QUOTE
“At first glance, Jan Soldat is always about one thing: sex with nettles and whips, sex in uniform and chains, sex with slaves or dogs. But the harder his figures grip, the more vulnerable they appear. Jan Soldat's gaze is unsparing and yet always empathetic, revealing without ever being revealing. And with every shot, one marvels more at the maturity and circumspection with which Jan approaches his documentaries. One senses the trust that the subjects place in him and the deeply human emotions that lie behind their seemingly bizarre practices. And above all: the mischievousness with which the mostly older gentlemen go about their business. And it soon becomes clear: Jan Soldat's protagonists may be stark naked – sex is only marginally at issue in his films – it is merely the key to the abysses and beauty of human existence.” – Xenix

ABOUT
Jan Soldat was born 1984 in Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz) in the former GDR. In 2003, after graduating from high school and completing community service on the gastroenterological and dialysis ward in the Klinikum Chemnitz, he started studying business mathematics at the TU Chemnitz. In 2004 he dropped out and switched to the mechanical engineering course. At the beginning of 2006 he canceled this also, followed by returning to the Klinikum Chemnitz as a nursing assistant in the cardiac catheter laboratory. From August 2006 to February 2007, together with Frank Schubert, he made his first short films. At the same time, he worked within the Chemnitzer Kunstfabrik. There, too, filmic work were produced and he interacted with young and adult people with mental and physical disabilities. Subsequently, until September 2008, he made more films within the Chemnitzer Filmwerkstatt e.V. From October 2008 to March 2014 he studied film and television directing at the University of Film and Television “Konrad Wolf”, Potsdam Babelsberg. From October 2023 to April 2024 participant in the film school Fried Kubelka. To date, his more than 100 mostly documentary works deal with the depiction of various sexual practices and preferences.