Career
Thoke began his career as an on-air promotion producer for the German broadcaster RTL 2 and the German-French broadcaster Arte. From 1996 to 2002, he was part of the management at German production companies Bavaria Film, TaunusFilm, and CineMedia. At Taunusfilm, he oversaw international production activities, including the Los Angeles office, while at CineMedia, he was involved in film acquisitions such as What Women Want.
During this time, Thoke co-produced Little Senegal (2001), directed by Rachid Bouchareb. The film ran in competition at the Berlinale and was Algeria's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 73rd Academy Awards. He also produced Lubov and Other Nightmares (Sundance 2002), Planet B: The Antman, and Detective Lovelorn and the Revenge of the Pharaoh (both Berlinale 2002).
In 2003, Thoke founded the production company Thoke + Moebius Film (TMF) with Axel Moebius. Through TMF, he co-produced several notable arthouse films, including Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Tropical Malady, which won the Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, and Bruno Dumont's Twentynine Palms, which received regional funding in Hesse and premiered in competition at Venice 2003. He also co-produced The Buffalo Boy (Vietnam's Oscar entry) and The Wedding Chest (Kyrgyzstan's Oscar entry).
In 2007, Thoke founded his own production outfit, Mogador Film. Its first major project was Lorna's Silence, directed by the Dardenne brothers, which won Best Screenplay at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. In 2020, he co-produced the Iranian drama There Is No Evil (directed by Mohammad Rasoulof), which won the Golden Bear at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival.
A 2025 profile by Filmhaus Frankfurt described Thoke's producing approach as that of an "ambassador of world cinema" and a "bridge builder." His continuous focus on international collaborations, particularly with Asian countries, was established during the early 2010s at markets like the Indian Film Bazaar. Together with the Frankfurt-based company Stoked Film (Sebastian Popp) and renowned Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua (Potocol), Thoke's Mogador Film is producing the Indian refugee drama The Clouds Woke No Clocks (directed by Aniket Dutta). The film received production funding of €120,000 from Hessen Film & Medien in 2025. In 2025, Thoke also co-produced the Bangladeshi short film Nishi: A Tea Girl, which won the Student Film Award at the Environmental Media Awards (EMA).
An example of his approach to bridging international cinema is the Bangladeshi-German co-production The Blind Girl and an Elephant (2026). After meeting the filmmakers at the Film Bazaar in India, Thoke joined director Ishtiyak Ahmad Zihad's debut feature as an associate producer. His involvement was instrumental in transforming the project into an international co-production and supporting its post-production phase leading up to its premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival. At the festival, the film won the Best Cinematography award in the Asian New Talent competition. In November 2026, the film was selected for both debut competitions at the Camerimage International Film Festival in Toruń, Poland, entering the Directors' Debuts Competition as well as the Cinematographers' Debuts Competition. In 2026, he co-produced another Bangladeshi project, the 15-minute short film Subal, directed by Nahid Hasan. The film was officially selected for the Asian Eye section of the Oscar-qualifying Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF). Notably, the project marked a family collaboration, with his son Yannic Thoke serving as associate producer.
His production The Tower of Strength (Obraz, 2024) enjoyed a successful international festival run in 2025. At its North American premiere at the San Diego International Film Festival, the film won the Audience Award. The film also won Best Screenplay at the Zaragoza International Film Festival and was selected for the "Awards Buzz" section at the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival, which highlights the world's best international feature films.
In total, films produced or co-produced by Thoke have been invited to more than 1,000 international film festivals and have won over 250 awards globally.
Academic roles
Thoke serves as an Honorary Professor at the film academy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, supporting local auteur cinema. For over a decade, he has acted as an expert evaluator for the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the European Commission.
He frequently serves as a jury member at international film festivals across Europe and Asia. Besides the main jury at the Zagreb Film Festival (2015), which awarded its top prize to the Oscar-winning film Son of Saul, he has served on the jury at the Art Film Fest in Košice, Slovakia, the NDR Film Prize jury at the Nordic Film Days Lübeck, the Džada Film Festival in Montenegro, the LET'S CEE Film Festival in Austria, and the Tamil Nadu Film Festival in India. Additionally, he serves as a jury member for the German Film and Media Review (FBW) in Wiesbaden, an institution responsible for evaluating films for national certification, and has served on the jury for the Atelier de Tétouan at the Tétouan Mediterranean Film Festival in Morocco.
He has extensive experience as a project consultant and industry expert, appearing at events such as the pitch and feedback sessions at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. His tutoring background also includes work with the Producers Network at the Cannes Film Festival, MedaFilmsDevelopment in Marrakech, the Babylon Feature Film Project Development Workshop, and the Rotterdam Lab. Thoke is a member of the European Film Academy and the Deutsche Filmakademie (German Film Academy).
Industry Panels and Workshops
Beyond his jury and producing work, Thoke has regularly participated as a consultant, tutor, and panelist at international film markets and industry events. These include the Producers Network at the Cannes Film Festival, the Rotterdam Lab, MedaFilmsDevelopment in Marrakech, and the Babylon Feature Film Project Development Workshop. He is also active in academic training, serving as a mentor at the Eco Film Lab of the International Academy of Film and Media (IAFM).
| Year | Event | Location | Role | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Indian Film Bazaar |  Goa, India | Advisor / buyer | |
| c. 2012 | Nepal Cine-Symposium |  Kathmandu, Nepal | Lecturer / advisor | |
| 2015 | Pitch & Feedback Session, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival |  Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic | Consultant | |
| 2017 | LET'S CEE Industry Days |  Vienna, Austria | Panelist | |
| 2021 | India-UK Co-Production Panel, Cannes Film Festival |  Cannes, France | Panelist | |
| ongoing | Creative Europe MEDIA Programme |  Brussels, Belgium | Expert evaluator |
Jury Work
| Year | Festival | Location | Role | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Dubai International Film Festival |  Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Jury member | |
| 2010 | Durban International Film Festival |  Durban, South Africa | Jury member | |
| 2014 | Nordic Film Days Lübeck (NDR Film Prize) |  Lübeck, Germany | Jury member | |
| 2015 | Zagreb Film Festival |  Zagreb, Croatia | Main jury | |
| 2016 | Mediteran Film Festival |  Široki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina | Jury member | |
| 2017 | LET'S CEE Film Festival | Vienna, Austria | Jury member | |
| 2018 | Art Film Fest |  Košice, Slovakia | Main jury | |
| 2023 | Atelier de Tétouan |  Tétouan, Morocco | Jury member | |
| 2024 | Džada Film Festival |  Montenegro | Jury member | |
| 2024 | Taunus Film Festival (Taunale) | Oberursel, Germany | Jury member | |
| 2024 | Tamil Nadu Film Festival | Tamil Nadu, India | Jury member | |
| 2025 | Transilvania International Film Festival |  Cluj-Napoca, Romania | Jury member | |
| ongoing | German Film and Media Review (FBW) | Wiesbaden, Germany | Jury member |
