Sommerhaus Filmproduktion was founded in 2006 by Jochen Laube in Ludwigsburg. Key projects included Heide and Christian Schwochow’s prizewinning film NOVEMBERKIND and Niko Apel’s Grimme Award-winning documentary SONBOL. While Laube was working as a producer with UFA Fiction together with Fabian Maubach from 2008 to 2015, the company was inactive. At UFA Fiction, Laube and Maubach were responsible for audience hits like Elena von Saucken and Florian Cossen’s THE DAY I WAS NOT BORN, demanding arthouse cinema like Anna and Dietrich Brüggemann’s STATIONS OF THE CROSS (winner of the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the 2014 Berlinale), political cinema like Martin Behnke and Burhan Qurbani’s WE ARE YOUNG. WE ARE STRONG. (nominated for the 2015 German Film Award, Golden Lola for Joel Basman), internationally-acclaimed documentaries like EAT THAT QUESTION: FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS (Sundance Film Festival 2016), and international co-productions like Elena von Saucken and Florian Cossen’s COCONUT HERO.

Since 2015, Jochen Laube and Fabian Maubach have jointly headed Sommerhaus Filmproduktion. In addition to Thomas Stuber’s IN THE AISLES (2018 Berlinale Competition, 2018 German Film Award for Best Actor, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury 2018 Berlinale, Gilde Film Award 2018 Berlinale, German Screenplay Award 2015), their projects to date include Dominik Graf’s highly successful SWR Tatort episode DER ROTE SCHATTEN, broadcast in October 2017 and with nearly 10 million viewers, Sandra Nettelbeck’s WHAT DOESN’T KILL US (world premiere Piazza Grande Locarno 2018), and in 2019, Katharina Eyssen’s Netflix series HOLIDAY SECRETS directed by Samira Radsi.

WHEN HITLER STOLE PINK RABBIT, directed by Caroline Link and based on Judith Kerr’s semi-autobiographical novel, has attracted over a million cinemagoers since its launch at Christmas, 2019. It was awarded the Bavarian and the German Film Prize for Best Children’s Film.

Burhan Qurbani’s adaptation of Alfred Döblin’s famous novel BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ celebrated its world premiere at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival. The film received 5 Lolas at the German Film Awards – for Best Production Design, Best Film Score, Best Cinematography, Best Male Supporting Role and a silver Lola in the category Best Feature Film. At the European Film Awards composer Dascha Dauenhauer won the EFA Excellence Award for European Original Score.

Maggie Peren’s romantic comedy HELLO AGAIN – A WEDDING A DAY was shown in the cinema in 2020 and Sebastian Marka’s science fiction film EXIT, nominated for the Grimme Prize, was shown in the main programme of ARD. In 2021, the series ICH BIN SOPHIE SCHOLL directed by Tom Lass became the most successful fictional German format on Instagram to date. In May 2022, the two BARCELONA KRIMIS directed by Carolina Hellsgård ensured high ratings on ARD.

The historical series THE EMPRESS by showrunner Katharina Eyssen, directed by Katrin Gebbe and Florian Cossen, has been available on Netflix since September 2022 and topped the global ranking of non-English language series after its launch. Shortly before the 2022 World Cup, the international TV series THE NET – PROMISED LAND about the mafia dealings behind football, directed by Rick Ostermann, was released on ARD. At the beginning of December 2022, the new collaboration with Thomas Stuber DARK SATELLITES was released in the cinema.

Jochen Laube, alumni of the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, completed his studies with the feature film URLAUB VOM LEBEN (2005, director, Neele Volmar). In 2006 he founded Sommerhaus Filmproduktion, with which he produced films such as NOVEMBERKIND (2008, director Christian Schwochow) and Grimme Prize-winning documentary, SONBOL. 

From 2008 to 2015, Jochen Laube was a producer for teamWorx, later UFA Fiction, and headed up its production office in Ludwigsburg. 

During this time he produced numerous award-winning cinema and television films, including Dietrich Brüggemann’s STATIONS OF THE CROSS, awarded the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the 2014 Berlinale, as well as the 2012 International Emmy-nominated mini-series, “BARON MÜNCHAUSEN”. He also produced Burhan Qurbani’s WE ARE YOUNG. WE ARE STRONG. for UFA Fiction, which was screened at the Rome and Tribeca international film festivals and nominated for a Lola at the 2016 German Film Awards 2016, Best Film category.

Most recently he produced the German-Canadian co-production COCONUT HERO (2014, directed by Florian Cossen) for UFA Fiction, as well as the documentary EAT THAT QUESTION – FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS (2015, directed by Thorsten Schütte), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

In 2015 Jochen Laube and Fabian Maubach resumed production activities together under the umbrella of Sommerhaus Filmproduktion GmbH. 

Jochen Laube was appointed to the Producers on the Move programme in Cannes in 2013, is a member of the German Film Academy and was also part of its First Steps jury. He teaches production at the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy and is also the initiator and curator of the Ludwigsburg film festival “Lichtspielliebe”.

Fabian Maubach, born in Cologne, first studied politics and sociology at the Humboldt University of Berlin, and then at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg. His graduate diploma film, THE DAY I WAS NOT BORN (2009, director Florian Cossen), was shot entirely in Buenos Aires, Argentina and won numerous national and international awards. It was his first collaboration with Jochen Laube.

This collaboration continued from 2009 onwards with UFA Fiction, formerly teamWorx Ludwigsburg, where among other things he was producer of the feature film 5 YEARS (2011) – directed by Stefan Schaller  and winner of the Thomas Strittmatter Prize – about the fate of Guantanamo prisoner Murat Kurnaz, Dietrich Brüggemann’s first big arthouse success, 3 ZIMMER/KÜCHE/BAD (2012) and

DIE UNSICHTBARE (2011), directed by Christian Schwochow. He also produced the German-Canadian co-production COCONUT HERO (2015), again directed by Florian Cossen. 

In 2015 Fabian Maubach joined Sommerhaus Filmproduktion GmbH alongside Jochen Laube. 

Fabian Maubach is a member of the ACE Producers network as well as the German and European Film Academy.