The new media funding committee consists of 6 members: 5 industry experts from the fields of games, serial formats, and XR, rotating from the pool listed below, plus the managing director of new media funding, Helge Jürgens.
Thomas Bedenk is a visiting professor for Creative Producing and Digital Strategies for XR at Hochschule Darmstadt and a freelance consultant and manager with over 29 years of experience in digital productions. His areas of expertise include strategy, UX, innovation, games, and emerging technologies (XR/AI). He is a keynote speaker and a founding member of XRBB and the German games association, Game. From 2015 to 2024, he served as VP Extended Reality at Endava and Director of Immersive Media at Exozet. In 2008, he founded the game studio Brightside Games, which he led until 2015. He holds degrees in media design and human factors. Previously, he worked as a designer and developer, having released his first games and websites online in 1996.
Konstanze Beyer is Editor-in-Chief and Program Director Factual & Documentary at RTLZWEI. She is responsible for the broadcaster’s documentary and reportage programming. In addition to long-running successful series such as HARTZ UND HERZLICH and HARTES DEUTSCHLAND, her portfolio includes many other formats covering a broad range of topics, including REEPERBAHN PRIVAT, UNSER SUPERMARKT, and BELLA ITALIA.
Under her leadership, several productions have received prestigious awards: DEUTSCHLANDS VERLORENE KINDER was honored with the Media Award of the German Child and Youth Welfare Prize in 2024, while HASS. HETZE. HOFFNUNG. received the Grimme Award in 2026.
Before joining RTLZWEI in 2016, the graduate journalist served as Editor-in-Chief of the knowledge magazine WELT DER WUNDER and as Head of Documentaries, Knowledge, and Reportage at ServusTV. As an Executive Producer at StoryHouse Productions, she was responsible for, among other projects, international co-productions and GALILEO AM SONNTAG.
Daniel Budiman is a concept designer, both on- and off-camera performer, and a long-standing figure in the German media landscape. During his time at NBC GIGA, GIGA eSport, Game One, Viacom, and Rocket Beans TV, he has consistently focused on format development and exploring innovative ways to experiment with broadcast technology, understand game design, tell stories, and share human experiences. As a consultant, curator, and cultural mediator, he works across diverse industries and participates in various committees. He is a co-founder of Rocket Beans and enjoys playing games.
Dr. Lena Gieseke is a professor of image-oriented media technologies at Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf.
In 2018, she earned her PhD in computer science from the University of Stuttgart in the Visual Computing group. Her research has been published in journals and as a patent. From 2012 to 2015, she was a fellow at the Digital Media doctoral program. In 2015, Lena Gieseke spent a four-month research stay at Adobe Research in San Jose, USA.
Before returning to academia in 2012, Lena Gieseke worked for several years as a software developer and 3D artist in the VFX and 3D computer animation industry. Her animation A 3D EXPLORATION OF PICASSO'S GUERNICA was shown internationally at festivals.
Anke Günther has been part of Hamburg’s games industry since 2010, focusing on game production and game design. In 2012, she co-founded the indie studio Beardshaker Games together with two partners. Their games have been nominated several times for the DCP and DEP awards.
For many years, the three of them supported the final projects of students in the Games Master’s program at HAW Hamburg. Since 2020, Anke Günther has been a professor in the program, teaching game production and entrepreneurship. With her expertise, she has also served on the juries of the DCP and the PLAY Festival.
Bình Minh Herbst lives and works between worlds and cultures, combining this perspective with her credo “Design for Happiness.” As XR Creative Director at Deutsche Telekom MMS, she designs immersive applications that connect technology with meaning, joy, and social relevance—across industries ranging from education to industry, culture, and brands.
Previously, she worked in Silicon Valley on pioneering technologies and became a professor at HBK Essen at the age of 32. As co-founder of A.MUSE, she realized internationally award-winning projects in XR, AI, edutainment, and gamification. For her work promoting cultural diversity and digital equality, she has received international recognition, including the Unity for Humanity Grant, the MIT Reality Hack Moonshot Prize, the ADC Award, and the German “Kultur- & Kreativpilotin” award. She regularly contributes her expertise to juries and innovation programs, most recently at the IGP of the BMWK, ITFS, and the German Multimedia Award.
Jennifer Mival is a professor in the first German-language Master’s program in Entertainment Producing at the ifs (internationale filmschule köln) and serves as a Senior Advisor for Streaming and TV, specializing in programming strategy and format development.
Most recently, she was responsible for building the Non-Fiction Series division at Netflix for the German-speaking market and Scandinavia, with postings in Los Angeles, London, and Berlin. Prior to that, she held senior roles as Executive Producer and Head of Formats at Seapoint Productions, ITV Studios, and ProSiebenSat.1, as well as serving as Head of Programming at youth channel Joiz. She began her career in London at Fremantle.
Her projects have been nominated for the German Academy of Television (FRANK ELSTNER: WETTEN, DAS WAR'S, Netflix), the Gullruten Award (MR. GOOD: COP OR CROOK, Netflix), the German Television Award (JUNG UND NAIV, Joiz), and the Rose d’Or (PROMI ÄRGERE DICH NICHT, Sat.1). She has also won multiple prestigious awards, including the Grimme Award for QUEER EYE GERMANY (Netflix), the Kristallen Award for ANGRY CARPENTER (Kanal 5, Sweden), and the Rose d’Or for YOUR FACE OR MINE (Channel 4, UK).
From an early age, Lara Schulze knew that, as a passionate writer and walking encyclopedia of video games, a career in video game journalism was practically inevitable. She began in the classic print world, back when hardly anyone had ever heard of a “Let’s Play.” But during her studies in German linguistics, Germany’s youth protection system unexpectedly altered her path. The Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body – USK – made her an offer she couldn’t refuse: to volunteer as a game tester, presenting titles to youth protection experts as part of their committee work.
It’s little surprise, then, that after graduating she didn’t hesitate when, in 2017, she was offered a permanent position in the USK’s testing department. Since then, she has worked every day to ensure that the USK rating process runs as smoothly as possible for everyone involved – the games industry, testers, and youth protection committees alike.
Tobias Severin verfügt über mehr als 25 Jahre Erfahrung in der Games-Branche. Seine Karriere begann er 1997 als Mitgründer von 4HEAD Studios, wo er als Leitender Programmierer, Projektleiter und Geschäftsführer tätig war. In dieser Zeit entstand u.a. der deutsche Spieleklassiker DIE GILDE.
Nach Stationen als Freelance Producer u. a. bei Gameforge und dtp entertainment gründete er Ticking Bomb Games, zunächst im Auftrag von Gameforge, später führte er das Studio für Innogames weiter.
Anschließend wechselte er zu Fishlabs, wo er maßgeblich den Ausbau des Studios von einem Mobile-Developer zu einem international erfolgreichen PC- und Konsolen Entwickler verantwortete und als Executive Producer u. a. das preisgekrönte Spiel CHORUS betreute.
Seit 2024 ist Tobias Severin bei Sandbox Interactive als Co-CEO tätig. In dieser Rolle leitet er die Weiterentwicklung des erfolgreichen MMORPGs ALBION ONLINE und fokussiert sich auf Produktstrategie und die langfristige Ausrichtung des Studios.