Christoph Thoke (born November 15, 1960, in Herford, Germany) is a German film and television producer.
Career Thoke began his career as an on-air promotion producer for the German broadcaster RTL 2 and the German-French broadcaster Arte. From 1996 to 2002, he was part of the management at German production companies Bavaria Film, TaunusFilm, and CineMedia. At Taunusfilm, he oversaw international production activities, including the Los Angeles office, while at CineMedia, he was involved in film acquisitions such as What Women Want.
During this time, Thoke co-produced Little Senegal (2001), directed by Rachid Bouchareb. The film ran in competition at the Berlinale and was Algeria's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 73rd Academy Awards. He also produced Lubov and Other Nightmares (Sundance 2002), Planet B: The Antman, and Detective Lovelorn and the Revenge of the Pharaoh (both Berlinale 2002).
In 2003, Thoke founded the production company Thoke + Moebius Film (TMF) with Axel Moebius. Through TMF, he co-produced several notable arthouse films, including Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Tropical Malady, which won the Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, and Bruno Dumont's Twentynine Palms, which received regional funding in Hesse and premiered in competition at Venice 2003. He also co-produced The Buffalo Boy (Vietnam's Oscar entry) and The Wedding Chest (Kyrgyzstan's Oscar entry).
In 2007, Thoke founded his own production outfit, Mogador Film. Its first major project was Lorna's Silence, directed by the Dardenne brothers, which won Best Screenplay at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. In 2020, he co-produced the Iranian drama There Is No Evil (directed by Mohammad Rasoulof), which won the Golden Bear at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival.
A 2025 profile by Filmhaus Frankfurt described Thoke's producing approach as that of an "ambassador of world cinema" and a "bridge builder." His continuous focus on international collaborations, particularly with Asian countries, was established during the early 2010s at markets like the Indian Film Bazaar. Together with the Frankfurt-based company Stoked Film (Sebastian Popp) and renowned Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua (Potocol), Thoke's Mogador Film is producing the Indian refugee drama The Clouds Woke No Clocks (directed by Aniket Dutta). The film received production funding of €120,000 from Hessen Film & Medien in 2025. In 2025, Thoke also co-produced the Bangladeshi short film Nishi: A Tea Girl, which won the Student Film Award at the Environmental Media Awards (EMA).
An example of his approach to bridging international cinema is the Bangladeshi-German co-production The Blind Girl and an Elephant (2026). After meeting the filmmakers at the Film Bazaar in India, Thoke joined director Ishtiyak Ahmad Zihad's debut feature as an associate producer. His involvement was instrumental in transforming the project into an international co-production and supporting its post-production phase leading up to its premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival. At the festival, the film won the Best Cinematography award in the Asian New Talent competition. In 2026, he co-produced another Bangladeshi project, the 15-minute short film Subal, directed by Nahid Hasan. The film was officially selected for the Asian Eye section of the Oscar-qualifying Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF). Notably, the project marked a family collaboration, with his son Yannic Thoke serving as associate producer.
His production The Tower of Strength (Obraz, 2024) enjoyed a successful international festival run in 2025. At its North American premiere at the San Diego International Film Festival, the film won the Audience Award. The film also won Best Screenplay at the Zaragoza International Film Festival and was selected for the "Awards Buzz" section at the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival, which highlights the world's best international feature films.
In total, films produced or co-produced by Thoke have been invited to more than 1,000 international film festivals and have won over 250 awards globally.
Academic roles Thoke serves as an Honorary Professor at the film academy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, supporting local auteur cinema. For over a decade, he has acted as an expert evaluator for the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the European Commission.
He frequently serves as a jury member at international film festivals across Europe and Asia. Besides the main jury at the Zagreb Film Festival (2015), which awarded its top prize to the Oscar-winning film Son of Saul, he has served on the jury at the Art Film Fest in Košice, Slovakia, the NDR Film Prize jury at the Nordic Film Days Lübeck, the Džada Film Festival in Montenegro, the LET'S CEE Film Festival in Austria, and the Tamil Nadu Film Festival in India. Additionally, he serves as a jury member for the German Film and Media Review (FBW) in Wiesbaden, an institution responsible for evaluating films for national certification, and has served on the jury for the Atelier de Tétouan at the Tétouan Mediterranean Film Festival in Morocco.
He has extensive experience as a project consultant and industry expert, appearing at events such as the pitch and feedback sessions at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. His tutoring background also includes work with the Producers Network at the Cannes Film Festival, MedaFilmsDevelopment in Marrakech, the Babylon Feature Film Project Development Workshop, and the Rotterdam Lab. Thoke is a member of the European Film Academy and the Deutsche Filmakademie (German Film Academy).
