Thomas Heinemann
H
between independent and mainstream
Thomas is a german director, writer and producer. In 1985 he founded Germanys first theatre made „by children for children“ and wrote more than forty plays. Twenty years later he started his own film production company. His screenplay collaborations with renowned director Dimitri Tsintsadze but also his own films have won many prizes worldwide and his first children’s film „Lola auf der Erbse“ (Lola On The Pea) is already counted among the classics in the field of children’s films and has won countless international awards.
Thomas focuses on quirky comedies and unusual children’s films. Sometimes conventionally funded by film subsidies, sometimes completely independent but always free, extraordinary and unique.
Everyone said that wasn’t possible. Then someone came along who didn’t know that and just did it.
2003
Script Editing Dialogue Directing on Set
Schussangst (Gun-Shy) 90 min Feature Film directed by
Dimitri Tsintsadze
Cast:
Fabian Hinrichs, Lavinia Wilson, Axel Prahl, Christoph Waltz
Golden Shell (Bester Film) San Sebastian Golden Prometheus (Bester Film) Tbilisi
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2007
Director, Writer mit F.M.Barwasser
Vorne ist verdammt weit weg, 90 min Feature Film
Cast:
Christiane Paul, Peter Lohmeyer, F.M.Barwasser, Phillip Sonntag, Tobias Oertel
Biberacher Filmfestspiele
Prädikat besonders wervoll
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2008
Director
Unterwegs nach woanders 45 min TV, 3Sat
Cast:
F.M.Barwasser, Phillip Sonntag, M.M.Eschenbach, Markus Hammer
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2011
Script Editing Dialogue Directing on Set
Invasion 90 min Feature Film directed by Dimitri Tsintsadze
Cast:
Burghart Klaussner, Anna F., Heike Trinker, Merab Ninidze, Jasper Barwasser
Special Grand Prix of the Jury, Montreal
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2013
Director, Writer
Positive Sinking – a tragic german comedy Web Series
Cast:
M.M. Eschenbach, Markus Hammer, Berivan Kaya, Fatima Dramé, Donald Ganslmeier
Festival Award 1st Web Fest Berlin Best Actor Comedy Web Mag Paris
wanna see more? https://vimeo.com/1064240940
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2014
Director, Writer
Lola auf der Erbse 90 min Feature Film
Cast:
Christiane Paul, Tobias Oertel, Antoine Monot,Jr. Tabea Hanstein Best European Film, ECFA Best Feature Film Director, Olympia Film Fest Best Film, Bellinzona Best Film International, Dhaka Best Feature Film, Seattle Best Film Ale! Kino, Poznan Best Feature Film, Okinawa Audience Award, Seattle Publikumspreis, Wien
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2018
Director, Writer Perfect Silence 98 min Feature Film
Cast:
M.M.Eschenbach, Markus Hammer, Jasper Barwasser, Lena Heiss, Berivan Kaya, Fatima Dramé, Antoine Monot, jr. 44.
Internationales Film Wochenende, Würzburg
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2023
Writer, Director PAULA’S DAD and the right button in his head 45 min Featurette
Cast:
Bodo Koch, Lisa Sweeney
International Film Festival of Wales Juniorfest Domaszlice
Best Children/Family Film ICFF New York
Best Children’s Film Bridge of Peace Festival Paris
Best Children’s Film Film Critics Award Miami
Best Children’s Film Int. Filmmakers Festival Toronto
Best Original Screenplay 8andhalf Film Awards Rome
Best Arthouse Film Finland International Film Fest
Best Music Clip Finland International Film Fest
Winner Global Film Competion, La Jolla
Best Childhood Film Finland International Film Fest
Best Childhood Film 8&1/2 FilmFest, Rome Best Children’s Short Vaaranam Int. Film Festival Best Children’s Film Mayavaram Int. Film Festival
in Vorbereitung
TSCHÜSSIKOWSKI
(AT: Paula im Papiergebirge)
Drehbuchförderung mit Mitteln des FFF-Bayern Projektentwicklungsfördeung mit Mitteln des FFF-Bayern
Status: Finanzierung, geplanter Drehbeginn Herbst 2026
Synopsis:
Looking after your little sister for three days can’t be that difficult. Depends on the sister, of course. Not so long ago, Nele and her big brother Paul were still paddling together on ice floes to Greenland or overcoming the glowing lava flow between the infamous seventies couch and the horrible wing chair.
