Biography
Henk Handloegten was born in Celle in 1968 and grew up in Finland, Brazil, Switzerland and France. On his return to Germany he worked in a video store in Berlin and from 1989 to 1993 he conducted the legendary Arthouse cinema "Eiszeit". In 1993 he began his studies at Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (dffb). His graduation film "Paul is Dead" received many awards, for example the award of the Premier of Saarland at Film Festival Max Ophüls Prize 2000 and the Grimme Award in 2001. Moreover it was shown at several international film festivals.
For his second feature film "Liegen lernen" ("Learning to Lie"), based on a novel by Frank Goosen, Handloegten received the Förderpreis Deutscher Film in the category "screenplay" at the Filmfest Munich in 2003, Fritzi Haberland was awarded Deutscher Filmpreis as best actress in a supporting role in 2004.
Together with Achim von Borries, Handloegten (uncredited) worked on the screenplay of Wolfgang Becker's "Good Bye, Lenin!" (2003) and again with von Borries he wrote the screenplay of "Was nützt die Liebe in Gedanken" ("Love in Thoughts", 2004) which von Borries also directed.
In the following years, Handloegten directed various television films: for the crime series "Polizeiruf 110" the episode "Dunkler Sommer" (2007), for the "Tatort" series the episodes "Pechmarie" (2006) and "Der tote Chinese" (2008, also screenplay) as well as the highly acclaimed ensemble drama "Ein spätes Mädchen" (2007, also screenplay) with Fritzi Haberlandt, Matthias Schweighöfer and Justus von Dohnányi. Henk Handloegten presented his third feature film at Filmfest Hamburg 2011: The drama "Fenster zum Sommer" ("Summer Window") with Nina Hoss, Mark Waschke und Lars Eidinger in the leading roles.
Afterward, he directed the aesthetically unconventional, critically acclaimed Munich "Tatort" episode "Fieber" ("Fever", 2012) featuring investigator Hanns von Meuffels, as well as the TV thriller "Sechzehneichen" ("16 Oaks", also co-author), about a luxurious but ominous gated community; the latter also received positive reviews. Additionally, he co-wrote the screenplay with Achim von Borries for Borries' Frankfurt "Tatort" episode "Der Eskimo" (2014).
Starting in 2017, Henk Handloegten dedicated himself exclusively to the internationally successful television series "Babylon Berlin", which he co-created, wrote, and directed alongside Tom Tykwer and Achim von Borries. By 2022, four seasons totaling 40 episodes had been produced. Following an extended hiatus, the fifth and final season followed in 2026. Also in 2026, the highly praised drama "Vaterland" ("Fatherland") was released, depicting the journey of author Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika through post-war Germany in 1949; Handloegten had co-written the screenplay for this film with director Paweł Pawlikowski.