Christian Werner

Christian Werner (he/him) works as a director and author. He makes feature films and documentaries that deal with reality in drama and tragicomedy. He was born in Rudolstadt, Thuringia. His love of photography took him to Asia and South America. With the travel photographs he took there, he began studying visual communication at the Bauhaus Weimar. Here he discovered directing through the influence of DEFA director Günter Reisch and made his first short films. He also worked as an assistant director for Saxonia Media and the advertising film production company Zerofilmes LTD in Sao Paulo, Brazil. From October 2007 to 2015, Christian Werner studied directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. His works "Kindeseile," "Monika" and "Fremdkörper" were shown at renowned festivals (e.g. Int. Hofer Filmtage, Max Ophuels Preis Festival, tiff., Montreal, Schlingel Chemnitz, Goldener Spatz) and received awards (e.g. DEFA Förderpreis, Audience Award Max Ophuels Festival, nomination First Steps, Studio Hamburg).

His debut film "Irgendwann ist auch mal gut" premiered at the Max Ophuels Festival and won the award for Best New Actress (Maresi Riegner). His cinema debut film, the tragicomedy "Kommt ein Vogel geflogen", was released in German cinemas in 2023. He directed the ZDF pilot "Der Geier" with Philipp Hochmair and Patricia Aulitzky in the leading roles.

In June 2025, the movie “Polizeiruf 110: Spiel gegen den Ball,” which he directed, aired to strong ratings during prime time on ARD. The film is available in the ard media library. 

In addition, Christian Werner directed a THÜRINGEN KRIMI for Ziegler Film in 2025 and, thanks to a screenplay grant from the FFA, continued working on his feature-length children’s film THE BOY WITH THE HEALING HANDS (working title).

In 2026, he will serve as a lecturer at the “Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts,” where he will write and direct the graduation film for the acting program, and he will once again direct a THÜRINGEN KRIMI for Ziegler Film.