# Marco Kreuzpaintner

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 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.
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 Die Wolke.
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 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. 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 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. 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

| Year | Title | Distributor | Additional roles |
| 1999 | Entering Reality | Kreuzpaintner & Siebert Filmproduktion GbR | 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

| 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

| Year | Title | Distributor |
| 2006 | Die Wolke | Concorde Filmierleih |

## Awards

| Year | Institution | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
| 2001 | German Film Academy | 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 | Summer Storm | Won |
| 2005 | Milan International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival | Audience Award | Summer Storm | Won |
| 2007 | Munich Film Festival | Best Director | Himself | Won |
| 2007 | Munich Film Festival | Bernard Wicki Film Award | Trade | Won |
| 2007 | Hessian Film and Cinema Prize | Special Award - Shared with Roland Emmerich | Trade | Won |
| 2007 | Cinema for Peace | Special Award | Trade | 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 |
| 2019 | Grimme Institut | Grimme-Preis | Beat | Won |
| 2020 | Bavarian Film Award | Best Film | The Collini Case | Nominated |
| 2020 | Norwegian International Film Festival | Best Film | The Collini Case | Won |
| 2020 | Berlin & Beyond Film Festival | Best Narrative Feature | The Collini Case | Won |
| 2020 | Cinema for Peace | Award for Justice | The Collini Case | Won |
| 2020 | Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival | Best Feature | The Collini Case | Won |
| 2023 | BAFTA Cymru | Best Drama | The Lazarus Project | Won |