Producer Michael Souvignier is to be awarded the 2026 Carl Laemmle Producer’s Prize. This was announced by the Production Alliance. With this honour, the industry is recognising a producer who has had a decisive influence on the German film and television landscape for decades and who embodies a production ethos that prioritises creative autonomy and long-term content development.

Souvignier is one of Germany’s leading producers. Through his production company, Zeitsprung Pictures, he has been responsible for numerous cinema, television and streaming productions. His best-known works include, amongst others, the multi-award-winning biopic *Lieber Thomas* about the writer Thomas Brasch, as well as the Netflix series *Kleo*, which also attracted international attention.

The jury for the Carl Laemmle Producer Award particularly highlights Souvignier’s unwavering focus on the quality of content and his willingness to drive projects forward out of his own conviction. In an industry increasingly shaped by market demands, platform strategies and financial constraints, his work embodies the classic role of the producer as a creative entrepreneur and independent artist.

The Carl Laemmle Producer Award is regarded as one of the most prestigious awards for film producers in Germany. It honours the German-born film producer Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Studios and one of the defining figures of the early film industry.

With this award, Souvignier joins the ranks of distinguished recipients who have had a lasting impact on the German film and television market. The honour also highlights the importance of independent producers in the development of high-quality content within a changing media market.

For the German production industry, the award also sends out a clear message: there is still a demand for producers who take creative risks, develop their own material and take long-term responsibility for their projects. Qualities which, in the jury’s view, Michael Souvignier embodies in a special way.