Thorsten Fleisch was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1972. He began experimenting with Super 8 film while at highschool where he also exhibited his first film, a Super 8 loop (see below).

After highschool and community service in an institution for the mentally ill he went to Marburg to study art, music and media at Phillips Universität. one year later he changed to the Städelschule in Frankfurt/Main in order to study film with prof. Peter Kubelka. there he started working with 16mm film.

Shortly after his studies at the Städelschule he made 'Blutrausch / Bloodlust' which not only got him a lot of attention but also the Ann Arbor filmcoop award.

He received several grants among them a grant from the Filmbüro NW, Filmförderungsanstalt and a grant from the Museum of Contemporary Cinema.

For 'Gestalt' he received an honorary mention at the Prix Ars Electronica the number one festival for computer related art.

His films have been screened at film festivals wordwide including New York Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival, Transmediale, Int. Film Festival Rotterdam, European Media Art Festival, Melbourne Int. Film Festival and many more.

Red Bull, Gaspar Noé, Basement Jaxx and Prenzlauer Berlinale have comissioned work.

For the Ann Arbor Film Festival, Vienna Shorts and Punto Y Raya he has been a jury member.

He now lives and works in Berlin.

Contact: totz(at)gmx.de

Some opinions on his films:

... Friendly Fire (2003) literally burned what you could see, and it was the light of the fire, the projector's beam, that played out in stunning violence onscreen. With so much attention dedicated to the preservation of film, Friendly Fire proposed a cathartic alternative: Ruined figures of melted celluloid and crackling ash. In death film comes alive, more vital, reborn by the very forces that destroy it.
[Genevieve Yue 'Senses of Cinema']

... this beautifully crafted and shaped film is an exhilerating piece of visual music. The images speak poetically of a merging of technology, projected light, and the human body. The extreme close-ups remind us of the fragility and beauty which covers our bodies.
[David Finkelstein 'Film Threat' on 'Hautnah']

... everyone in the jury did agree that Gestalt displayed a spectacular use of fractal set techniques. Fleisch shows exceptional deftness in assembling a series of algorithmic transformations that are beautiful and really visually interesting.
[Jury of the Prix Ars Electronica 2003 on 'Gestalt']