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Marco Kreuzpaintner

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Marco Kreuzpaintner
Kreuzpaintner at the BAFTA Cymru Awards 2023
Born (1977-03-11) 11 March 1977 (age 47)
Occupations
Years active1999–present
Notable work

Marco Johann Kreuzpaintner (born 11 March 1977)[1] is a German film director, screenwriter, showrunner and executive producer. He is known for his gay coming-of-age feature film Summer Storm, the critical acclaimed Netflix series Bodies, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts winning series The Lazarus Project and his Amazon Prime series Beat which won him Germany's prestigious Grimme Preis and. His fantasy film Krabat starring Daniel Brühl and David Kross and the screen adaptation of the Ferdinand von Schirach novel The Collini Case starring Elyas M'Barek, Alexandra Maria Lara and Franco Nero were box office hits in their original territory Germany. Kreuzpaintner's U.S. feature film Trade, starring Kevin Kline, is a story about human trafficking. It was the first film to premiere at the United Nations on invitation of former U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon. The film played a key to finally passing a law against sex trafficking role in the state of New York.

Career

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In 1999, he began his career in the role of German dubbing assistant for the Stanley Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut.

In the same year, his first short film, Entering Reality, starring August Diehl[2] attracted attention at film festivals.[3] In 1999, he founded the production company Die Filmmanufaktur with Oliver Weiss. In 2000, he made the short film Der Atemkünstler, for which he was nominated for the Talent award First Steps, and in 2002, he made a TV pilot, Rec – Kassettenmädchen/Kassettenjungs.

In 2003, his first feature-length film, Ganz und gar, which describes the life of a young leg amputee, was released in theaters.[4]

This was followed in 2004 with the drama Summer Storm, which, according to Kreuzpaintner, resembles his own coming out as a young gay man. Summer Storm won the German Film Award for Best Young Director and earned him a nomination for Best Director and Best Screenplay. The film's lead was also nominated for Best Actor. Distributed by Warner Bros., the film was an official selection at over 50 film festivals worldwide, including Toronto, Berlin, London, and Palm Springs.[5]

In 2006, he wrote the screenplay for the film version of the youth novel Die Wolke.[6]

Kreuzpaintner at the German premiere of Trade in 2007

In 2007, Trade was released internationally. The film focuses on the subject of human trafficking, forced prostitution, and modern slavery. Trade was produced by Rosilyn Heller and was originally supposed to be directed by Roland Emmerich. However, as he was involved in preparation for directing 10,000 BC at the time, another director was sought, and Emmerich chose Kreuzpaintner, having met him previously in Munich in 2003. Trade was the first film to have its world premiere at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.[7] The premiere was hosted by Sigourney Weaver, with former Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon opening the event.

On October 9, 2008, Krabat, an adaptation of the youth novel of the same name by Otfried Preußler was released, starring Robert Stadlober, Daniel Brühl and David Kross. Krabat had a successful release both in Germany and international markets, breaking the domestic record in 2008 for German language film. Looking to expand into other areas of the filmmaking business, 2009 saw Kreuzpaintner co-found the production company Summerstorm Entertainment in Berlin, with producers Ossie von Richthofen and Fabian Wolfart.[8] Summerstorm Entertainment continues to develop and produce English and German language films, it became a subsidiary of multi-faceted media company Film House Germany in 2011.[9]

Following a break of a few years after the release of Krabat. Kreuzpaintner developed a screenplay originally set for an English language release. However, Kreuzpaintner eventually reworked the script into a German language romantic comedy, Coming In.[10] Following the success of Coming In, Kreuzpaintner found critical success and record ratings with TV movies distributed through German television network, ARD. During this time, he began the development of an original thriller.

Kreuzpaintner (left) with Beat writer Norbert Eberlein

In 2018, Amazon Prime Video commissioned, Beat, a German thriller television show created and directed by Kreuzpaintner. It starred Jannis Niewöhner as the titular character. It was released on 9 November 2018.[11]

Following the release of Beat, Kreuzpaintner moved back to feature filmmaking. In 2019, Kreuzpaintner directed The Collini Case, a film about a young lawyer who stumbles upon a vast conspiracy while investigating a brutal murder case. The film stars Franco Nero, Elyas M'Barek, Heiner Lauterbach, Alexandra Maria Lara and Rainer Bock.[12] Returning to television in 2020, Kreuzpaintner directed two episodes ("Little Adventures" and "Layover") of the show Soulmates, a show created by William Bridges and Brett Goldstein. It was released on October 5, 2020, through Amazon Studios.[13] In 2021, Kreuzpaintner joined The Lazarus Project, a project produced through Urban Myth Films[14] and written by Joe Barton. Paapa Essiedu stars as George in the lead role, a character who is forced to choose between the love of his life and the fate of the world.[15] Kreuzpaintner directed the first four episodes and was an executive producer for the series.[16] The show was released on 16 June 2022 through Sky Max and Now. The series was awarded with a BAFTA Cymru for Best TV Drama in 2023.

In 2022, an adaptation of Si Spencer's graphic novel, Bodies began production. The eight part series is produced with Netflix through Moonage Pictures, with Susie Liggat as series producer and Kreuzpaintner directing the first four episodes.[17] Bodies reached number 1 on the global Netflix charts for several weeks.

