Christoph Thoke

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Christoph Thoke (born November 15, 1960 in Herford, Germany) is a German film and television producer.

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Thoke has primarily worked as on-air promotion producer for German broadcaster RTL 2 and German-French broadcaster Arte. From 1996 until 2002 he has been part of the management at German production and service companies Bavaria Film, TaunusFilm and CineMedia, where he started as assistant to general manager and later became executive for production and acquisition.

At Taunusfilm, he oversaw all international production activities including the LA office of Taunusfilm International while at Cinemedia he was involved in acquisition of films such as What Women Want starring Mel Gibson.

Christoph's producing credits at that time included: Little Senegal (film) (2001) directed by Rachid Bouchareb, official entry for Algeria for Best Foreign Language Film category at the 72nd Academy Awards, Lubov and other Nightmares , Sundance 2002, as well as Planet B: The Antman and Detective Lovelorn and the Revenge of the Pharaoh  [ de ], both Berlin 2002, Official Selection, Perspective of German Cinema.

In 2003, Christoph joined forces with Axel Moebius to produce through their own company Thoke + Moebius Film (TMF). At TMF Christoph has been able to produce or coproduce a slate of nine titles such as Tropical Malady from Apichatpong Weerasethakul, a major arthouse sensation which got Jury Price in Cannes 2004 (jury presidency: Quentin Tarantino) and was regarded as best film of the year 2004 by Cahiers du cinéma .

Other titles at TMF include Bruno Dumont’s Twentynine Palms (film), Venice 2003, Official Competition, The Buffalo Boy , official entry from Vietnam for Best Foreign Language Film category at the 78th Academy Awards and Wedding Chest, official entry from Kyrgyzstan for Best Foreign Language Film category at the 79th Academy Awards.

2007 Christoph moved on and founded production outfit Mogador Film, from where he is going to produce for the local and international market. First project has been Lorna's Silence directed by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne (Dardenne brothers). Film got selected for official competition in Cannes 2008 and was awarded Price for Best Script (jury presidency: Sean Penn). So far, Lorna's Silence has been sold to more than 30 countries including U.S., where Sony Classics is going to distribute the movie theatrically.

In total, Christoph’s movies have been invited to about 500 festivals and garnered more than 100 awards around the globe. His films have been widely sold internationally; five titles got a U.S. release.

Tutoring, panels and consultancy

Furthermore, Christoph has an extensive experience as moderator, tutor and consultant to name f.e.:

Moderator, Producers Network, Festival de Cannes 2007, 2009 Tutor (Production), MedaFilmsDevelopment, Euromed II, Marrakech 2006–2008 (), Tutor (Production), Film Business School, Ronda 2008, Project Consultant (Production), Babylon Feature Film Project Development Workshop, Rotterdam, Cannes 2007–2009 () as well as Panelist at the Rotterdam Lab with Jani Thilgtes, Rotterdam International Film Festival 2005 and Panelist on “International Producers in Europe” with Karl Baumgartner and Marco Müller, eDit 8. Filmmaker's Festival, Frankfurt 2005.

Christoph is both member of the European Film Academy and the German Film Academy and just recently he has served on the international jury of the Muhr Awards for Excellence in Arab Cinema of the 5th Dubai International Film Festival.

Selected Filmography

Christoph Thoke has served as producer or co-producer on a wide range of international feature films. His productions have premiered at major film festivals including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance, and Tribeca, and several were selected as official Oscar entries for Best International Feature Film.

YearTitleRoleNotes
2001 Little Senegal Co-producerDirected by Rachid Bouchareb; Algeria's official Oscar entry.
2002Lubov and Other NightmaresCo-producerDirected by Andrei Nekrassov; premiered at Sundance.
2002Planet B: The AntmanProducerBerlinale 2002, Perspektive Deutsches Kino section.
2002Detective Lovelorn and the Revenge of the PharaohProducerBerlinale 2002, Perspektive Deutsches Kino.
2003 Twentynine Palms Co-producerDirected by Bruno Dumont; Venice competition film.
2004 Tropical Malady Co-producerDirected by Apichatpong Weerasethakul; Jury Prize at Cannes.
2004 The Buffalo Boy Co-producerVietnam’s official Oscar entry.
2005LoveExecutive ProducerDirected by Vladan Nikolic; Tribeca Film Festival selection.
2006 The Wedding Chest Co-producerKyrgyzstan’s official Oscar entry.
2008 Lorna’s Silence (Le silence de Lorna)Co-producerDirected by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne; Best Screenplay, Cannes.
2009 9:06 ProducerSlovenian psychological drama.
2010BedwaysProducerDirected by Rolf Peter Kahl; Panorama Special, Berlinale.
2013 Of Horses and Men Co-producerIcelandic tragicomedy; multi-award winner.
2018 Erased Associate ProducerDirected by Miha Mazzini; Slovenian social drama.
2019 Jolsobi Executive ProducerDirected by Jaicheng Jai Dohutia; Assamese-language drama.
2021My Mother's GirlfriendExecutive ProducerIndian LGBTQ+ short film, awarded internationally.
2024The Tower of StrengthAssociate ProducerDrama, Montenegro, Serbia, Germany, Croatia.

Awards and Recognition

See also