Jana Andert

Jana Andert is a Czech photographer and filmmaker. Focusing on conflict zones and humanitarian issues. Most of her work focuses on the Middle East region, especially Iraq and Syria. After finishing her photography studies in Breda Holland. In 2011 she worked as a product photographer for a company selling medical supplies and as a fashion photographer for nearly six years. During these years, she also studied psychology in Dordrecht, Holland. It was at this time she

Battle in Old City of Mosul, Iraq 2017

Jana became emotionally involved with the refugee crisis and decided to look for ways to bring awareness to the issues and problems of these Syrian refugees. Knowing that photographs were the best way to show the world, she went to Iraq to photograph refugees in the camps. This work became her first solo exhibition in Holland. From that point on, she returned to cover the war against Islamic State beside the Peshmergas at the frontlines of Bashiqa/Iraq for nearly five months, as a photographer and videographer. She witnessed the first wave of refugees coming from Mosul, which was at that time still under the control of the Islamic State. At this time her work was published mainly in Deutsche Welle, Dutch Newspapers Trouw and Belgium newspapers de Standaard.

In 2016, when the Iraqi Army launched the operation to liberate Mosul from Islamic State, Jana was embedded with Iraqi Special Operation Forces, for eight months during the battle. She went house by house with the ISOF, in the first lines.

Besides publication in world stream media such as CNN, ITV, Der Spiegel Jana Andert has produced a feature film “Inside the war on ISIS”. This film is a shock therapy of news coverage from the frontlines. An unflinching raw report from a city in ruins, robbed of its soul by one of the worst catastrophes of modern times.

“I didn’t want to influence the protagonists’ stories the way some documentary filmmakers do. I believe that the stories are best told by the people who live them”

Refugees arriving to the frontline in Bashiqa, Iraq 2015

During 2019 Andert spent four months embedded with female Kurdish forces YPJ in Deir Ez-Zor during the battle to liberate the last stronghold of the Islamic State in Syria. From there she made remarkable reports for Channel4 and CNN.

Nowadays Jana keeps working in the Middle East and reports on post-war stories and, with a strong focus on humanitarian issues.

EXHIBITIONS & FILMS:
Solo exhibition Dordrecht/Holland 2015
The film “Inside the war on ISIS” 2018 is available on Amazon Prime
The film ” Beyond her lens” 2019
Publications in CNN International, Channel 4, ITV, Der Spiegel, SRF Switzerland, ZDF, Deutsche Welle, De Standaard, Trouw
Special Report for Channel 4 News: “On the trail of women ‘lured to ISIS-territory’ from the UK and elsewhere”