Short Biography

Writer, Director, Editor, and Actor. Born December 18th, 1984, in Nürnberg. Lives and works in Berlin.

He studied Directing at dffb (German Film and Television Academy Berlin) and film theory and art history at Freie Universität Berlin and Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris.

His films have gained critical acclaim at festivals like Berlinale, Rotterdam, Viennale, Sao Paulo, FICUNAM or Melbourne and received prestigious awards, such as the German Screenplay Award and the German Film Critics' Award. They were theatrically distributed in several countries, broadcasted on television and shown on streamers like MUBI, which granted him a full retrospective.

Next to his own projects, he worked as assistant to director Werner Schroeter, as editor and translator of French philosopher Jacques Rancière, and as research associate at Freie Universität Berlin.  

He has been invited as a visiting artist to universities in Europe and the USA, such as Yale, Columbia, NYU, Rutgers, INSAS Bruxelles, Filmakademie Wien, Kunstuniversität Linz and Art Academy Vilnius.

Filmography

2023-24 Sehnsucht in Sangerhausen  / 90 min / fiction / Blue Monticola Film (Germany) / In development

2021-24 Binnenschifffahrerin Birte / 90 min / fiction / faktura film (Germany) and So-Cle (France) / In development

2021 Blutsauger / 128 min / fiction / faktura film, WDR, arte / WP: Berlinale Encounters / 

*German Screenplay Award (Golden Lola)

2017 Selbstkritik eines bürgerlichen Hundes / 99 min / fiction / faktura film, RBB, dffb / WP: IFF Rotterdam Bright Future, GP: Berlinale Perspektive / *German Film Critics' Award 2017 "Best First Feature"

2014 Ein proletarisches Wintermärchen / 63 min / fiction / faktura film, dffb / WP: IFF Rotterdam Grand Tour / *FICUNAM Audience Award, *Olhar de Cinema Artistic Contribution Award

2013 Ein Gespenst geht um in Europa / 45 min / fiction / faktura film, dffb / WP: Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, IP: Viennale / *German Film Critics' Award 2013 "Best Experimental Film"

Festivals (selection)

Berlinale

IFF Rotterdam

Viennale

Melbourne IFF

Rio de Janeiro IFF

Mostra de Sao Paulo

Sevilla EFF

FICUNAM Mexico City

Olhar de Cinema Curitiba

New Horizons Wroclaw

Molodist Kyiv

Riga IFF

CPH:PIX

Moscow IFF

Filmfest Hamburg

Febiofest Prague

Crossing Europe Linz

Kolkata IFF

Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen

Awards & Grants (selection)

German Screenplay Award "Golden Lola"

Berlinale Kompagnon Fellowship
German Film Critics' Assosiation "Best First Feature"

German Film Critics' Association "Best Experimental Film"

Audience Award, FICUNAM
Artistic Contribution Award, Olhar de Cinema

BKM German Ministry of Culture Writing Grant

Grenzgänger Stipendium, Robert Bosch Stiftung

Special Jury Prize, Moscow IFF

Migros Kulturstiftung

Wolfram von Eschenbach Award

Teaching & Artist Talks (selection)

Yale University, New Haven

Columbia University, New York

New York University

Rutgers University, New Brunswick

Filmakademie Wien

dffb

INSAS Bruxelles

Kunstuniversität Linz

Vilnius Academy of Arts

Universität Bonn

Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

Universität Oldenburg

Goethe Institut