Alex did NOT find a dusty Super 8 camera in his grandfather's attic. He wasn't one of those prodigy directors filming cinematic masterpieces before they could walk.
In fact, he couldn't have cared less about cameras. Instead, he was deeply devoted to the piano, perfectly uninterested in being one of those Super 8 wunderkinder. (Honestly, where are all those legendary childhood films anyway, you little Kubricks?) It wasn’t until he was 18 that he finally bought a camera to shoot a single vacation video—and that was pretty much the peak of his early career. He then spent a year traveling through Oceania, captured hours of footage, and—in true visionary fashion—never bothered to edit a single frame of it.
His pivot to filmmaking finally happened while studying to be a classical pianist. His first short film as a DoP was a chaotic five-day shoot during which he discovered—to his genuine surprise on day one—that things like "storyboards" actually exist. Long story short: he had absolutely no clue what he was doing.
Naturally, the film ended up screening at Camerimage. Taking this as a sign to keep going, Alex eventually decided it might be time to actually learn how to make a "good" film and enrolled at the Filmakademie—right after graduating from his classical piano studies with the highest possible honors.
His third-year film, "Josh & Jacob", became a huge success. It won the Newcomer Award at the German Advertising Film Award (Deutscher Werbefilmpreis) and received many international awards, including Gold at the Young Director Award, a Shark Award, and several Gold awards at the New York Advertising Awards, AICP, and the Andy Awards.
These awards allowed him to start working in the industry and led to the creation of the charity film "If I Could Fly," which deals with the traumas experienced by children affected by war and displacement. The project involved over 500 team members and an Oscar-winning special effects team led by Gerd Nefzer (Blade Runner 2049, Dune). The film won numerous awards worldwide and raised $10,000 for the charity Voices of Children.