Greenbrae photographer met filmmaker Harris Cohen via the same way he meets most everyone thse days: his photography. While taking photos os Fairfax artist Cynthia Jensen earlier this year, she introduced Roenau to Tiburon filmmaker Harris Cohen.
The pair immediately hit it off, and the 75-year-old Cohen decided to make a short film on the 84-year-old Roenau's rollercoaster of a life.
When he was 10 years old in 1938, Roenau and his family fled their native Vienna, Austria when the Nazis invaded. They sought refuge in Shanghai, China only to face another invasion by the Japanese.
As Cohen puts it, despite the incredible disruption of his childhood, Roenau grew up with a sunny disposition and an easy charm.
Roenau became one of the all-time great Dipsea Race participants. When no longer able to run, he turned his talents to photography. Now at 84, he has a full and rewarding life as a photographer, taking photos for a host of Marin publications, including the Patch sites and the Marinscope newspapers.
The above video includes Roenau eating at Fairfax's and an interview with the cafe owner, Michelle Elmore. "I think people could learn to really enjoy life from Hans," Elmore told Cohen. "He really appreciates every moment."
Roenau has also become renowned for his daily e-mail, which spans from his childghood and his vast travels around the world to his daily journeys in the Bay Area.
