I grew up in Switzerland and trained as an assistant director at the theatre, then studied film directing with Elia Kazan, Ulrich Seidl and Slawomir Idziak at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in London and at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb). My first feature film «Strähl» was released theatrically in 2004 and screened at the Cannes Film Festival, winning awards and acclaim from both audiences and critics.

After directing a series of television movies for the «Tatort» franchise in Germany, I’ve returned to the cinema in 2017 with an adaptation of the Swiss comic classic «Papa Moll» for Disney. The film was a box office success and received a world-wide release.

In addition to my practice as a director and screenwriter, I teach filmmaking at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and work as a researcher on studies about affect and acting. 

I’m based Zurich, proudly represented by the Betti Berlin agency.