Leading German Producers Michael Polle, Mischa Hofmann Set Up Production Company

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Two prominent German filmmakers, Michael Polle from “Babylon Berlin,” which won the European Film Award, and Mischa Hofmann, who received a German Film Award for “John Rabe,” have joined together to establish Polle & Hofmann Pictures as their production company.

Most recently, Polle held the position as managing director at X Filme Creative Pool, while Hofmann was in charge at Odeon Fiction. These two producers collaborated on “Streets of Berlin,” a project that premiered on ARD during prime time and garnered up to 10 million viewers, capturing approximately 27% of the market share.

In 1996, Hofmann established Hofmann & Voges Entertainment along with Philip Voges. This company was later acquired by Odeon Film in 2007. Up until now, Hofmann served as the managing director of Odeon Fiction. Throughout his career, he has produced works across various genres. As managing director, over 200 TV and movie projects were created, ranging from films like “Erkan & Stefan,” “Where’s Fred?,” and “John Rabe” to series such as “Streets of Berlin,” “Learning Turkish,” “Spy City,” and more recently “The Seed.” His productions have been recognized with the German Film Award, the German Television Award, and the Bavarian Film Award.

As a seasoned producer with over a decade of experience under my belt, I’ve had the privilege of working at esteemed production houses such as Bavaria Film from 2005 and Hofmann & Voges Entertainment starting in 2007. During my tenure, I was instrumental in several projects, including “Streets of Berlin” and the award-winning “Tatort: Nie wieder frei sein,” which garnered both the Grimme Prize and German Television Crime Award.

In May 2010, I made a strategic move to X Filme Creative Pool, initially leading their TV department. My contributions there were significant, with nominations for the Grimme Award for productions like “Tatort – Die Wahrheit,” “Wunschkinder” and “Tatort – Unklare Lage.” I also oversaw the production of popular series such as “Babylon Berlin” and “Tina Mobil.” In 2021, I was appointed managing director at X Filme Creative Pool, a testament to my dedication and passion for quality storytelling.

I’ve had the privilege of producing internationally acclaimed series such as “Furia,” in collaboration with Monster Scripted (Norway), ZDF, and Viaplay. This series made its debut in the competition of Series Mania Festival in 2021. More recently, I teamed up with True Content Entertainment (Denmark), Epo Film (Austria), ZDF, DR, and New8 to produce “Other People’s Money,” a German-Danish series that premiered in Panorama at this year’s Berlinale festival.

Polle is deputy chairman of the TV section of the German Producers Alliance.

Hofmann stated: “I’ve been acquainted with Michael since 2005, when he created ‘Streets of Berlin’ at Hofmann & Voges. Since then, we’ve kept in touch. Now, we believe the moment is ripe for us to collaborate once more. Our shared vision for projects and production in general makes this an ideal opportunity. We both aim to operate independently and focus on content and creative collaborations. We value and nurture very intimate relationships with exceptional talents. For us, quality takes precedence over quantity, and we aspire to be the go-to choice for partners who hold similar values.

Polle stated: “Our goal has always been to construct a space where creatives can collaborate, creating something unique and meaningful together. This encompasses stories that stir emotions, challenge norms, yet remain audience-focused – whether for cinema or streaming/TV. Our work spans from local to global productions. Essentially, we aim to bring our shared story vision to life, launching it globally from Germany. Mischa and I had already agreed on this back in the Hofmann & Voges era, and now, we’ve both returned to this ideal in a beautiful full circle.

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2025-06-05 11:48