CZAR

Johannes was born in 1986 in Erfurt, Germany. He graduated from Freie Universität Berlin with a degree in political science and worked for several years as a feature film AD with directors such as Michael Haneke and the Wachowski Brothers. In 2008 he co-founded the theatre and art collective Zweite Reihe and began directing short films, music videos and started to work on first commercial work.

In 2014 he signed with CZAR and has shot commercials for clients such as Heineken, Deutsche Bahn, adidas, Payback American Express, Ricola and ADAC. In 2014 he won the Best Newcomer Award at Die Klappe and the German competition of The Cannes Young Lions. At ADC 2018 he won Silver for his Music Video ‘Sind – Alpina Weiss’. A year later, at Die Klappe he won Gold and two Bronze for his ADAC films ‘Don’t Travel with Mom’ and a Bronze Lion for IBIS ‘Relax we post’ at Cannes Lions.

In 2019 and 2020 Johannes co-wrote and directed the new audio blockbuster series MAKEL I+II, which CZAR Film produced for the ProSiebenSat.1platform FYEO. MAKEL Season II won in 4 categories at the first ORSON Audio Award Show, with Johannes receiving the award for Best Direction. 

Johannes also directed and co-wrote several episodes of Season 1, 2 and 3 of the successful ZDFneo sitcom “Ich dich auch!”, which premiered in spring 2022. He also co-wrote and directed “Unsere kleine Botschaft”, the first Swiss sitcom in 20 years. The ensemble comedy is scheduled for broadcast in fall 2025.

Johannes has a strong conceptual vision and a passion for creating visually rich films. He is particularly drawn to dialogue-driven pieces and absurd situations, bringing stories to life in a beautiful and unique way—whether through short films, commercials, music videos, or Instastories.