PICHU PRODUCTIONS

Michael Wigge and Mathias Upton Hansen founded their company in 1999 after they had recorded a travel documentary on the Inca town of Machu Picchu in Peru. Since then, they have extended their production team and are based in Berlin and Cologne.

As a small and innovative team, they have so far been producing TV comedy shows, travel and culture documentaries and radio features. Their goal is to develop new formats that combine information and entertainment at a high standard. They usually work satirically and cover edgy and non-mainstream topics. Their work is characterised by Wigge’s unconventional way of presenting and conducting interviews.

Michael Wigge

I was born on 23/09/76. A little later, I studied film & TV production in London. That’s where I met Mathias and Till to start our team. I was the one presenting and making decisions about the direction of previous projects. My main interests are focused on producing and presenting comedy and travel formats. As a result of combining these two styles, I am developing unique, entertaining and informative travel programs. Monty Python (UK), Howard Stern (US) and Harald Schmidt (Germany) are, of course, my role models in the field of comedy; when it comes to documentaries, there are Louis Theroux (UK), Donald McIntyre (UK) and Gerd Ruge (Germany).

Dominik Stahl

I was born on the 14th of January in tranquil Constance. After I passed my A-levels, I self-produced several short films and was drawn into the world of TV. In the beginning I used to work for BMW’s TV program for staff members (yes, things like that do exist), afterwards I did a traineeship with VIVA in Cologne. There, I sometimes edited Wigge’s clips for Sarah Kuttner’s show. Since 2005, I have been working as a freelancer for a wide range of projects, as well as performing all-in-one post production/producer for Wigge’s series “The Truth about Germany”.

Sayuri Nakata-Alsman

With 15+ years in TV and advertising, Sayuri started as an assistant director in New York for a Japanese documentary program, New Yorkers, which aired on NHK broadcasting.
Since the mid nineties, she worked in advertising producing Japanese TV commercials with top tier directors and production houses all around the world. She always had a particular interest in documentaries, especially involving cultures and social issues. Currently at Pichu Productions, Sayuri is responsible for acquisition and sales related matter for the US and UK markets.

Benjamin Krüger

I was born in Lippe in 1978. After my relocation to Cologne I entered the TV world. Since then I’ve been working as a cutter in all categories of the industry: advertising, documentation and entertainment.

Since the beginning of 2010 I am working alongside Michael and his team.

Sabine Lydia Müller

Born in 1972 in Rheinfelden on the border to Switzerland, she grew up in Südbaden. After a school year abroad in the USA she did her A levels. Interrupted by a year-long stay in Italy, the Alemannian has been living in Cologne for 14 years now.
She worked in Cologne’s media industry from 1996 to 2006. Sabine used to work predominantly in the entertainment field, with responsibilities ranging from production to casting. In the last six years of this period, she was managing director of an agency for presenters.