Robert Koenig is an American film director, producer, writer and editor. Koenig directed the documentary film "", which won the 2008 Artivist Award for Child Advocacy and produced "Coexist", which was nominated for Best Documentary Film by the African Movie Academy Awards in 2011.
In 1999, Robert Koenig directed his first documentary, "The Wrestler's Second: The Story of Mongolia's Struggle with Yadargaa", in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. The documentary follows a Mongolian man who is diagnosed with mysterious disease called Yadargaa. The film documents his attempts to find a cure while traveling through the Gobi Desert. After Koenig returned from living Mongolia for most of 1999, he started working at WCJB-TV in Gainesville, FL. During his time at WCJB-TV, he produced and edited the documentary style show "Police Beat" from 2000–2003. In 2003, Koenig moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he worked in public broadcasting, WPBA, and as a special projects producer for WGCL-TV and WXIA-TV. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on the "Georgia Aquarium's Fun Fish Facts" series in 2007.
Documentary Films
In 2007, Robert Koenig teamed up with medical anthropologist, Brandon Kohrt to document the stories of several child soldiers who were associated with the Unified Communist Party of Nepal. "" tells the personal story of Nepali boys and girls as they attempt to rebuild their lives after fighting a Maoist revolution. Through the voices of former child soldiers, the film examines why these children joined the Maoists and explores the prevention of future recruitment. In 2009, Koenig produced "Coexist" a documentary film that was shot in Rwanda and tells the stories of trauma survivors searching for ways to coexist with their loved ones' murderers. Koenig also served as Field Producer during production of "Coexist" in Rwanda and continued to serve as the story consultant while the documentary was in post-production. "Coexist" premiered in Boston in November 2010 and in March 2011, "Coexist" was nominated for Best Documentary Film by the African Movie Academy Awards. For the 20th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, "Coexist" aired on PBS’s World Channel on April 16, 2014 and was reviewed by The New York Times.
Philanthropy
In 2014, Robert Koenig along with Brandon Kohrt and Libby King MacFarlane founded HeartMind International, a public charity ) with the mission to provide culturally-appropriate and sustainable mental health care to vulnerable populations. After the April 2015 Nepal earthquake, HeartMind International implemented its earthquake response plan by offering psychological first aid training for first responders, community health workers, and NGO workers through Transcultural Psychosocial Organization.
Filmography
Director/Writer/Producer
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The Wrestler's Second: The Story of Mongolia's Struggle with Yadargaa
