Markus Blunder

Markus Blunder is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, advertising director and photographer best known for his stylized visuals and emotionally true character portrayals. Born in Austria, Markus commenced his career by assisting on The Neverending Story - Germany's highest-budgeted film at the time - before moving on to assist a number of major US film productions including Jewel of the Nile and Enemy Mine. After two of his short films won Silver and Bronze at the Houston World Fest, he joined David Fincher's famed Propaganda Films in Hollywood where he went on to win several awards - including Billboard's Best Director and Best Music Video - for his work with over 40 popular artists such as Shania Twain, En Vogue, Des'ree, Texas, Gipsy Kings, Slayer and Marc Cohn. Following his success in music videos, Markus segued into the world of commercials and quickly established himself - according to the Saatchi and Saatchi New Directors Showcase - as "one of the world's hottest new directors". He has directed award-winning global campaign spots for a wide range of prestigious clients including Lexus, Mercedes, Audi, American Express, Nintendo, Mitsubishi, T-Online and the Minsheng Bank of China among many others. After topping his commercial career with two films for the Sochi Winter Olympics bid which contributed to Russia's final win, Markus co-founded Kombat Films in Rio de Janeiro, which has since grown into a successful commercial production house. In 2009, Markus co-founded Austria-based film production company DreamRunner Pictures with Ingvar Thordarson, one of Europe's most prolific indie film producers and Icelandic lawyer and entrepreneur Gisli Gislason. In 2013, he went on to co-write, produce and direct his debut feature, Autumn Blood, winner of Best Picture at both the San Diego and Hollywood Film Festivals, leading to the film's release by Netflix. Autumn Blood also won the Best Picture and Best Director awards at the 2014 Molins de Rei Horror Film Festival.