Sybilla Patrizia is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and photographer from Austria, based in Tokyo.

In her work, she merges her passion for social impact and human stories with her background in fashion to create thought-provoking stories that cross the border between documentary, art and design.

Sybilla filmed VICE’s ‘The Dark Side of Manga’ which won an Emmy in 2023. Her short film ‘A Color I Named Blue’ about two Japanese indigo dyers premiered in competition at Sheffield DocFest, Palm Springs and DC/DOX, and received the Shorts Competition Special Mention at DOC NYC in 2025. ‘Toma Unrestored’ about a couple who revives a forgotten Japanese priest house into an art space in Nara, premiered on NOWNESS in 2025.

She also served as Japan Unit Director on ‘Our New World’, a feature documentary about communities around the world adapting to climate change, featuring Japan’s Ama free divers and their fight to save disappearing seaweed beds. Sybilla is currently in post-production of her feature film “PLASTIC LOVE!“ which deals with the global waste issue through the eyes of Japan’s traditional packaging artists and waste workers.

As a multilingual creative who has lived in 7 countries across 3 continents, Sybilla has worked with international media and brands including BBC, VICE, NOWNESS, Financial Times, adidas, Amazon Prime, and NETFLIX.

シビラ・パトリチアは、社会的テーマと人間の物語を、ファッション的感性と独自の美的視点によって結びつける、アーティスティックなアプローチを特徴とする映画監督である。その作品は、ドキュメンタリーとアートフィルムの領域を軽やかに横断しながら、社会の陰影と人の営みに宿る深い感情を描き出す。

VICE News の『The Dark Side of Manga』（2023)では、エミー賞を受賞。最新作の短編ドキュメンタリー『色をこえて青を見る』（2025）は、Sheffield DocFest、Palm Springs、DC/DOX で正式上映され、2025年 DOC NYC で特別賞を受賞した。短編ドキュメンタリー『Toma Unrestored』（2025）は NOWNESS にてプレミア公開され、高い評価を得ている。また、気候変動に適応する世界のコミュニティを描く長編ドキュメンタリー『Our New World』では日本ユニットの監督を務め、消えゆく海藻を守ろうとする海女たちの姿を取材・撮影した。シビラの作品は、BBC、VICE、NHK、Financial Times、adidasなど国内外の多様な媒体で公開されている。

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Sybilla is also the founder of WHEN IN TOKYO
— a dedicated online guide to Tokyo’s best art, design and architecture.
www.whenin.tokyo
@whenin.tokyo

Contact

studio[at]sybillapatrizia.com
Instagram @sybillapatrizia

Clients and Publications

Festivals and Awards

2025, DOC NYC, Shorts Competition Special Mention, A Color I Named Blue
2025, Sapporo Intl Short Film Festival, Best National Short Award, A Color I Named Blue
2025, Sheffield DocFest, International Short Film Competition, A Color I Named Blue
2025, Palm Springs ShortFest, Documentary Short Competition, A Color I Named Blue
2024, Sunny Side of the Doc, Best Arts&Culture Pitch, The Shape of Blue
2023, Emmy Award, 44th News and Documentary Emmy Awards, The Dark Side of Manga (Vice News Tonight)
2023, Tokyo Docs, Best Pitch Award, Sunny Side of the Doc Award, DocedgeKolkata Award, The Shape of Blue
2023, Front Page Award, Newswomen’s Club of New York, Specialized Reporting in Arts, The Dark Side of Manga (Vice News Tonight)
2023, Los Angeles Press Club Nomination, 16th National A&E Journalism Awards, The Dark Side of Manga (Vice News Tonight)
2021, Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, Czech Republic, A Bloody Taboo
2021, Japan Film Festival Los Angeles, USA, A Bloody Taboo (Senses of Women Award)
2020, Ars Electronica Festival, Austria, curator of #JapanRevisited202x

Speaker

University of Tokyo
University of Salford
Japan Information & Culture Center, Washington DC
Young One World Peace-preneur Forum Nagasaki
Tokyo Docs

Education

Tokyo University of the Arts
東京藝術大学
MA Film Production
Japanese Government Scholar (MEXT)

University of Westminster, London
BA Contemporary Media Practice (Photography/Video)

Academy of Visual Arts,
Hong Kong Baptist University
Exchange Semester

Images on this website may not be reproduced without permission.

SYBILLA PATRIZIA︎

︎ALL WORK

Contact

Clients and Publications

Festivals and Awards

Speaker

Education

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