Terra Mater Studios

From manufacturing screws, nuts, bolts and bicycle parts in rural German Sauerland to working in a cabaret and variety theater, Michael finally found a path to his real vocation in the glorious world of film.
During his Berlin-years, he was co-founder, shareholder and General Manager of three German production companies. Michael benefits from 23 years of experience, filming in more than 18 countries around the world, producing and line producing numerous German & international feature films/TV productions.

In 2012, he entered the world of Terra Mater Studios and inhabited that world for 4 years, where he helped in producing the feature films ‘Brothers of the Wind’, ‘MindGamers’ and ‘The Ivory Game’.
For whatever reason, he thought it was better to return to Berlin. Whilst there, he serviced the feature film ‘Suspiria’ and worked on other projects. In the early dawn of 2018, he realized that his heart only beats for TMS and Michael was allowed back, despite being known for a very dubious sense of German humor.

In 2016, Michael was selected to participate in the well renowned, international industry program, Inside Pictures, where he is now a very happy alumni. Michael is also member of the European Film Academy and the Austrian Film Academy.

In October 2021 Michael became Managing Director at the newly founded subsidiary Terra Mater Studios Germany.

In 2017 Nina started as Office Assistant at Terra Mater Studios, only half a year later she joined the Features & Special Projects Department to take on some more challenges. There, she is providing support to the production team from Feature Doc to Giant Screen and Special Projects – Nina completes every task very diligently and with a lot of angelic patience for her colleagues. She keeps track of little details and loves to be organized.

Furthermore, she recently took on the responsibility as Sustainability Manager, to start the process of making TMS a sustainable and green production company.

Before joining TMS, Nina finished her M.A. Degree in Theatre-, Film- and Media Studies in Vienna, Helsinki and Amsterdam and also attended “Die Graphische“, the Austrian Federal Education and Research Institute for Graphics, so she can easily combine theory with creativity. In her spare time, she loves to get out into nature with her dog and spend time with family.

Wolfgang joined Terra Mater Studios in 2013 and since then he played an important part in producing several award-winning natural history documentaries. Among others he produced the Oscar-shortlisted feature documentary “The Ivory Game” and the Sundance Audience Award-winner “Sea of Shadows”.
Before joining TMS, he was a key member on many projects for international broadcasters like the BBC, National Geographic, Discovery, WNET, ORF-UNIVERSUM, France5, ZDF, NDR etc.

His experience in film making not only covers documentaries: he also produced video clips for Queen, Falco etc. and worked on TV-Series like “Inspector Rex” and feature films like “Funny Games” by Michael Haneke.
Wolfgang brings his flair and creativity to his work. He is able to advise and recommend on every aspect of production: be it complex post production routes, or moving a film crew through some of the remotest and toughest places on Earth.

Kerstin has joined Terra Mater Studios in 2019, after travelling the world, studying and gaining work experience in the UK, France and Australia. Kerstin holds a BA degree in Theater-, Film- and Media-Studies.

As a production coordinator, Kerstin pulls the strings together for productions across all time zones. As a fast and creative thinker, she always has a good idea up her sleeve and will find solutions to any problem thrown her way. To her delight, working in the Features and Special Projects Department has also allowed Kerstin to live out her passion and talent for format and content development.

In her spare time, you will find Kerstin cycling, hiking or clubbing with friends, making music and of course very productively ”researching the market“ whilst watching Netflix.

Markus works as an Executive Producer at Terra Mater Studios where he focuses on the development of new television formats.

Before joining TMS, Markus worked as a chief editor and presenter of the television science program “Newton”, at the Austrian Public Broadcaster ORF. Prior to that, Markus worked as live reporter and editor for several editorial offices such as the daily news program at the ORF among others. Markus started his career as a journalist as a radio editor and news presenter in Salzburg.

He has a university degree (University Graz (A) / Williams College (USA)) and a deep interest and fascination in all things science. Markus considers his live attendance at the 2008 CERN LHC particle collider activation as one of his all time favorite and moving experiences. When Markus is not being moved by particle physics and not working on the development of new television formats, he passes his time with his family, exercises for the Großglockner mountain run, produces digital works of scientific art and ponders on possibilities on how he could sometime squash the Dive Master qualification in between.

Josepha, Sustainability Manager and Production Coordinator at Terra Mater Studios, grew up in Vienna and made her first step into the film industry by successfully completing an acting school in Vienna. She then went on to complete a Bachelor-Degree in Film-Media and Theatre Sciences at the University of Vienna. After graduating, Josepha decided to change positions and work behind the camera, where she curated and helped produce and organize several film festivals. She continued her career at two film productions in Berlin & Vienna, working as a Production Assistant and Junior Producer, respectively.

Being responsible for various topics simultaneously, Josepha daily challenges herself by continuously learning, creating and connecting people. Growing up in a multicultural family, as half Chiliean and half Austrian, she has always been keen on speaking different languages and getting to know various cultures.

Working as the film production coordinator at Terra Mater Studios she constantly motivates her to discover more and gain substantial knowledge on an expert level regarding film production. Lately, Josepha started supporting Nina Holler in the „green department“ to start the process of making TMS a sustainable and green production company.

Sarah balances ambition, determination and efficiency with her creativity and enthusiasm for engaging content. She tackles problems with her lateral thinking and enjoys coming up with innovative solutions.

Sarah’s film career spans from Alaska to Far East Russia. Her passion for impact-driven storytelling led her to join Terra Mater Studios as producer for non-scripted and scripted content. She has been making her directorial debut with ORCA – BLACK & WHITE GOLD, an award-winning docu-thriller on the marine mammal entertainment industry.

Sarah’s professional career includes lecturing on film production at the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences. She is the chairwoman of the board for the International Screen Institute, a European training initiative for media, film, and television.