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Philipp Leinemann, born 1979 in Munich, first studied mechanical engineering and worked as a truck driver before studying directing at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film (HFF) in Munich in 2004. In 2007 he directed a segment of the student community film "Wie es bleibt" (2007), which was awarded Best Youth Film at the Exground Filmfest Wiesbaden. Leinemann's HFF graduation film "Transit" (2010), in which he also incorporated experiences from his time as a professional driver, received the German Film Promotion Prize for Best Production at the Munich Film Festival 2010.
His second feature-length film, the police thriller "Wir waren Könige" ("The King's Surrender"), premiered at the Munich Film Festival in 2014 and was released in cinemas in November 2014. The film won Best Feature Film at the Austin Film Festival (USA) and the Filmkunstpreis Sachsen-Anhalt 2014.
Leinemann then directed the episode "Im Schatten" (2015) of the TV crime series "Polizeiruf 110" starring Anneke Kim Sarnau and Charly Hübner as the investigative team, and the crime drama "Die Informantin" ("The Informant"), about a student (Aylin Tezel) who goes undercover to investigate drug dealers. Leinemann's six-part series "Tempel" (2016), about an ex-boxer (Ken Duken) with financial difficulties, who gets involved in illegal activities, received outstanding reviews. Lighter fare was his TV comedy "Willkommen bei den Honeckers" (2017) based on true events. The film tells the story of how a tabloid reporter in 1993 gained the trust of the Honecker couple living in exile in Chile.
At the film festival Max Ophüls Preis 2019, Philipp Leinemann presented another feature film: "Das Ende der Wahrheit" ("Blame Game"), about a Federal Intelligence Service employee (Ronald Zehrfeld) who gets caught in a maelstrom of intrigue, abuse of power and corruption. The theatrical release followed in May 2019. In the same year his "Polizeiruf 110" episode "Mörderische Dorfgemeinschaft" was broadcast, again with Ronald Zehrfeld in a leading role.