Biography
Dominik Galizia, born in Trier in 1988, developed a great passion for cinema as a child. He gained his first experience in the entertainment field at the age of 18 when, after leaving school, he went to Paris to work as a stunt choreographer at Disneyland. In 2010, he moved to Berlin with the goal of becoming a director. He first worked as a production intern on a few music video shoots, and then as a set recordist and production assistant on music videos and commercials.
Galizia made his directorial debut in 2013 with the short film "Soulmate," about two 'soulmate' couples whose paths cross in New York. Over the next few years, he shot several music videos, including one for Scooter ("Big Room Blitz," 2014), and other short films. In 2015, Galizia began work on his feature film debut, which he financed entirely via crowdfunding: "Figaros Wölfe," a mix of rape-and-revenge film and love story, premiered at the Berlin Fantasy Filmfest in September 2017. Galizia was able to win Saralisa Volm and Franz Rogowski for the leading roles. In addition, he continued to shoot commercials and music clips.
In 2019, Galizia began work on "Heikos Welt," a feature film about the Berlin cult figure from the YouTube series of the same name. This film was also made as a crowdfunding production. Franz Rogowski was again cast in a supporting role. The premiere took place in the summer of 2022 at the Munich Film Festival, where Martin Rohde a.k.a. Heiko was awarded the New German Cinema Award for Best Leading Actor. At the achtung berlin 2021 festival, "Heikos Welt" won the new berlin film award for Best Audience Film. The German theatrical release took place in May 2022.