Marco Kreuzpaintner
Biography
Marco Johann Kreuzpaintner (born 11 March 1977) is a Bafta-winning film director, executive producer and screenwriter. He is widely known for his coming-of-age feature film Summer Storm (2004 film), his Amazon Prime series Beat (TV series) which won him Germany’s prestigious Grimme Preis, and the critically acclaimed Netflix series Bodies (2023 TV series).
His feature films Krabat (film) starring Daniel Brühl and The Collini Case with Elyas M’Barek, Alexandra Maria Lara and film legend Franco Nero were box office hits in their original territory Germany. Kreuzpaintner’s U.S. feature film Trade (film), starring Academy Award winner Kevin Kline, is a story about human trafficking.
It was the first-ever film to premiere at the United Nations on the Invitation of former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. The film played a key role in the state of New York to finally pass a law against sex trafficking.
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, Beat. It was released on 9 November 2018.
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 Hitlist for several weeks in 39 countries.
In 2023 Kreuzpaintner directed 5 out of 10 episodes of 150 Million $ budgeted TV series "Those About to Die" alongside his friend Roland Emmerich. The series was shot at the Cinecitta film studios in Rome starring Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins amongst a big international ensemble cast.
