Julia Neuhaus
Directing
Biography
Julia Neuhaus is a German author and director based in Berlin. She develops both documentary and fictional projects, with a focus on immersive research and multi-layered narrative approaches. Neuhaus grew up in the Tyrolean Alps, completed her high school education in Munich, and trained as an actress—including at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Subsequently, she studied film at the Hamburg Media School. During her studies, she created the award-winning short films *STILLER LÖWE*, *HABIB UND DER HUND*, and *FEUERKIND*. These films were screened at international festivals and received numerous awards, including honors at the Festival de Cannes, the Aubagne Film Festival, and the Landshut Short Film Festival. In 2015, Neuhaus completed a directing internship with Matti Geschonneck for his film *Ein großer Aufbruch*. Additionally, she undertook extensive professional development in directing, storytelling, and acting technique—studying with mentors such as Sigrid Andersson and Robert McKee—and attended workshops on intimacy coordination in New York. In 2022, her documentary film *Das Ende der Welt wie wir sie kennen* (The End of the World As We Know It) premiered on the ARD network as the winner of the ARD Documentary Film Competition. The film follows three individuals as they navigate existential anxiety. Portions of the filming took place within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, in collaboration with cinematographer Nikolai von Graevenitz. The production was realized as a co-production involving several ARD broadcasters and received support from organizations such as MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein and the *Kuratorium junger deutscher Film* (Board for Young German Film). In 2022, Neuhaus received a screenplay development grant from the *Kuratorium junger deutscher Film* for her feature film project *EN PASSANT*. In 2023, she completed a directing shadowing placement on an episode of the crime series *Tatort*, directed by Mira Thiel. In 2024, she was awarded the Roger Willemsen Fellowship for her projects *ALMOST ROBOTS BUT STILL MISSING HOME* and *EN PASSANT*. Alongside her own film projects, Neuhaus also works as a story consultant, dramaturgical advisor, and acting coach for children. Among other projects, she supported the series *RESET – Wie weit würdest du gehen*, several RBB *Tatort* productions, the feature film *EVERYTIME* by Sandra Wollner, as well as *RAGING MOMS* by Sonja Heiss. In 2026, Julia Neuhaus is completing advanced training to become a certified acting coach under Sigrid Andersson.
Known For
After getting his cancer diagnosis, Holm decides to die in Switzerland. With a last big appearance he wants to say goodbye to his family. Holm invites family members and close friends to a dinner to review his successful life. But the evening is not a wistful-emotional family reunion, but a settlement with the head of the family. Old wounds break open, long kept secrets come to light, the different views of the people, the others and the life leads to hard argument and to many a surprise.
Ein großer Aufbruch
Poor Bibi - due to her bad marks in maths she has to spend the whole summer in the boarding school of Altenberg to scrape through a series of exams - otherwise she'd stay down in school, being forced to repeat the year. No camping, no white-water rafting, no vacation at all. So it doesn't surprise anyone that the young witch is quite disgruntled when arriving at Altenberg Castle. Her roommate is a touchy unpleassant fashion victim and headmaster Quirin Bartels is so muddle-headed that he can't even remember the names of his students properly. But then Bibi makes friends with Elea, a girl wheelchair-bound since a terrible accident where she also lost her beloved parents. Now Bibi is determined to help the sensitive Elea, searching a way to heal her from her palsy legs.
Bibi Blocksberg and the Secret of Blue Owls
Damn it, life isn't kind to Hansi: his wife dies in a mountain accident. The cheerful Tyrolean becomes a taciturn man. Only the pretty radio presenter Christl manages to melt the widower's frozen heart – up in the mountain hut. Reason enough for Hansi's adversary Viktoria to sabotage the young couple's happiness...
Da wo die Herzen schlagen
A little African boy loses his family during an LRA rebel attack on his village. Everything is burning. Years later Sharif lives in a refugee home in Germany. When he falls in love with Jacky, a German girl, he has to face the shadows of his past once again.
Feuerkind
Deaf Severin dives into the night: the pulse of the bass, the swaying heat of the dancers, a beautiful girl. She doesn't understand his sign language. But later that night, he must be understood if he doesn't want to go under.
Stiller Löwe
What would we do if the world ended tomorrow? And what do we do to prevent it? "The End of the World As We Know It" is a film about three people who seek survival in the face of great catastrophes: in a bunker far from civilization, in the contaminated Chernobyl exclusion zone, and as a scientist fighting the climate crisis.