Thomas Peter Friedl (born January 3, 1967 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

media entrepreneur and film producer.

Biography

He started his career in the film industry in 1989 at Germany’s media house

Constantin Film The Constantin Film AG is a German mini-major film production and distribution company based in Munich. The company, which belongs to Swiss media conglomerate Highlight Communications AG, is a large independent German maker and distributor of pr ...

. Until 2008, Friedl was member of the board and served as President, Distribution & Marketing and COO of Constantin Film AG, a company he left at the beginning of 2008 after 18 years. Friedl distributed the two most successful German films: Michael Bully Herbig's ''

Der Schuh des Manitu ''Der Schuh des Manitu'' (eng.: ''The Shoe of Manitou'') is a 2001 German Western (genre), Western Parody film, parody film. Directed by Michael Herbig, it is a film adaptation of the Winnetou sketches from his ProSieben television show ''Bullyp ...

'' and '' Traumschiff Surprise''. As an international distributor, Friedl was in charge of productions such as the first three ''Resident Evil'' films, ''

The House of the Spirits ''The House of the Spirits'' ( es, La casa de los espíritus, 1982) is the debut novel of Isabel Allende. The novel was rejected by several Spanish-language publishers before being published in Buenos Aires in 1982. It became an instant best-se ...

'' or '' Perfume: The Story of a Murderer''. Friedl also led various campaigns for the Academy Awards, including ''

Nowhere in Africa ''Nowhere in Africa'' (german: Nirgendwo in Afrika) is a 2001 German drama film that was written and directed by Caroline Link. The screenplay is based on the 1995 autobiographical novel of the same name by Stefanie Zweig. It tells the story o ...

'' (Academy Award for Best Foreign Film 2001) and '' Downfall'' (nominated for Best Foreign Film 2005). In 2008, Friedl joined

UFA Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...

Cinema and took over responsibility as producer and CEO of UFA Cinema’s operations. Friedl’s producer credits include – among others – the movie adaptation of the children’s and young-adult bestsellers ''Devil's Kickers'' :de:Teufelskicker and ''The Twins at St. Clare's'' ('' Hanni & Nanni''), plus the comedy ' and Sabine Kuegler's autobiographical bestseller '' Jungle Child''. Other titles include the thrillers '' The Fourth State'' directed by

Dennis Gansel Dennis Gansel (born 4 October 1973) is a German film director, writer and actor . Life and career Gansel was born in 1973 in Hannover, West Germany, where he graduated from high school in 1993. Gansel worked in the festivals for film and televi ...

and '' The Coming Days'', the romantic comedy ' and ''The Weekend'', which was adapted from the eponymous bestseller by

Bernhard Schlink Bernhard Schlink (; born 6 July 1944) is a German lawyer, academic, and novelist. He is best known for his novel '' The Reader'', which was first published in 1995 and became an international bestseller. He won the 2014 Park Kyong-ni Prize. Ear ...

. Friedl left UFA Cinema end of 2012 to join forces with leading German producer and CEO of X-Filme Creative Pool,

Stefan Arndt Stefan Arndt (born 1961) is a German film producer and managing partner of X-Filme Creative Pool, which he started with fellow friends Tom Tykwer, Wolfgang Becker and Dani Levy. X-Filme is one of Germany's most prosperous and famous production c ...

. Friedl and Arndt’s new production entity The Amazing Film Company (TAF) which focuses on high commercial English speaking feature movies for worldwide exploitation. Currently Friedl is preparing the international productions ''

A Year in the Merde ''A Year in the Merde'' is a comic novel by Stephen Clarke first published in 2004 under the pen name Paul West. In later editions, the author's real identity was revealed. In France, the book title is ''God save la France''. Paul West is in ...

'', ''Honky Tonk Pirates'', ''Prototype'', '' Cathy's Book'' and ''

Fatherland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...

'' - Fatherland is based on Robert Harris best-selling novels. Friedl is a member of the European and German Film Academy, where he served many years as creative director and producer of the

German Film Awards German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. He is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Children Charity Organisation "Artists for Kids", which he founded in 1999 together with his friend and partner, Bernd Eichinger.

References

External links

X-films.de
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedl, Thomas Peter 1967 births Film people from Munich German film producers Living people