HERITAGE & JOURNEY

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A Century of Cinema in the DNA

Martin Kayser-Landwehr’s craft is rooted in a unique cinematic lineage spanning four generations. His heritage traces back to the dawn of German Expressionism in 1918 with his grandfather, actor Charles Willy Kayser. Growing up in a house where 35mm Steenbeck editing tables were part of the furniture, Martin’s education began as a "learning by doing" apprenticeship under his father, director and writer Heinz Caloué.

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The Foundations of Rhythm: From Slapstick to SFX

Before transitioning to digital storytelling, Martin spent three formative years (1979–1982) assisting on the legendary ZDF series Väter der Klamotte and Männer ohne Nerven. Editing the raw stock of icons like Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and Charlie Chaplin, he mastered the essence of visual comedy and narrative timing—lessons that inform his "fictional thriller" style in documentaries today.

His journey continued into the heart of high-end production, joining Academy Award-winner Brian Johnson’s SFX team for Wolfgang Petersen’s The NeverEnding Story (Cloud Tank Unit). This early exposure to complex visual effects and physical film-making provided him with a deep technical foundation that few editors in the digital age possess.

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The Industry Veteran

Before moving to London, Martin’s career saw him at the intersection of advertising and prestige cinema. He worked with the casting agency Actors and Arts, producing layout scenes for directors like Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Name of the Rose), Paul Morrissey, and Dieter Wedel. This experience gave him a profound understanding of performance and acting—a skill he uses daily to select the perfect emotional beats in his edit suite.

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