion, as well as much bucolic charm”
David Parkinson, Radio Times
“Ida has (…) the most bootilicious butt in the business, and I’m including J-Lo. Plus Beyoncé, possibly.
The Spectator
“An uplifting and refreshing documentary”
Jennifer Tate, View London
“Thoughtful, unassuming documentary”
Dave Calhoun, Time Out
“The film induces a meditative, month-in-the-country calm in viewers, until we realise how tough farming is in these days of Tesco-controlled markets.”
Kate Muir, The Times
“Easily the most moving film you will see about a herd of cows all year”
Metro
“The Moo Man is a lyrical, gentle documentary on the challenges facing a small organic farm”
Allan Hunter, The Express.
“A low-key pleasure.”
Andrew Pulver, The Guardian
“Moo-tiful”
Patrick Peters, Empire
“A big-screen film about dairy farming? Pull the udder one. Andy Heathcote and Heike Bachelier’s doc about one man and his cows milks our emotions adroitly”
Neil Smith, Total Film
“An emotional laugh out loud documentary”
All in London
“Thoughtful, unassuming documentary”
Dave Calhoun, Time Out
“The film induces a meditative, month-in-the-country calm in viewers, until we realise how tough farming is in these days of Tesco-controlled markets.”
Kate Muir, The Times
“Easily the most moving film you will see about a herd of cows all year”
Metro
“Beautifully made and surprisingly moving, I’ll think of it every time I buy a pint of supermarket milk.”
Jack Pelling, Celluloid Heroes
“A gentle and quietly absorbing portrait”
Phil Concannon, Mostly Film
“Blessed with a truly winning protagonist”
Hollywood Reporter
A gripping and balanced portrait of a deeply divisive battle, where Sea Shepherd activists and aristocratic river owners confront traditional Scottish fishermen. At the heart of the conflict is the vanishing wild salmon, raising urgent questions about conservation, class, and the right to nature.
“Gripping tale of seals, salmon and saboteurs”
The Guardian
“Enthralling, no-punches-pulled doc”
Time Out, London
“ at times, flat-out hilarious”
The Times
“an intriguing point of a little-observed community”
Eye for Film”
“A thoughtful and well-crafted piece of film documentary.”
Islington Tribune
“Of Fish And Foe asks some tricky questions about what it is we actually value […] Like the best documentaries, Of Fish and Foe is informative, objective, and leaves you feeling as if you’ve picked a side.”
Common Space
“Subtly probes the murky role class plays in defining how a country presents itself to the world”
The Scotsman
“Of Fish and And Foe is infuriatingly brilliant at getting us upset with the mess that is a spat between fishermen and environmental activists in Caithness.”
The Glasgow Guardian
“The topic of fishermen versus activists will be polarising to many, and the documentary has no issues in plunging straight in at the deep end.”
The Wee Review
The Lost World Of Mr Hardy
The story of a passionate family business and the art of fly fishing, capturing its beauty, its transformation in a globalised world, and the fragile pockets where this heritage survives – or does it?
“The slow-moving, languid style of the documentary suits its subject matter perfectly, and you find yourself transported into another world… the story it tells is universal.”
Viva Lewes
“Spectacular. A passion for fishing is made plausible and river landscapes dazzle. I defy you to watch with a dry eye.”
Ken Russell, The Times
“A first- class documentary that entertains, teaches and inspires in equal measure. A joy to watch and essential viewing.”
Jason Hill, Fields Sports Magazine