Tajo Hurrle
Director & ScreenwriterNone of it happened, but all of it is true. You could probably say that about all of Tajo’s films. Whether it’s “A Fish in a Punch Powl,” in which a boy copes with his parents’ separation, or “The Purple Child,” in which a girl learns to distance herself from her depressed mother, or “I am Leo,” which talks about the feelings of a non-binary child facing their first period. Tajo’s films are personal and authentic and often speak to a young audience.
Tajo has learned how to do that through 16 years of making short films (they started at the age of eight), studying film and, more recently, the Academy for Children’s Media. Their films are festival favorites and are screened all over the world. Tajo touches both juries and audiences of all ages, as numerous awards show.
For a few years now, Tajo has known that they are non-binary and is exploring queer issues in their most recent works. It is important to them to create authentic queer representation, especially for children and youth. In order to develop concepts for this, Tajo received the STEP Author Scholarship from Hessen Film in 2022 and is now getting ready for their debut.
© photo: Marius Kast
Filmographie
ECHT (AT)
series | Studio Zentral
RAINBOW CHAMELEON (WT)
series (in development)
I AM LEO
short film | 18’ | University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt
THE PURPLE CHILD
short film | 17’ | University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt
A FISH IN A PUNCH BOWL
short film | 13’ | University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt
Education
2017 – 2021 Motion Pictures (B.A.) University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt
Awards
SCHOLARSHIPS
2021/22 Academy for Children’s Media
2021/22 STEP Author Scholarship HessenFilm und Medien
RAINOW CHAMELEON
Pitch Contest Gold Award Seriale Pro 2022
I AM LEO (selection)
Vancouver International Women in Film Festival 2022 – Best Short Film & Impact Award
BUFF Malmö Filmfestival 2022 – Region Skåne Short Film Award
Translations: Seattle Trans Film Festival 2022 – Special Mention Narrative Short
Bundesfestival Junger Film 2022 – Audience Award, Award for Socially Relevant Film, Acting Award for Sky Arndt
Bundes.Festival.Film 2022 – German Youth Film Award & Audience Award
THE PURPLE CHILD (selection)
Visionale Hessen 2020 – 1st prize Young Professionals
Sehsüchte International Student Film Festival 2021– Best Youth Film
A FISH IN A PUNSH BOWL (selection)
Bundes.Festival.Film 2019 – German Youth Film Award
Veracruz Short Film Festival 2019 – Best Student Short Film
Open Window Film Festival 2019 – Judge’s Special Mention
Brest European Short Film Festival 2019 – Special Mention „Prix des Écoles“
Visionale Hessen 2019 – 2.prize Young Professionals
Chhatrapati Shivaji Film Festival 2019 – Best Acting