Max Gleschinski was born in 1993 in Rostock, where he is still based. He completed a Bachelor’s degree in English/American Studies and Philosophy at the Universität Rostock in 2017 and is largely self-taught as a filmmaker, having worked in media education at the Institut für Neue Medien Rostock from 2012 before establishing his own practice. His debut feature Kahlschlag (2018, Von Anfang Anders Filmproduktion), which he also wrote, launched his career with immediate critical recognition: it won Best Film at the Prague Youth Film Festival, Best Film at the Camgaroo Award, and the Förderpreis Neues Deutsches Kino at the Hofer Filmtage, among other international prizes. The film’s ensemble performance was recognised with the Deutscher Schauspielpreis for Best Actor in a Lead Role in 2020.

His follow-up feature Alaska (Wood Water Films/ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel, 2022) marked a significant next step in his career. It won the Max Ophüls Preis for Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Actress (Milena Dreißig), and Special Mention Best Screenplay at Achtung Berlin, the NDR Director Award at the Filmkunstfest Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Best Film at the Neisse Film Festival, and was nominated for the First Steps Award for Feature Film, the Rheingold Audience Award at the Festival des Deutschen Films, and the German Screenwriting Award.

Max’s first major television commission was the NDR Polizeiruf 110 – Tu es! (Filmpool Fiction, 2024), set in his hometown of Rostock, for which he went on to direct two further films. Max works as a writer, director and producer, continuing to promote his home region through his work while developing and financing new film projects.