Rainer Matsutani, a renowned and multifaceted film and television director from Germany, boasts an impressive array of credits across various genres.
His directorial debut, the campy fantasy comedy "Over My Dead Body" (1995),was a feature film he helmed while still in film school, and it went on to garner numerous awards at festivals, ultimately achieving cult status among fans.
In 1996, Matsutani ventured into the realm of science fiction, directing an episode of the mini-series "LEXX - THE DARK ZONE" (Episode: "EATING PATTERN") for the US Pay TV channel SHOWTIME.
The director's affinity for fantasy films continued with the direction of "THE ELEVATOR - SUPERNATURAL ENCOUNTER" (1997/RTL) and "FIREWALKER - CURSE OF THE VOLCANO" (1998/ProSieben).
Subsequently, Matsutani directed Germany's first martial arts TV movie, "ULTIMATE FIGHTER" (1999, ProSieben),before creating the suspense thriller "TRICKED" (Sat1),which became the most successful TV movie of 2000.
He then scored a theatrical hit with another fantasy comedy, "666 - SLEEPING WITH THE DEVIL".
Between 2003 and 2005, Matsutani crafted the thriller trilogy "THE VOICES", "UNFAITHFUL", and "ONCE YOU WERE SILENT", which became one of the biggest rating hits for RTL.
The director's work in the thriller genre was further solidified with the Tatortepisodes "THE ETERNAL EVIL" and "LETHAL COVER".
Matsutani's subsequent projects included large event films for television, such as "RAGING INFERNO" (2007/ProSieben),"THE FINAL PROCLAMATION" (2008/RTL),"FAKTOR 8" (2009/ProSieben),and "WILD LAND" (2013/Sat1).
In between these projects, Matsutani worked in the theatrical field again, directing "GANGS" (2009) and "205 - ROOM OF FEAR" (2012).
As a regular director on the crime series "SOKO STUTTGART" (ZDF) since 2010 and "DR. KLEIN" (ZDF) since 2014, Matsutani has accumulated extensive experience in the field of serial television.
Notably, he was both creator/show-runner and director on the international sci-fi series "SPIDES" (2020/NBC Universal),and has been a writer or co-writer on almost all of his projects.
Person Biography:
Rainer Matsutani is a German film and television director, born and raised in Germany. He began his career in the film industry while still in film school, directing his first feature film "Over My Dead Body" in 1995. Since then, he has directed numerous films and television shows across various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, thriller, and martial arts. Matsutani has worked on several successful projects, including the thriller trilogy "THE VOICES", "UNFAITHFUL", and "ONCE YOU WERE SILENT", and has been a regular director on the crime series "SOKO STUTTGART" and "DR. KLEIN".
