In transit: how cinematographer Bebe Dierken travels

Birgit (Bebe) Dierken never travels without something yellow. More often than not, it’s a bright yellow kaftan emblazoned with a giant metallic graphic resembling a camera – or perhaps a train, depending on who you ask. The colour isn’t accidental. ‘Yellow is energy and optimism,’ she says. ‘Traditional yellow is associated with sunlight and warmth. Neon yellow adds a rebellious edge. It says, “I’m here.”’

The same can be applied to the joy of travelling itself, or of a life shaped by movement. Known professionally as Bebe, the German-born cinematographer has spent much of her career travelling between countries, cultures and film sets, helping create the visual worlds of productions including Victoria (2015), Bridgerton (2020), Sexy Beast (2024), and Midas Man (2024). Yet despite a career built on international travel, she barely left her hometown in northern Germany until the age of 19, when she boarded her first flight to London to become a photo assistant.

Since then, the world has become both workplace and teacher. ‘I’ve met the most incredible people and seen places I could never have imagined back then,’ she says. Travel, for Dierken, is not simply about arrival but transformation. ‘You slowly stop becoming just someone from a town or a country. You become a human from the world.’

For the inaugural edition of In Transit, our new interview series exploring the travel habits and philosophies of creative minds, Dierken shares the destinations, objects and rituals that accompany her journey – from never seating on 9B on every flight to the emotional pull of Athens, the city where she feels she finally arrived exactly where she belonged.

How Bebe Dierken travels

Do you pack for who you are, or who you think you’ll become on that trip?

‘I pack for who I am – and maybe come back as somebody else.’

What one garment, accessory or beauty item do you always rely on when travelling?

‘I always travel with something yellow. In particular, it’s my yellow kaftan dress from Starstyling, featuring a huge foil print on the front and back that resembles a camera – although I sometimes think the illustrations were actually designed to be trains.’

What is the best thing you’ve ever brought back from a trip?

‘Mine is a tiny hand-carved chair that I found in the Transkei region of South Africa while working on Blood Diamond (2006), back when I was still a focus puller. The director [Edward Zwick] engraved “The Bebe Platz” into it, and I still absolutely love the little stool.’

Do you have a travel habit – something you do every time, wherever you are, even if it’s irrational?

‘I always count the rows to the emergency exit. Plane, train – it doesn’t matter. I saw a documentary years ago about thick smoke in an aircraft cabin and how, suddenly, you can’t see anything. Since then, I’ve always needed to know exactly how many rows are in front of me and behind me.’

Do you tend to capture moments when you travel, or let them stay unrecorded?

‘I do take a lot of pictures – it’s my profession – but I consciously try not to over-stylise them. I want them to feel like unfiltered memories, not heightened Instagram moments.’

What are the movies you always look out for in a long-haul entertainment platform?

‘I always look for films where beauty and damage sit within the same frame – images that feel held together by memory rather than perfection. On a plane, I often watch the exact opposite: something I would never normally choose.’

Which place in the world feels most like you?

‘Greece, especially Athens. The first time I arrived at Athens Airport, I started crying. Anyone who has been to that airport knows it wasn’t because the airport itself is particularly spectacular. I think I must have had a gut feeling that it would become the place I love most. When I was younger, people always used to say I had a Greek nose. So perhaps when I finally arrived in Greece, I arrived in the place where everyone had always said I looked like I belonged.’

According to Bebe...

Journey or destination? ‘Destination.’

Window or aisle? ‘Aisle, always.’

Early or late flight? ‘Late flight. There’s always too much to organise beforehand.’

Overpack or underpack? ‘Overpack – mainly because I leave it until the day of travel.’

Fold or roll? ‘Roll.’

Go-to travel snack? ‘Pretzels.’

Ideal long-haul seatmate? ‘My husband.’

Seat to avoid? ‘9B. I once sat there on an old Tupolev Tu-134 when part of the ceiling cracked open at 30,000 feet, and condensed water came pouring down on me like buckets of rain.’

bebedierken.com