In his travelogue Regenzauber (On the River of Gods), published by German National Geographic Editions, he describes traveling for seven months on Africa’s third longest river, the Niger, from its source in the rainforest of Guinea, 2,600 miles through the Sahel and Southern Sahara, into the mouth of the Niger at the Bay of Benin.
In Die Raender der Welt (The Edges of the World), a selection of Obert’s finest literary travel writing, he explores 25 lost locations often overlooked by travelers so far, including war zones like Afghanistan, Sudan, Nigeria, but also forgotten paradises such as the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Bhutan.
In Chatwins Guru und ich (Chatwin´s Guru and Me) Obert, a self-described modern nomad, follows in the footsteps of the nearly hundred-year-old writing vagabond, Patrick Leigh Fermor. To find this mentor, Obert travels from Berlin via Vienna to Bratislava, through Hungary, Serbia, Rumania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania before reaching the southern Peloponnese. Along the way, he gets to know what is, for him, an unfamiliar part of the world. His encounters become part of a portrait of Eastern Europe that is as personal as it is poetic.
Michael Obert´s literature is not yet published in English language.
Film
Song from the Forest,[11] Michael Obert´s debut movie, tells the story of American Louis Sarno who has lived among the Bayaka pygmies (also Aka people) in the central African rainforest for 25 years and travels with his son, 13-year-old pygmy boy Samedi, to New York City.
The film premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2013 [12][13] where it was honored with the Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary.[14][15] The film also won the 2014 Grand Prix at Planete+Doc International Film Festival in Warsaw[16] and was nominated for the Golden Eye Award for Best International Documentary Film at the Zurich Film Festival 2014.[17] In 2016 Song from the Forest was considered for the 88th Academy Awards.[18]
Bibliography (selection)
Chatwins Guru und ich. Meine Suche nach Patrick Leigh Fermor (2009 Malik Verlag), ISBN978-3-89029-371-4
Die Ränder der Welt. Patagonien, Timbuktu, Bhutan& Co. (2008 Malik Verlag) ISBN978-3-89029-353-0
2017: Amnesty International Media Award for Human Rights for The Curse of the White Skin (Der Fluch der weißen Haut)[24]
2016: Considered for the 88th Academy Awards with Song from the Forest[25]
2016: Shortlist Journalist of the Year, European Diversity Awards London 2016 [26]
2015: German Documentary Film Award for Song from the Forest[27]
2015: Nominated for European Press Prize, Distinguished Writing Award, with Boko Haram. The rise, beliefs and power of Africa’s most feared terrorist group[28]
2014: Grand Prix, Planete+Doc International Film Festival Warsaw for Song from the Forest[29]