But now everything is different. Paul is now fourteen, sorting out his toys and in love. No more time for kids‘ stuff. So Nele has to jump over the lava flows on her own. Until the mysterious new classmate Tristan appears, whose parents are sometimes famous actors, sometimes diplomats in exotic places or secret agents.
With him, Nele can return to the world of lava flows and ice floes. Or climb the most dangerous mountain in the world, K2 in the Himalayas. It’s actually just a big pile of waste paper stacked in blocks in the yard of an abandoned paper factory, but Tristan is the best mountaineering companion Nele can imagine. The only problem is Tristan’s self-proclaimed best friend, the jealous Robert, son of the local police chief. Robert has discovered a cave among the blocks of paper. He and no one else. So it’s his cave. And Tristan is his best friend. Period!
As Nele’s mother has to go to Berlin for work, Paul has to look after his little sister and naturally wants to use the storm-free time to organize a party just so he can invite Nada, his new big crush.
Three times Paul has promised to do something with Nele and three times he breaks his promise. So Nele decides to teach her big brother a lesson he won’t soon forget. And neither will she. She sneaks home and secretly gets warm clothes and a sleeping bag while Paul’s party is raging in the living room. She has written a blackmail letter, which she leaves outside the front door. But in the meantime it has started to snow and to cover her footprints she goes back in her own footprints to the cave in the mountain of waste paper where she wants to spend the night. But she hasn’t reckoned with the jealous Robert, who locks Nele in the cellar of the old factory building.
The next morning, Robert finds out about the imminent demolition of the factory, where Nele is still locked up, and panics. And not just him. Paul has now found the blackmail letter and Tristan has grave suspicions after finding Robert’s baseball cap on the factory site.
While the wrecking ball is already crashing against the walls of the old paper factory, Nele is freezing in the basement of the factory with a sprained foot. A dramatic race against time begins for Paul, which feels like one of those adventurous games he used to play with his sister. But getting involved in such a game is not so easy when you’re 14 and want to impress a girl. Together with Tristan, Robert and Nada they must prevent the demolition of the factory so that Nele is not buried by the rubble in her dark, cold prison.
NULLKOMMAGARNICHT
(AT: BINGO!)
Drehbuch nach dem Roman „Alia am Ort der Wunder“ von Annette Mierswa
gefördert mit Mittel des FFF-Bayern (aka BINGO!)
Status: Finanzierung, geplanter Drehbeginn Herbst/Winter 2025
Alia is an extraordinary girl. Smart, funny and disarmingly open. She regularly takes riding lessons with her best friend Tammi and makes funny little video clips on her tablet in the style of YouTube or TikTok tutorials. A happy girl’s life.
But suddenly everything is different. Just a wonderful picnic for Alia’s tenth birthday and now her dad is in hospital. For a while, her parents are able to keep the illness a secret, but then it becomes clear; Alia’s dad has cancer and Alia knows what that means: Tammi’s aunt also had cancer and now she’s dead.
When Alia learns that you can get cancer not only from unhealthy eating or smoking, but also from working too much, she feels guilty because her dad has to work a lot. After all, someone has to pay the rent, the vacations, Alia’s tablet and the riding lessons with her beloved pony Bingo.
And because mom now also has to take over dad’s work and Alia fears that her mother will end up with cancer, Alia decides to give up her riding license. It’s not easy for her, because being at the riding stables with Tammi and riding her ponies Bingo and Mokka is the only really cool thing for Alia.
She redecorates her dad’s room in the hospital so that he can get better quickly. She puts nails in the wall to hang pictures and even ends up painting half a wall. In sky blue. Of course this causes trouble with Nurse Nora, but with her open and funny manner she is able to convince the hospital staff of the need for a beautiful environment. She makes friends with her dad’s roommate. His name is Theo, he is always in a bad mood and very lonely. His wife has died and he has fallen out with his only son. He constantly writes messages on Theo’s cell phone, but Theo doesn’t read them. He becomes Alia’s ally in the fight against sister Nora. In return, Alia tries to persuade Theo to finally get back in touch with his son. But to no avail, Theo remains stubborn. So Alia takes matters into her own hands and secretly answers a text message from Edgar on Theo’s cell phone.
