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Aljoscha Pause, born on January 24, 1972 in Bonn, studied French, Italian, and Law at the University of Bonn. He began his career in 1990 as a writer and journalist for publications such as the Bonner Illustrierte and the Bonner General-Anzeiger. From 1991, he also worked as a radio reporter for Radio Bonn/Rhein-Sieg. Between 1995 and 2003, he held roles as a reporter, director, and program manager for various television networks. Since 2003, he has been an independent producer, director, and writer, collaborating with numerous broadcasters and production companies.
Pause is best known for his acclaimed sports documentaries. These include "Der Prinz aus Bergheim – Das Phänomen Podolski" (2005), "Die Glorreichen Sieben" (2006), which profiled football stars such as Ronaldinho, Rooney, and Henry, and "In die Tiefe des Raumes – Die Welt des Blindenfußballs" (2008) about the world of blind football. In 2008, his documentary "Das große Tabu – Homosexualität & Fußball" about homosexuality and football, sparked widespread attention and earned him the Felix Rexhausen Award. He went on to receive the Grimme Award and the Alternative Media Award in 2010 for the follow-up documentary "Tabubruch – Der neue Weg von Homosexualität im Fußball."
In 2011, Pause released his first feature-length documentary for the cinema, "Tom meets Zizou - Kein Sommermärchen." The film follows the career of a promising young footballer and explores the intense pressures of professional football in Germany.
Aljoscha Pause continued to explore the world of football in his later films, delving into its many facets and personalities. In "Trainer!" (2013), he followed the journey of a young football coach and documented the often grueling everyday lives of coaches André Schubert (FC St. Pauli), Stephan Schmidt (SC Paderborn), and Frank Schmidt (1. FC Heidenheim). He went on to create the docuseries "Second Move Kills – 5 Jahre mit Jens Spahn" (2017) for the streaming platform RTL+, and "Inside Borussia Dortmund" (2019) for Amazon Prime. His feature documentary "Being Mario Götze" (2018) was made for theatrical release.
At the same time, Pause was working on the long-term docuseries "Wie ein Fremder - Eine deutsche Popmusik Geschichte" (2019), in which he accompanied musician Roland Meyer de Voltaire over six years. Once considered a rising star in the German music scene, Meyer de Voltaire later faced both financial hardship and a personal crisis.
In 2025, Pause turned to a deeply personal project with "Fritz Litzmann, mein Vater und ich" ("Fritz Litzmann, My Father and I"), a documentary portrait of his father Rainer Pause, cabaret artist and founder of Bonn’s Pantheon Theater. After premiering at the Munich DOK.fest in 2025, the film was released in cinemas at the end of May.