Stefan Borbély
Stefan Borbély is an internationally experienced Director of Photography based in Munich, working as a freelance cinematographer since 1993 across Europe, the USA, Asia and the Americas. During his decade in Los Angeles (2007–2017) he shot Super Bowl commercials for Buick, Ford and Dodge Ram, and his arm car expertise earned him camera operator credits on major Hollywood productions — including Heads of State, Infinite, Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw and Behind Enemy Lines — shooting high-end action sequences alongside world-leading stunt coordinators.
He is best known for high-end automotive commercials, with campaigns for Toyota (ADC Award Japan 2016, 2017, 2024), Land Rover (seven campaigns incl. The Spillway), Mercedes, Porsche, Nissan, Kia and more than a dozen global brands. He brings the same precision to pre-production — creating detailed stage lighting plans and DMX board configurations (GrandMA) as well as full 3D pre-visualization for perspective, moves and moods — before a light is rigged and a real camera is moved.
His work reaches well beyond cars: regular commercial campaigns — most recently for this year's Winter Olympics — three projects with director Hans Steinbichler in the past two years, 30 corporate films, and three 45-minute episodes of the ZDF series Letzte Spur Berlin. Earlier chapters include award-winning spots for brands from Sprite to Heineken and music videos for the Scorpions, HIM, Sarah Connor and Ellie Goulding. He has taught cinematography at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München, and is a member and supporter of Pro Quote Film, the initiative for equal opportunity in the German film and television industry.
Every project is different — some are tough, others come together with surprising ease, but each one deserves fresh attention and real flexibility. Film is teamwork: what matters most is listening, feeling the flow, enjoying the team process and letting the work speak rather than the ego.
When he's not behind a camera, you can find him on the tennis court.