In order to keep Bingo’s riding partner, she decides to work at the riding stables to earn the necessary money herself. To do this, however, Alia has to skip school and forge signatures.
While Dad is feeling a little better and Alia is working at the riding stables, Theo is getting weaker and weaker. One morning, during school hours, Alia’s mother turns up unexpectedly at the riding stables and Alia flees head over heels with Bingo. She doesn’t get far, only as far as the neighboring woods, falls off her horse and breaks her arm. So now it all comes out, the forged signatures, the skipping school and, as if that wasn’t bad enough, two days later comes the terrible news that Bingo has been sold.
Shortly afterwards, Theo’s son turns up in hospital. Alia’s plan to reunite the two has worked, but the next day Theo dies.
Dad has to return to hospital for the second cycle of chemotherapy. The head doctor gives Alia a letter from Theo’s son. He has a present for Alia. From Theo. She visits Edgar at Theo’s house and he gives Alia an envelope. Inside is a boring sales contract. She is a little disappointed until she suddenly discovers five large letters among the many incomprehensible words and paragraphs in the contract: BINGO! Theo had bought Bingo. For Alia.
Theater
Sink Big! Kabarettprogramm – Regie, Buch(mit M.M.Eschebach)
Disco Pigs von Enda Walsh – Regie, Bühne
Herr der Fliegen von William Golding – Regie, Bühne
Indien von Josef Hader & Alfred Dorfer (deutsche Zweitaufführung) – Regie, Bühne
Der Tag – Ensemblearbeit Steirischer Herbst, Graz – Regie
Ende der Ausbaustrecke – Kabarett von Luise Kinseher – Regie
Nüssleins Fügung – Kabarett von F.M. Barwasser – Regie, Bühne
Carmen Rosa (Prosper Merimée) – Regie, Buch, Bühne
Mopaya – Regie, Buch, Bühne
Pimpf – Kameraden fragen nicht lange – Regie, Buch, Bühne
Im Land der bösen Tsetsefliege – Regie, Buch, Bühne
Traube, bitte kommen! Krimiserie- Regie, Buch, Bühne
Pünktchen und Anton
Regie, Bühne
Awards
PAULA’S DAD and the right button in his head
Best Children’s Film – Int. Cult Film Festival New York USA 2024
Best Children’s Film – Bridge of Peace Festival Paris France 2024
Best Children’s Film – Int. Filmmakers Festival Toronto Canada 2023
Best Childhood – Film Finland Int. Film Fest Helsinki Finland 2023
Lola on the Pea
Best European Film – European Children’s Film Association, 2014
Best Feature Film Director – Olympia Filmfestival, Greece 2014
Bester Film – Castellinaria Film Fest Bellinzona, Switzerland 2014
Best Young Actress – (Tabea Hanstein) Greek Actors Guild, Greece 2014
Publikumspreis – Kinderfilm Festival Wien, Austria 2014
Audience Award – Children’s Film Festival Seattle, USA 2015
Best Film – 10th Children’s Film Festival Seattle USA 2015
Best Film – International Filmfestival Dhaka, Bangladesh 2015
Grand Prix Best Film – International Film Festival Okinawa, Japan 2015
Grand Award Best – Film Filmfestival Ae Kino! Poznan, Poland 2015
Special Mention – International Children’s Film Fest, Mexico 2015
Special Mention – Dreamfest, Bukarest, Romania 2015
Positive Sinking
Festival Award – Web Fest Berlin, Germany 2015
Best Actor Comedy – (MM. Eschenbach) Web Mag Paris, France 2016
Invasion
Special Grand Prix of the Jury – Montreal World Film Festival, 2012
(Dialogue Director on set, co-writer – directed by Dimitri Tsintsadze)
Gunshy (Schussangst)
Concha d’Oro – Festival Internacional de Cine, San Sebastián, 2003
(Dialogue Director on set, co-writer – directed by Dimitri Tsintsadze)
Kulturförderpreis der Stadt Würzburg
für die Gründung und Leitung des Theater am Neunerplatz – Deutschlands erstes Theater für Kinder im Sinne von Erich Kästner. Kinder spielen, Erwachsene dürfen nur Kulissen schieben, Klos putzen, Licht anmachen und nur dann mitspielen, wenn Erwachsenenrollen im Stück vorkommen.