Industry Panels and Workshops Beyond his jury and producing work, Thoke has regularly participated as a consultant, tutor, and panelist at international film markets and industry events. These include the Producers Network at the Cannes Film Festival, the Rotterdam Lab, MedaFilmsDevelopment in Marrakech, and the Babylon Feature Film Project Development Workshop. He is also active in academic training, serving as a mentor at the Eco Film Lab of the International Academy of Film and Media (IAFM). Year Event Location Role Reference 2011 Indian Film Bazaar Goa, India Advisor / buyer c. 2012 Nepal Cine-Symposium Kathmandu, Nepal Lecturer / advisor 2015 Pitch & Feedback Session, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic Consultant 2017 LET'S CEE Industry Days Vienna, Austria Panelist 2021 India-UK Co-Production Panel, Cannes Film Festival Cannes, France Panelist ongoing Creative Europe MEDIA Programme Brussels, Belgium Expert evaluator
Jury Work
Year Festival Location Role Reference 2008 Dubai International Film Festival Dubai, United Arab Emirates Jury member 2010 Durban International Film Festival Durban, South Africa Jury member 2014 Nordic Film Days Lübeck (NDR Film Prize) Lübeck, Germany Jury member 2015 Zagreb Film Festival Zagreb, Croatia Main jury 2016 Mediteran Film Festival Široki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina Jury member 2017 LET'S CEE Film Festival Vienna, Austria Jury member 2018 Art Film Fest Košice, Slovakia Main jury 2023 Atelier de Tétouan Tétouan, Morocco Jury member 2024 Džada Film Festival Montenegro Jury member 2024 Taunus Film Festival (Taunale) Oberursel, Germany Jury member 2024 Tamil Nadu Film Festival Tamil Nadu, India Jury member 2025 Transilvania International Film Festival Cluj-Napoca, Romania Jury member ongoing German Film and Media Review (FBW) Wiesbaden, Germany Jury member
Oscar Submissions To date, seven productions involving Thoke have been selected by their respective countries as official entries for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film:
Year Film Title Country Director Role Reference 2001 Little Senegal Rachid Bouchareb Co-producer 2004 Mùa len trâu (The Buffalo Boy) Nguyễn Võ Nghiêm Minh Co-producer 2006 The Wedding Chest Nurbek Egen Co-producer 2009 9:06 Igor Šterk Producer 2013 Of Horses and Men Benedikt Erlingsson Co-producer 2021 There Is No Evil Mohammad Rasoulof Co-producer 2026 Obraz (The Tower of Strength) Nikola Vukčević Associate Producer
Selected filmography Year Title Role Notes 2001 Little Senegal Co-producer Directed by Rachid Bouchareb; Algeria's official Oscar entry. 2002 Lubov and Other Nightmares Co-producer Directed by Andrei Nekrassov; premiered at Sundance. 2002 Planet B: The Antman Producer Berlinale 2002, Perspektive Deutsches Kino. 2002 Detective Lovelorn and the Revenge of the Pharaoh Producer Berlinale 2002, Perspektive Deutsches Kino. 2003 Twentynine Palms Co-producer Directed by Bruno Dumont; Venice competition. 2004 Tropical Malady Co-producer Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul; Jury Prize at Cannes. 2004 The Buffalo Boy Co-producer Vietnam's official Oscar entry. 2004 The Red Colored Grey Truck Producer Road movie / Tragicomedy. 2005 Love Executive Producer Directed by Vladan Nikolic; Tribeca Film Festival. 2006 The Wedding Chest Co-producer Kyrgyzstan's official Oscar entry. 2008 Lorna's Silence Co-producer Directed by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne; Best Screenplay, Cannes. 2008 Tears of April (Käsky) Co-producer Finnish historical drama directed by Aku Louhimies. 2009 9:06 Producer Slovenian psychological drama; Slovenia's Oscar entry. 2010 Bedways Producer Directed by Rolf Peter Kahl; Panorama Special, Berlinale. 2012 Naked Harbour (Vuosaari) Co-producer Finnish ensemble drama directed by Aku Louhimies. 2012 Television Co-producer Bangladeshi-German feature film directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki. 2013 Of Horses and Men Co-producer Iceland's official Oscar entry. 2016 Women of the Weeping River Co-producer Philippine drama; internationally awarded. 2018 Erased Associate Producer Directed by Miha Mazzini; Slovenian social drama. 2019 Jolsobi Executive Producer Directed by Jaicheng Jai Dohutia. 2020 There Is No Evil Co-producer Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof; Golden Bear winner at Berlinale. 2021 My Mother's Girlfriend Executive Producer Indian LGBTQ+ short film. 2021 Stay Safe Executive Producer Slovenian experimental film directed by Miha Mazzini. 2022 Telma, el cine y el soldado Associate Producer Argentine documentary film directed by Brenda Taubin. 2024 Everything That Will Happen Has Already Happened Associate Producer Directed by Vladan Nikolic; premiered at Tallinn Black Nights. 2024 Saba Associate Producer Directed by Maksud Hossain; premiered at TIFF. 2024 Baghjan Executive Producer Indian drama film. 2024 Rador Pakhi (Morning Sunshine) Creative Producer Assamese drama film. 2024 The Tower of Strength (Obraz) Associate Producer Montenegro's official Oscar entry for 2026. Won Best Screenplay at the Zaragoza International Film Festival. Nominated for Best Balkan Film at the 2025 Sofia International Film Festival. 2025 Nishi: A Tea Girl Co-producer Bangladeshi short film; won Student Film Award at EMA. 2026 The Blind Girl and an Elephant Associate Producer Co-production between Bangladesh and Germany, directed by Ishtiyak Ahmad Zihad. Premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF). 2026 Subal Co-producer Bangladeshi short film directed by Nahid Hasan; premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF). His son Yannic Thoke served as associate producer.
References
External links
Christoph Thoke at Rotten Tomatoes