Michael Koch

Biography

Michael Koch was born on July 2, 1982 in Lucerne, Switzerland. At the age of 17, he made his acting debut in the stage play "Die Schaukel" at the Junges Theater Basel, where he appeared in further productions until 2002. In 2003, he starred in the multi-award-winning feature film comedy "Achtung, Fertig, Charlie!" ("Ready, Steady, Charlie!" CH/DE), about an unwilling recruit in the Swiss army who wants to provoke his expulsion through a sex affair.

Also in 2003, Koch took up studies at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, and also continued to work as an actor. The crime thriller "Tod einer Ärztin" (CH 2005, TV) or the leading role in the psychodrama "Liebe und Wahn" (CH 2007, TV), about a student who develops an increasingly destructive obsession with his professor, are among the productions he appeared in.

As a director, Koch made several award-winning short films during his studies. The short documentary "Wir sind dir treu" ("We Are the Faithful", 2005), about the instigator in the FC Basel fan curve, received the Arte Short Film Award and the Arri Film Award at the International Festival of Film Schools in Munich. The short fiction film "Beckenrand" ("Poolside", 2006), about a tragic confrontation between a youth clique and a lifeguard, was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Festival du Cinéma Européen de Lille (France). Koch's half-hour fiction film "Polar", about a son who seeks confrontation with his divorced father during a vacation visit, premiered at the Berlinale 2008 in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino section. Further festival screenings followed, as well as numerous awards, including the German Short Film Award in Gold, the German Camera Award in the category "Short Film" and the Golden Rider for Best Short Fiction Film at the Filmfest Dresden 2009.

Michael Koch made his feature film debut with the drama "Marija" (DE/CH/FR 2016), about a young Ukrainian woman in Dortmund who gets into a social and personal downward spiral after losing her job. "Marija" celebrated its world premiere in competition at the Locarno Film Festival 2016. At the Premiers Plans festival in Angers, France, the film received two awards in January 2017: the Prix Jean Carmet for Best Actor (Georg Friedrich) and the Prix Mademoiselle Ladubay for Best Actress (Margarita Breitkreiz). In March 2017, "Marija" opened regularly in German cinemas.

The realization of his second feature film "Drei Winter" ("A Piece of Sky"), a relationship story set in a remote Swiss mountain village, took several years due to intensive preparation and several months of filming. The premiere of the film, largely cast with amateur actors, took place in the competition of the Berlinale 2022, where it received a Special Mention from the jury. At the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, "Drei Winter" received the TRT Award. The German theatrical release was in December 2022. In addition to his work as a filmmaker, Koch regularly teaches at the International Film School (ifs) Cologne.