Director, Producer
Berlin

Biography

Henrik Regel, born in Berlin in 1979, was active in the Berlin music scene before starting a career as a filmmaker. While still a teenager, he was deejaying and he organized hip hop parties. Together with his high school friend Sascha Pulm he founded the label 'Beatfabrik'. They released about a dozen German rap albums such as the first records of 'Prinz Pi' a.k.a. 'Prinz Porno'. Next to marketing records, Regel also started working as a producer for different rappers. In addition, he produced music videos.

At age 24, Regel enrolled to study TV producing and founded the video production company Mantikor together with two friends. The collage-style hip hop documentary "Rap City Berlin" (2005) became their first feature length project, with Regel responsible for concept, camera and editing. The film which functions both as a music film and a humorous social study became an instant classic with the Berlin hip hop scene. A year later, Regel was one of the founders of the label 'No Peanuts'. At the same time, he finished his studies and put out the four-hour documentary "Rap City Berlin 2" (2007).

Regel then caused a stir when he released the documentary "Unlike U – Trainwriting in Berlin" (2011, co-directed with Björg Birg), a portrait of Berlin's graffiti scene. The filmmakers had done several years of research and had earned the trust of the scene to cooperate in their project. Although the film provides a nuanced insight into the world of graffiti writers, the Berlin transport authority BVG tried to ban the film in court. Regel and Birg eventually won the case on the second level of jurisdiction in 2012.

In the fall of 2012, Henrik Regel started principal photography of his first feature film "Wie Männer über Frauen reden". The comedy is about a Berlin-Kreuzberg DJ and dedicated bachelor whose best friend and wingman falls madly in love. "Wie Männer über Frauen reden" opened in German cinemas in early 2016.
Next to working as a filmmaker, Henrik Regel is also the manager of several rappers.

 



Filmography

2012-2016
  • Director
  • Producer