Marco Johann Kreuzpaintner (born 11 March 1977) 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. 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

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 attracted attention at film festivals. In 1999, he founded the production company with Oliver Weiss. In 2000, he made the short film , for which he was nominated for the Talent award First Steps, and in 2002, he made a TV pilot, .

In 2003, his first feature-length film, , which describes the life of a young leg amputee, was released in theaters.

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.

In 2006, he wrote the screenplay for the film version of the youth novel .

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. The premiere was hosted by Sigourney Weaver, with former Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon opening the event.

On 9 October 2008 , an adaptation of the youth novel of the same name by Otfried Preußler was released, starring Robert Stadlober, Daniel Brühl and David Kross. 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. 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.

Following a break of a few years after the release of . 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. Following 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.

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.

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. 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 5 October 2020 through Amazon Studios. In 2021, Kreuzpaintner joined The Lazarus Project, a project produced through Urban Myth Films 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. Kreuzpaintner directed the first four episodes and was an executive producer for the series. 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. 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 an international ensemble cast.

Filmography

Film +YearTitleDistributorAdditional roles1999Entering Reality (short film)Kreuzpaintner & Siebert Filmproduktion GbRConcept and Producer2000Minorities (short film)Hager Moss2000Der Atemkünstler (short film)Die Filmmanufaktur, Edgar Reitz Film, BR2001REC – Kassettenjungs/KassettenmädchenZDF2003Ganz und garConstantin Film2004Summer StormX Verleih AGCo-wrote with Thomas Bahmann2007TradeRoadside Attractions, Lionsgate (US), 20th Century Fox (DE)2008Krabat20th Century FoxCo-wrote with Michael Gutmann2014Coming InWarner Bros. Entertainment Inc.Co-wrote with Jane Ainscough2015Country LoveWarner Bros. Entertainment Inc.2016 StadtlandliebeWarner Bros. Entertainment Inc.2019The Collini CaseConstantin Film

Television +YearTitleDistributorAdditional Roles2015ARDTV movie2016Police Call 110 - And Forgive Us Our DebtARDTV movie2018BeatAmazon StudiosCreator, Director, Writer2020SoulmatesAMCDirector: Episodes 3 & 42022The Lazarus ProjectSky MaxDirector: Episodes 1-4, Executive producer2023BodiesNetflixDirector: Episodes 1-4, Executive producer2024Those About to DiePeacockDirector: 5 Episodes, Executive producer

Screenplay +YearTitleDistributor2006Die WolkeConcorde Filmverleih

Awards +YearInstitutionCategoryNominated workResult2001German Film AcademyFirst Step AwardDer Atemkünstler Nebensächlichkeiten2003Max Ophüls PrizeBest FilmGanz und Gar2004Munich Film FestivalAudience AwardSummer Storm2005New FacesBest Young Director2005Milan International Lesbian and Gay Film FestivalAudience Award2007Munich Film FestivalBest DirectorHimselfBernard Wicki Film AwardTradeHessian Film and Cinema PrizeSpecial Award - Shared with Roland EmmerichCinema for PeaceSpecial Award2008Bavarian Film AwardBest Children's and Youth FilmKrabat2016FilmOut Audience AwardsBest International FeatureComing In2017Grimme InstitutGrimme-PreisPolice Call 110 - And forgive Us Our Guilt2018Studio HamburgBest DirectorYour Children2019Funke MediengruppeGoldene Kamera - Best MiniseriesBeatGrimme InstitutGrimme-Preis2020Bavarian Film AwardBest FilmThe Collini CaseNorwegian International Film FestivalBerlin & Beyond Film FestivalBest Narrative FeatureCinema for PeaceAward for JusticeSilicon Valley Jewish Film FestivalBest Feature2023BAFTA CymruBest DramaThe Lazarus Project

References

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