
Back to All News
BIG M CK: Gangsters and Gold - New documentary feature film about the most peculiar character in Germany's legal history
Entertainment
15 January 2023
GlobalGermany
Written and directed by: Fabienne Hurst and Andreas Spinrath
Creative Producer: Teresa Messerschmidt of BTF Bildundtonfabrik
Executive Producers: Matthias Murmann and Philipp K bohrer of BTF Bildundtonfabrik
Editing: Nathalie Bartel, Johannes Hiroshi Nakajima, Florian B ttger
Coming to Netflix on January 20, 2023!
Information and press materials are available in our Media Center and for more Netflix news, visit our Newsroom.
Berlin, January 16, 2023 - Amid two robberies, multiple court cases, a prison sentence and numerous witnesses, one name keeps popping up: Donald Stellwag.
New images provide a glimpse into the true crime feature film that tells the incredible story of Donald "Big M ck" Stellwag-a story that is both tragic and peculiar. For the first time, he tells his own story in front of the camera. Guilty or innocent? That's the question.
Fabienne Hurst and Andreas Spinrath wrote and directed BIG M CK: Gangsters and Gold.
Fabienne Hurst on the idea for the film: We read the Wikipedia entry about Donald Stellwag and thought: What an incredible story! Our first research revealed that Donald Stellwag had disappeared. Someone said that he had fled to Italy. Someone else thought he was dead. We contacted every person who might know him and really got on his former lawyers nerves. Several months later, the phone suddenly rang: Stellwag here; you wanted to talk to me?'
We quickly realized that we had to check each of his statements, get copies of the judgments, find witnesses. Stellwag is a fabulous storyteller, but he tends to embellish details, recalls Andreas Spinrath. He's been successful at that for years. So, that is what we decided to focus the film on: The power of a well-told story.
BIG M CK: Gangsters and Gold, coming to Netflix on January 20, 2023, was produced by the Bildundtonfabrik company, which has also produced titles like How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), King of Stonks and Shiny Flakes. In BIG M CK: Gangsters and Gold, cellmates, childhood friends and business partners give us a comprehensive picture of Donald Stellwag.
About BIG M CK: Gangsters and Gold
Donald Stellwag is an outsider: He is bullied and moves away from his small Bavarian hometown to Frankfurt, where he descends into drug addiction. In the early nineties, just as he's getting his life under control, he's linked to a bank robbery by the German TV program Aktenzeichen XY. They describe the perpetrator as very tall and noticeably obese. Just like Stellwag. A controversial expert witness convinces the judges of Stellwags guilt based on an analysis of his earlobe, which they claim is distinctive. Despite his alibi, he is convicted and spends nine years in prison. Less than two weeks after his release, he finds out that the real perpetrator has been caught. Stellwag is exonerated-and becomes an absolute media sensation. However, when a gold transporter is hijacked near the A81 highway and 1.8 million euros worth of gold is stolen, everything changes. The ringleader of the heist, notorious gangster rapper Xatar, gives a revealing testimony in court. The gold thieves and their victims have one thing in common: They all know Donald Stellwag. Has he now committed the crime for which he's already served time in prison? Has this made him the avenger of his own fate?
About BTF Bildundtonfabrik
Founded by Philipp K bohrer and Matthias Murmann in the Ehrenfeld district in Cologne, BTF celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Under Philipp's and Matthias creative and content management, BTF has won numerous prizes for various made-for-TV show formats, series, documentaries, promotional films and video games in its relatively short history. This includes winning the renowned Grimme Award 12 times, eight German Television Awards, two ADC Awards, the German Comedy Award and the German Computer Game Award.
Journalists Fabienne Hurst and Andreas Spinrath have both worked together with Bildundtonfabrik numerous times, including for the documentary series docupy: Ungleichland, which won a Grimme Award in 2019.
In addition to her work as a journalist, Fabienne Hurst is also a fiction writer (King of Stonks, Netflix). As an investigative reporter, the primary focus of Andreas Spinrath's most recent work has been producing documentaries for German networks WDR and ARD.
