Prime Video Germany Names Former Netflix Film Exec Sasha Buhler As Originals Chief

EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video has named former Netflix Germany film chief Sasha Bühler as Philip Pratt‘s successor at the Amazon streamer.

Bühler has been named Head of Local Originals at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios Germany, news that comes months after we revealed she had left her role as Director of Film for German-speaking Europe at Netflix. She will begin on December 1.

The role puts her in charge of a slate that includes YA mega-hit Maxton Hall – The World Between Us, The Tank and the local version of LOL: Last One Laughing. She will be responsible for development, commissioning and launches of upcoming Prime Video titles such as Superior, Holey Moley – Minigolf Extreme, Der erste letzte Tag and The Prototype.

She replaces Philip Pratt, who earlier this month was named VP, Original Production at Disney+ Germany, Switzerland and Austria to oversee commissioning in the region. He is effectively replacing Benjamina Mirnik-Voges, who is leaving.

Bühler will report into Tara Erer, Director of Northern European Originals, UK Unscripted & Film, who in turn works within Nicole Clemens’ UK and international originals team at Amazon MGM Studios.

The hire is big news in Germany, where the global streamers are increasingly focused on

At Netflix, Bühler made a reputation as a key gatekeeper in the local film market, and was behind the streamer’s involvement in the Oscar-winning war movie All Quiet on the Western Front. Her credits also counted Blood Red Sky and Army of Thieves, and more recent pics such as Exterritorial and Brick, both of which are among Netflix’s all-time top ten non-English language films, on her credits.

Further back in her career, she spent more than a decade at Constantin Film as Head of Acquisitions and International Co-Productions and was Head of Acquisitions at SquareOne Entertainment.

In an internal note seen by Deadline, Erer wrote: “Sasha brings exceptionally strong relationships with filmmakers, actors and producers in Germany and has a reputation that precedes her. She is smart, decisive, optimistic and very ambitious in the stories she wants to tell, and understands both local and global audiences.

“Her arrival is a real statement of our growth and ambition in the region. As we scale German originals, Sasha is exactly the kind of leader to help us reach for bigger and bolder stories. Simply, she is brilliant and a rare find, so I’m thrilled that she is coming over to join our fantastic Northern Europe team.