Vanessa Jopp

Born in the German town Leonberg, Vanessa enrolled at The Munich Film School in 1993 - graduating in 1999 with a Film & TV degree. During that period, Vanessa already directed several short films and music videos and directed skits for the comedy series "The Weekly Show". After "Honolulu" (1999), a collaboration with five fellow students, Vanessa caused a stir with her first feature; the adolescent love triangle story "Forget America" (2000), that won the First Steps Award among several other prizes. Her next feature shortly followed with "Engel + Joe" (2001), based on a true story, written by the acclaimed German journalist Kai Hermann. After a successful stage adaptation of novel "Film B", and a TV stint, Vanessa's third feature "Happy as One" (2006) premiered at Berlinale and was nominated for Best Film at the German Film Awards. In 2007, Vanessa's "Messy Christmas", a star-studded ensemble comedy and a remake of the Swedish success "In Bed with Santa", was then released.