In 2023, Kreuzpaintner directed 5 out of 10 episodes of the TV series Those About to Die alongside his friend Roland Emmerich. The series was shot at the Cinecittà film studios in Rome starring Anthony Hopkins amongst a international ensemble cast.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Distributor Additional roles
1999 Entering Reality Kreuzpaintner &

Siebert Filmproduktion GbR[18]

Concept and Producer
2000 Minorities Hager Moss
2000 Der Atemkünstler

Nebensächlichkeiten

The Filmmanufactory

Edgar Reitz Film BR

2001 REC – Kassettenjungs

Kassettenmädchen

ZDF
2003 Ganz und gar Constantin Film
2004 The Cloud Concorde
2004 Summer Storm X Verleih AG Co-wrote with Thomas Bahmann
2007 Trade Roadside Attractions

Lionsgate 20th Century Fox

2008 Krabat 20th Century Fox Co-wrote with Michael Gutmann
2014 Coming In Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Co-wrote with Jane Ainscough
2015 Country Love Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
2016 Your Children [de] ARD
2016 Police Call 110 - And Forgive Us Our Debt ARD
2019 The Collini Case Constantin Film

Television

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Year Title Distributor Additional Roles
2018 Beat Amazon Studios Creator, Director, Writer
2020 Soulmates AMC Director: Episodes 3 & 4
2022 The Lazarus Project Sky Max Director; Episodes 1-4 Executive producer
2023 Bodies Netflix Director: Episodes 1-4

Executive producer

2024 Those About to Die Peacock Director: 5 Episodes Executive producer

Screenplay

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Year Title Distributor
2006 Die Wolke Concorde Filmierleih

Awards

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Year Institution Category Nominated Work Result
2001 German Film Academy[19] First Step Award Der Atemkünstler

Nebensächlichkeiten

Nominated
2003 Max Ophüls Prize Best Film Ganz und Gar Nominated
2004 Munich Film Festival Audience Award Summer Storm Won
2005 New Faces Best Young Director Won
2005 Milan International Lesbian

and Gay Film Festival

Audience Award Won
2007 Munich Film Festival Best Director Himself Won
Bernard Wicki Film Award Trade Won
Hessian Film and Cinema Prize Special Award - Shared with Roland Emmerich Won
Cinema for Peace Special Award Won
2008 Bavarian Film Award Best Children's and Youth Film Krabat Won
2016 FilmOut Audience Awards Best International Feature Coming In Won
2017 Grimme Institut Grimme-Preis Police Call 110 - And forgive Us Our Guilt Nominated
2018 Studio Hamburg Best Director Your Children Nominated
2019 Funke Mediengruppe Goldene Kamera - Best Miniseries Beat Nominated
Grimme Institut Grimme-Preis Won
2020 Bavarian Film Award Best Film The Collini Case Nominated
Norwegian International Film Festival Won
Berlin & Beyond Film Festival Best Narrative Feature Won
Cinema for Peace Award for Justice Won
Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival Best Feature Won
2023 BAFTA Cymru Best Drama The Lazarus Project Won

References

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  1. ^ a b "Marco Kreuzpaintner". Filmportal.de. 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  2. ^ Kreuzpaintner, Marco, Der Atemkünstler (Short), Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), Die Filmmanufaktur, Edgar Reitz Film (ERF), retrieved 2022-07-13
  3. ^ "Entering Reality | filmportal.de". www.filmportal.de. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  4. ^ "Breaking Loose (Ganz und gar)". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  5. ^ Petski, Denise (2019-05-03). "Director Marco Kreuzpaintner Signs With Gersh". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  6. ^ Schnitzler, Gregor, Die Wolke, retrieved 2022-07-12
  7. ^ "United Nations Photo - 2d6.jpg". dam.media.un.org. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  8. ^ Roxborough, Scott (2009-06-30). "Marco Kreuzpaintner sets up production house". Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  9. ^ "Summerstorm Entertainment GmbH". www.summerstormentertainment.com. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  10. ^ Hünniger, Andrea Hanna (2016-01-16). "Regisseur Marco Kreuzpaintner über Roland Emmerich und seinen "Polizeiruf"". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  11. ^ Stern, Sophie T. (October 30, 2018). "New Amazon Show Beat Explores the 'Hedonism' of Berlin's Techno Clubs — and a Murder Mystery". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  12. ^ "theartsdesk Q&A: filmmaker Marco Kreuzpaintner". theartsdesk.com. 2021-09-06. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  13. ^ Kanter, Jake (2020-12-15). "Amazon Swoops For AMC Anthology Series 'Soulmates' In Key Global Territories". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  14. ^ "Upcoming Series for Sky". Urban Myth Films. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  15. ^ "The Lazarus Project: The time-loop thriller explained". BT.com. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  16. ^ The Lazarus Project (Action, Drama, Fantasy), Urban Myth Films, 2022-06-16, retrieved 2022-07-13
  17. ^ Goldbart, Max (2022-02-28). "'Bodies': Netflix Greenlights Adaptation Of Si Spencer's Mind-Bending Graphic Novel From 'Pursuit Of Love' Producer Moonage Pictures". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  18. ^ "Marco Kreuzpaintner – die agenten" (in German). Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  19. ^ "Marco Kreuzpaintner". Independent Talent. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
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