The Amazing Film Company / Production Company
Filmography
The Amazing Film Company (TAF) have been focusing on developing, producing and exploiting international cinema and TV productions across all genres from elaborate screen adaptations of classics and bestsellers, to comedies and entertaining family movies, to political and sophisticated cinematic dramas.
The company was founded by Thomas Peter Friedl, longtime member of the Executive Board of Constantin Film AG and former CEO of UFA Cinema and X – Filme creative pool founder and CEO Stefan Arndt.
Some of the cinema productions are e.g. the thriller COLD HELL, directed by Academy Award-winner Stefan Ruzowitzky (Anatomy, The Counterfeiters). The thriller series INTRIGO, co-produced with Enderby Entertainment and directed by Daniel Alfredson. The trilogy includes the feature films DEATH OF AN AUTHOR, starring Sir Ben Kingsley and Benno Fürmann, SAMARIA and DEAR AGNES and is based on the million bestselling novels by Swedish author Hakan Nesser. Or the romantic cinema comedy RATE YOUR DATE (directed by David Dietl). A modern, cheeky cinema comedy that unites some of the most interesting and impressive young actors in Germany: Alicia von Rittberg, Marc Benjamin, Edin Hasanovic and Nilam Farooq.
In addition to the feature film projects, TAF has also been developing and producing streaming series since 2020, such as the current 6-part high-end thriller series SHADOWTOWER based on the novel of the same name by Peter Grandl with Heiner Lauterbach, Klaus Steinbacher, Désirée Nosbusch and Milena Tscharntke in the main roles.
In preparation are the feature film project BALANCING ACT (AT), a romantic comedy inspired by the novel “Surf Mama” by Wilma Johnson and the high-end thriller streaming series DECODE based on the scripts by Christian Limmer (Oktoberfest).
The TV productions of The Amazing Film Company include the streaming series “DER BEISCHLÄFER”, which is already running on Prime Video in its 2nd season. The adventures about the deputy lay judge Charlie Menzinger (Markus Stoll aka Harry G) and his judge Julia Kellermann (Lisa Bitter), directed by Sebastian Sorger, were praised by press and audience alike.
In 2022, The Amazing Film Company shot the first Prime Video Original Christmas series, “PEACEFUL CHRISTMAS”, directed by Sebastian Sorger. The leading roles are Timur Bartels, Valerie Huber, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Esther Schweins, Wayne Carpendale, Lena Meckel, Elena Uhlig and Matthias Komm.
The short film “ALIEN SHOPPER”, developed and produced by TAF, was presented to a wide audience in a large-scale social media campaign for the European Inventor Award from the European Patent Office.
Our Amazing Team
Thomas Peter Friedl
CEO / Producer
thomas.friedl@amazing-film.de
Biography
Bettina Bartl
Producerin
bettina.bartl@amazing-film.de
Manu S. Scheidt
Line Producer
manu.scheidt@amazing-film.de
Production
Team Production
produktion@amazing-film.de
Cornel Babel
IT-Administrator
administrator@amazing-film.de
TAF Accounting
Team Accounting
accounting@amazing-film.de
Movies
Rate Your Date
(DVD, Video on demand)
Death Of An Author
(DVD, Video on demand)
Samaria
(DVD, Video on demand)
Dear Agnes
(DVD, Video on demand)
Balancing Act
(in pre-production)
Cold Hell
(DVD, Video on demand)
Rate Your Date
(in the cinema)
DATING in the big city is like survival in the wild. Dating Professional Teresa (ALICIA VON RITTBERG) and her best friend, single-mom and romantic Patricia (NILAM FAROOQ) are tired of being ripped off. No desire for broken hearts and nasty surprises. If you knew in advance what kind of guy you are sitting in the evening!
- Release date
- March 07, 2019
- Produced by
- The Amazing Film Company, SevenPictures Film
- Distribution
- Twentieth Century Fox of Germany
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Cold Hell
(in cinemas and on DVD)
Özge is a young Turkish-born taxi driver, who attends evening classes and is also an ambitious Thai-boxer. She rarely speaks and trains hard. One day she witnesses an extremely brutal murder. The suspect is an insane serial killer, inspired by Islam. And he is convinced that Özge has seen him. A life-and-death struggle ensues.
In his job as a police officer, Christian Steiner often has contact with people from immigrant backgrounds. Some years ago his wife left him, taking their child with her. Since then Steiner has been living with his father and cares for him as best he can. Steiner finds it very difficult to trust other people, especially women.
- Produced by
- Allegro Film, The Amazing Film Company
- Distribution
- Splendid Film
Informations (PDF)
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Death Of An Author
(DVD, Video on demand)
A small open boat ploughs through a troubled sea off the Dutch coast. One solitary man at the rudder. A few days later, when the wind has settled, the smashed up remains of the boat will be found a few kilometres to the south.
