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Thomas Sieben, born in Cologne in 1976, first studied political science in Münster (1997-98), then went to the USA to study film and photography at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Back in Germany, he wrote and directed his first short film "Hit and Run" in 2002, starring the then unknown Ken Duken in a supporting role. He also worked as a producer and editor.
Over the next few years, Sieben gained further experience as a director's assistant, including working on several music videos directed by Ken Duken. At the same time, he directed two music videos himself in 2006.
His feature film debut was the drama "Distanz" ("Distance"), in which Ken Duken played an inconspicuous serial killer. The film premiered at the Berlinale 2009 in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino section. At the 2009 Oldenburg Film Festival, Sieben received the German Independence Award for "Distanz".
From 2008 to 2009, Thomas Sieben studied at the Games Academy and since then, has also worked as a game designer and video game journalist. His second feature film "Staudamm" ("The Dam", 2013), about the aftermath of a school shooting, received the U18 Award for Best Youth Film at the Cottbus Film Festival 2013 and the Ecumenical Jury Award at the Achtung Berlin Festival.
In the following years, Sieben wrote the screenplay for the teen comedy "Verrückt nach Fixi" (2016), the Frank Goosen adaptation "So viel Zeit" ("Comeback", 2018), and an episode of the crime series "Der Bulle und das Biest" (2019).
His third directorial work, "Kidnapping Stella" (2018), is a German adaptation of the British thriller "The Disappearance of Alice Creed" (2009). The story revolves around the kidnapping of a young woman, which turns out to be a deceptive plot. Originally scheduled for release in German cinemas in May 2019, the film premiered at Filmfest München in June 2019 and was then made available on Netflix from July 2019.
Sieben's thriller "Prey" (2021), also a Netflix production, follows five friends who are suddenly hunted by a mysterious sniper during a hike. In May 2022, Thomas Sieben directed the psycho-thriller "Home Sweet Home - Wo das Böse wohnt" ("Home Sweet Home - Where Evil Lives"), which portrays a pregnant woman confronted with eerie events alone in her husband's childhood home. The film was theatrically released in January 2024.