About Netflix
With 223 million paid memberships in over 190 countries, Netflix is the worlds leading streaming entertainment service, offering access to a wide selection of diverse TV series, documentaries, feature films, reality and comedy formats, as well as mobile games, in numerous languages. Members have unlimited streaming access to the content anytime and anywhere and can change their plan whenever they want. They can start and pause playback and resume watching the selected title at will.
Please feel free to contact us anytime if you have any questions or need more information.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
09/05/2026
New desktop instrument focused on tactile performance
Bastl Instruments have announced Kalimba, a new desktop instrument that combines physical modelling, F...
09/05/2026
Compact sampling workstation gains new features
1010music have announced blackbox 2, a new version of their compact standalone sampler designed for DAWless ...
09/05/2026
New SoundApp ARA Plugin Transforms Boris FX CrumplePop
Jessie Electa Petrov May 9, 2026
0 Comments
CrumplePop 2026.5 streamlines music, voice, and cin...
09/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
NBC's 9:16 live-production workflows power Courtside Live, Rinkside Live, Vi...
08/05/2026
Native 1080p HDR productions will rely on a mix of remote workflows from Bristol and Los Angeles
Despite another prosperous WNBA season in 2025, there was no g...
08/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
08/05/2026
Players Era, an EverWonder Studio company, and ESPN have announced a multi-year ...
08/05/2026
BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) has announced the selection of Syname...
08/05/2026
UFC and Joe Hand Promotions, UFC's exclusive commercial distributor in the U...
08/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, has announced it has been granted US Patent No. 12,556,777 for its graphical overlay technology for interactive live streaming. Th...
08/05/2026
Ateme has announced that VTVcab has deployed Ateme's OTT platform to power its VTVprime streaming service in Vietnam. The deployment covers live and on-dema...
08/05/2026
Amagi has announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering via the Amagi ADS PLUS marketplace, providing programmatic access to ad formats inserted dir...
08/05/2026
Young broadcaster will deploy 11-camera complement on large chunk of games, At ...
08/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
08/05/2026
FOX Sports, America's English-language home for the FIFA World Cup 2026, and...
08/05/2026
Molly Gordon and Ben Platt appear in Theater Camp. (Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures)
By Lucy Spicer
Her character is the beloved founder of the AdirondACTS...
08/05/2026
One-button synth generates random four-track ideas
Cyma Forma and French artist Bambounou have announced RND synth, a compact hardware synthesizer built aro...
08/05/2026
Portable four-layer granular and sampling instrument
Tasty Chips have announced the GR-2, a new granular synthesizer and sampling instrument that combines e...
08/05/2026
Video Show Report
Video of SUPERBOOTH 26: Polyend Drums
Polyends big announcement for Superbooth 2026 is the Drums, a new drum machine that features both ...
08/05/2026
Deal agreed as NI enters new chapter
Native Instruments CEO Nick Williams has announced that a definitive agreement has been signed for the company to be ac...
08/05/2026
Video Show Report
Video of SUPERBOOTH 26: Erica Bullfrog Drums
The Bullfrog Drums is the latest collaboration between Erica Synths and Richie Hawtin, and ...
08/05/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson reflects on the recent launch of Play Snooker, the new digital home of snooker by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker A...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Riedel Communications today announced its return as a sponsor of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where the company will serve as the Official Connectivity ...
08/05/2026
For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
08/05/2026
Pete reunites with Dogs Trust for a fourth series and a two-part overseas special
London, Friday 8th May 2026: The award winning factual entertainment series P...
08/05/2026
Wuppertal May 8, 2026
Riedel to Support Glasgow 2026 as Official Connectivity Integration Provider Riedel Communications today announced its return as a spons...
08/05/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces Standalone Sequel to Global Hit La Palma
Entertainment
08 May 2026
GlobalDenmarkFinlandNorwaySweden
Link copied to clipb...
08/05/2026
ICG is excited to share news of our official launch in Northern Ireland, marking a significant milestone in the agency's growth.
Led by Digital Marketing M...
08/05/2026
Over the past ten years, Thames Water, in partnership with Arqiva, has installed more than 1.2 million smart meters, creating one of the most extensive advanced...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...