Meanwhile in Stockholm David, a translator, is contacted by his publisher. A manuscript by the famous author Germund Rein has turned up at the publishing house. However the manuscript has arrived in Sweden cloaked in strange circumstances. It has not been published in its country of origin. This is the original manuscript and it is accompanied by a letter which states that under no circumstances must the book be printed in its initial language. David also learns that the author, Germund Rein has taken his own life by attaching a weight to his body and disappearing into the depths of the Atlantic. The letter must have been the last thing he wrote before he ended it all.
The assignment takes David to Maardam where he finds parallels to his own life in Rein’s novel. Parallels to his vanished wife Ewa, who according to the police most likely lost her life in the Austrian Alps some years earlier.
But nothing is as it seems. The past will inevitably catch up. Guilt mixed with revenge. Germund Rein’s fiction becomes reality. Finally, David is forced to confront the uncomfortable truth… Maybe he actually failed to finish off Ewa that day in the Alps after all?
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Dear Agnes
(DVD, Video on demand)
What is a human life worth? How is it possible that a woman like Agnes could agree to kill another human being? Is it the money? Or are there other forces at play?
A funeral. A young widow and two adult children. Agnes is burying her much older husband and the children are his, not hers. Agnes senses that someone is watching her and glimpses a woman roughly her own age standing nearby. Within seconds, the woman is gone.
They were once very close, Agnes and Henny. A friendship both rewarding and demanding, which ended in disaster. Now Henny seeks reconciliation. But Agnes seems cautious.
Agnes is completely thrown by Henny’s proposal. Henny is married to Peter, and asks Agnes to help her murder him. She’s prepared to pay good money and also to let Agnes choose the manner in which Peter is to die. Agnes realizes that the past has caught up with her and that she has no choice.
What really happened between Agnes and Henny in Bruges all those years ago? How could it be that two people who enjoyed one another’s company so much, could end up hurting each other so badly? They, who had loved each other so much…
Samaria
(DVD, Video on demand)
Nineteen-year-old Vera Kall cycles home through the night. She arrives at a farm, leaves her bike and sneaks quietly in through the door. She enters the kitchen and doesn’t even have time to notice that she’s not alone. The sudden blow is heavy and knocks Vera headlong onto the kitchen floor where she is left lying.
Despite his plea of innocence Jakob Kall sits imprisoned for the murder of his daughter.
Henry is a successful copywriter in Antwerp. One day he is approached by Paula, a documentary filmmaker. Ten years earlier, she was Vera’s classmate. Now she plans to make a film about Vera and wants Henry, their former teacher, to become involved.
This tragic story brings Paula and Henry together as they search for the truth behind what really happened, and why Vera's body was never found.
Both Henry and Paula carry well-hidden secrets which are slowly and inexorably forced out into the open. But the big question remains. Is the man incarcerated in the maximum-security section of Bittinger prison really Vera’s killer?
Balancing Act (WT)
(in pre-production)
WILMA is a forty-something personal chef from New York who is struggling with her work/life balance while parenting two children who are casualties of a failed marriage. Far from life beginning at 40, Wilma feels like hers is well and truly over. When her best friend asks her to be her Maid-of-Honor, Wilma leaps at the opportunity to travel to the Côte Basque in France, which is as famous for big wave surfing as it is for its unique Basque cuisine.
Wilma’s hopes of escaping her monotonous daily routine are dashed when her ex-husband lets her down with childcare and Wilma is forced to take her two children to Europe. Her nightmare trip gets worse when she is thrown instantly into conflict with the Best Man, PAT, a fellow single parent and ex-pro surfer who runs a surf school in the idyllic coastal village. The Bride and Groom find themselves in an increasingly awkward position as Wilma and Pat clash on everything from politics to parenthood. The only thing they appear to have in common is how badly they are coping with life after divorce.
Despite the ongoing hostility their kids connect on the waves and Pat quickly becomes the male role model that Wilma’s son has been desperately searching for. When Pat’s father, the village restaurateur, has a heart attack the wedding meal is thrown into crisis. Wilma steps in and takes his place wowing the guests with her inventive cuisine and earning Pat’s respect. The unlikely pairing start to realise they have more in common than they first imagined and Wilma’s teenage daughter isn’t the only one to experience an unexpected summer romance.
Her blossoming relationship is brought to an abrupt end when Wilma receives a job offer in New York and Pat’s playboy reputation finally catches up with him. Following the death of his father Pat is forced to reassess his life. With his sons help he overcomes his fear of flying and commitment and heads to Manhattan to declare his love for Wilma and proposes they become a family.
