Biography
Alexander Kleider was born in Böblingen on October 29, 1975. After first being trained as a child care worker, he studied communications at the FU Berlin. He gathered first-hand film experiences through an internship as an assistant director. In 2004, he and Daniela Michel co-founded the production company DOK-WERK. The two next co-directed their first feature with the mid-length documentary "Eiszeit" (2004), in which people speak about their experiences under the then-new labor laws of the "Agenda 2010". The film received very positive reviews and got a high rating by the Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden.
Their next documentary "Im Schatten des Tafelberges" (2010), which chronicles three lives in the townships of Cape Town, premiered at the 2010 Max-Ophüls-Preis Festival. With co-director Marco Müller, they then made "My home is my castle" (2012), which portrays four young Hungarians: a Romany violinist, two homeless forest dwellers and a gifted boy from a wealthy family.
In 2014, Kleider began production on his documentary "Berlin Rebel High School", which portrays everyday life at the Berlin Schule für Ewachsenenbildung (SFE), a school which defies conventional education models. The film premiered at the 2016 Austin Film Festival, where it eventually won the audience award. After being nominated as Best Documentary at the 2017 German Film Awards, "Berlin Rebel High School" was released in May 2017.
In addition to his work as a filmmaker, Alexander Kleider teaches documentary film at the Duale Hochschule Mosbach and the University of Sankt Gallen.