Writer-director with a penchant for surrealism and dark humor.
Leander Behal (b. 1998 in Berlin, Germany) is a director and screenwriter with a particular fondness for surrealism, magical realism and dark humor. In 2022, his 9-minute short "Taximan" opened the renowned Hof International Film Festival and won its Audience Award for Best Short Film. His latest outing "Heartware" (2024) is an offbeat sci-fi short about androids working in a retrofuturistic ice cream parlor.
Formerly a student of Film Studies at the Free University of Berlin, Leander currently studies Directing Fiction under the tutelage of Maren Ade ("Toni Erdmann") and Nico Hofmann at the Filmakademie Baden-Würtemberg in Ludwigsburg.
  • Director (8 Credits)
    Heartware2024
    Short, Student
    Automat2022
    Short, Student
    Can You Bow?2022
    Documentary, Feature, Student
    Taximan2022
    Short, Student
    Murderface2020
    Short, Student
    From the Cradle to the Grave2018
    Short
    Out of the Shell2017
    Short, Student
    Plenty of Fish in the Sea2017
    Short, Student
  • Writer (6 Credits)
    Automat2022
    Short, Student
    Taximan2022
    Short, Student
    Murderface2020
    Short, Student
    From the Cradle to the Grave2018
    Short
    Out of the Shell2017
    Short, Student
    Plenty of Fish in the Sea2017
    Short, Student
  • Producer (5 Credits)
    Can You Bow?2022
    Documentary, Feature, Student
    Taximan2022
    Short, Student
    Murderface2020
    Short, Student
    From the Cradle to the Grave2018
    Short
    Out of the Shell2017
    Short, Student
Official Selection
Heartware
7. Filmkreis Shorts
Darmstadt
2025
Official Selection
Heartware
37. [ki'ta:so]-Filmabend
Erlangen
2025
Best Production Design (winner) & Best Sound Design (nominated)
Heartware
Watersprite Film Festival
Cambridge
2025
Audience Award
Heartware
Blende Eins - Shortfilmfest Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
2024
Official Selection
Heartware
30th Filmschau Baden-Württemberg
Stuttgart
2024
Official Selection
Heartware
58th Hof International Film Festival
Hof
2024
Audience Short Film Award
Taximan
Hof International Film Festival
Hof
2022
Official Selection
Murderface
IM.KASTEN Kurzfilmfestival
Lüneburg
2022
Official Selection
Murderface
Bundesfestival junger Film
Saarbrücken
2021
Official Selection
Murderface
Werkstatt der jungen Filmszene
Wiesbaden
2021
Official Selection
Murderface
Filmfest Bremen
Bremen
2021
Deutscher Jugendfilmpreis (nominated)
Murderface
Bundes.Festival.Film
Wuppertal
2021
Best Thriller International
Murderface
Austrian Filmfestival
Vienna
2021
Nomination
Murderface
Camgaroo Award
Munich
2020
Bronze Medal
From the Cradle to the Grave
BFF FICTION Kurzfilmfestival Schrobenhausen
Schrobenhausen
2020
2nd Prize
From the Cradle to the Grave
35. VIDEOGRAFIKA
Winterbach
2019
Official Selection
From the Cradle to the Grave
Camgaroo Award
Munich
2019
Official Selection
From the Cradle to the Grave
Deutscher Jugendfilmpreis
Hildesheim
2019
Official Selection
Out of the Shell
Austrian Filmfestival
Vienna
2019
Official Selection
Plenty of Fish in the Sea
Procida Film Festival
Procida
2018
Special Mention
Plenty of Fish in the Sea
CICI Film Festival
Castellammare del Golfo
2017
Official Selection
Out of the Shell
In-Short FILM Festival
Lagos
2017
College
Free University of Berlin
Film Studies
20162021
College
Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
Directing Fiction
2021
Birth Date
July 30, 1998
Birth City
Berlin
Current City
Ludwigsburg
Hometown
Berlin
Height
181cm
Gender
Male
Ethnicity
Caucasian
Eye Color
Brown
Writer-director with a penchant for surrealism and dark humor.
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