TV
Der Beischläfer
(Launch on 29th May, 2020 exclusiv by Prime Video)
Der Beischläfer
(Season 2)
(Launch on 12th November, 2021 exclusiv by Prime Video)
Peaceful Christmas
(Launch on 9th December, 2022 exclusiv by Prime Video)
Alien Shopper
(Produced for the European Patent Office)
Shadowtower
(Premiere Film Festival Munich)
Decode
(in pre-production)
Der Beischläfer
(Launch on 29th May, 2020 exclusiv by Prime Video)
In the series, easy-going mechanic CHARLIE MENZINGER (Markus Stoll) is appointed as a juror by the Munich District Court in the year following the death of his wife, MARIE (Kristina Doerfer). Working through his incredible grief, he is not sure he even believes in justice and questions whether he can perform the role assigned to him when he finds out he was actually his wife who nominated him for the role. At the court, having accepted his fate, Charlie meets law-abiding judge, Dr. JULIA KELLERMANN (Lisa Bitter). Recently transferred from Berlin to Munich, Julia has yet to come to terms with the peculiarities of Munich’s real estate market and local people. She also isn’t fond of Charlie’s unusual sense of ‘justice’ – but her disapproval only motivates him further. Charlie quickly realises that his new position offers certain advantages, not just for him, but also for his entrepreneurial and chaotic best friend, XAVER HOLZAPFEL (Daniel Christensen). His time as a lay judge, however, may change him more than he could imagine ...
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Press Release (PDF)
Photos: © Prime Video 2019
Der Beischläfer - Season 2
(Launch on 12th November, 2021 exclusiv by Prime Video)
In order to ensure justice again at the side of "his" judge Julia Kellermann (Lisa Bitter) at the district court, the lay judge Charlie Menzinger (Markus Stoll) must first of all ensure that her transfer to the Bavarian pampa is reversed. A bond has developed between the two over the past few months that makes him hope for more. But before the budding love between the two gets its chance, Julia's ex Nico von Bloom (Jens Atzorn) shows up. But not only Nico, but also the potential appeal of the judge to the district court in Munich threatens to tear Charlie and Julia apart. He has to do everything to throw Nico out of the race and win Julia over. Meanwhile, Charlie's best friend Xaver Holzapfel (Daniel Christensen) is in a crisis of meaning. The self-proclaimed entrepreneur can't think of a new idea until he overdoses on puffer fish and has an epiphany: he needs to be an artist. Meanwhile, Paul (Helmfried von Lüttichau) wants to look after the needy residents of his neighborhood even more. His idea is as simple as it is honorable: he wants to use a food truck to give out a free meal to everyone who needs it. No wonder that not only the needy get on the menu...
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Photos: © 2021 The Amazing Film Company / Prime Video
Peaceful Christmas
(Launch on 9th December, 2022 exclusiv by Prime Video)
It’s early November, and Johanna (Valerie Huber) and Anton (Timur Bartels) are on cloud nine; but planning Christmas together puts their young love to the test. They would prefer to spend the holiday season—which is also their anniversary—alone. But their families, and especially Johanna's father Prof Dr. Dr. Dietrich Hansen (Uwe Ochsenknecht), insist on old traditions and demand the presence of the couple. But Johanna has the saving idea: Her brother-in-law Oliver (Wayne Carpendale) owns a chalet in the Austrian Alps. The house is big enough for both families, and the perfect setting for their first family event together. As generations, cultures, and social entitlements collide, Anton prepares to ask Johanna the question of all questions in the midst of the family drama—and chaos is inevitable!
Whether young or old, who does not know the yearly recurring question - where, how and with whom to celebrate the festival of love? "Christmas is family and if the family doesn't get together, it's not Christmas," so it goes in this heartwarming and completely chaotic Christmas series.
We are right in the middle when two families who couldn't be more different meet for the first time in a luxurious chalet in the snow-covered Zillertal Alps and are forced to celebrate Christmas together. Three endless days and nights that promise pure chaos and thieving entertainment!
Alien Shopper
(Produced for the European Patent Office)
Titel: European Invention Award / © 2022 The Amazing Film Company
Shadowtower
(Premiere Film Festival Munich)
After the adopted daughter of Holocaust survivor Ephraim Zamir falls victim to a brutal attack by neo-Nazis, he takes drastic measures. He seizes the two perpetrators and holds them in his power.
On the internet, Zamir calls on a rapidly growing online community to vote on the life and death of the alleged kilers. Within a very short time, the site of the hostage-taking, a medieval-looking tower, becomes the scene of several confrontations between hostage-takers, right-wing extremists, protesters, a massive police force and the news media. The unstoppable online stream of his interrogation of the hostages turns into a huge spectacle. While the ratings for "Death" keep growing, the police are running out of time...
Press Release (PDF)
Decode
(in pre-production)
Three highly intelligent scientific examiners from the European Patent Office have to work with a hard-boiled, down-on-her-luck Interpol agent and her ultra-cool counterpart from Munich Homicide to solve a gruesome series of murders of pregnant women all over Europe...
Contact
The Amazing Film Company GmbH
+49 (89) 38 66 7 99 3 - 0
Thomas-Wimmer-Ring 9
80539 Munich
Germany
Kurfürstenstraße 57
10785 Berlin
Germany