Ulrich Köhler was born in Marburg in 1969. As a child, he lived for several years in Zaire, where his parents worked as development aid workers. He studied Art in Quimper (France) and then Psychology in Hamburg. Later he studied Visual Communications at the Academy of Fine Arts. His first two short films were shot at that time. His feature films "Bungalow" (Berlinale Panorama 2002) and "Windows on Monday" (Berlinale Forum 2006) were shown at several festivals in Germany and abroad and received several awards. His new feature film "Sleeping Sickness" is celebrating its premiere in competition at the 61st International Film Festival Berlin.

His new feature film "Sleeping Sickness" celebrated its premiere in competition at the 61st International Film Festival Berlin and won the Silver Bear for Best Director.