Cast, Director, Screenplay, Director of photography, Editing, Producer

Biography

Benjamin Martins was born on April 16, 1985. From 2003 to 2004 he attended the Arturo Acting School in Cologne, followed by the Film Acting School Cologne (2004-2005). From 2005, he appeared in numerous short films and took on guest roles in TV series, such as "Die Anrheiner" (2006). He had his first engagement on stage in 2007 at the Théâtre du Château in Disneyland Paris, where he impersonated Prince Charming in "Enchanted Candleabration". In 2008/2009 he was a regular in two seasons of the children's and youth series "Schloss Einstein," in which he played a mentally challenged teenager named Aaron.   

Martins had further roles on TV in the series "Dahoam is Dahoam" (2011) and "Heiter bis Tödlich" (2012). On the big screen, he was seen in 2012 in a leading role as a charming, seductive surfer in the coming-out and love story "Off Shore."

In theater, Martins has had engagements at the TourneeOpera Mannheim (2009/10), the Theater Alte Werkstatt Frankenthal (2014) and, most notably, the Theater am Puls in Schwetzingen, where he appeared on stage between 2010 and 2017 in "The Glass Menagerie," "Don Juan oder der steinerne Gast" and "The Jungle Book," (as Bagheera) to name but a few.

Benjamin Martins made his debut as a film director in 2014 with the short film "Ameisenpakt," ("Ants Pact") about a 16-year-old hustler who creates his own fantasy world in which to feel at home. The film screened at numerous festivals around the world and won awards at Worldfest Houston, USA, among others.

With his production company Herbsthund Filme, Martins realized his first feature-length film, the social drama "Danke tote Katze" ("Thanks Dead Cat", 2017), about a homeless woman and her disabled son who flee from the grasp of the regulatory authorities to the North Sea. The lead role was played by Beate Krist, whom he had met at Theater am Puls. The film only had a limited release in theaters, but was made more widely available via streaming services.    

In 2018, Martins appeared on stage at the Komödie Frankfurt. In 2019, he began to work on his next film, "Schattenstunde" ("The Shadow Hour"), about the fate of Christian theologian and poet Jochen Klepper, his Jewish wife and their daughter in Nazi Germany. The drama premiered at the 2021 Munich Film Festival. At the First Steps Awards, "Schattenstunde" received the award for Best Feature-Length Film. The theatrical release was in January 2022.

Filmography

2019-2021
  • Director
  • Screenplay
  • Producer
2015-2017
  • Director
  • Screenplay
  • Director of photography
  • Editing
  • Producer
2014
  • Director
  • Screenplay
2010-2012
  • Cast