On November 10, the most successful German Hollywood director celebrates his 70th birthday. With film hits such as Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012, Roland Emmerich has left a lasting mark on the American blockbuster genre. Yet his beginnings were far from easy: his early science fiction works were met with ridicule and scorn from German critics. He left his Swabian hometown to seek his fortune in Los Angeles. Emmerich hid his homosexuality, because he did not want to be labeled as a director of gay cinema, he wanted to make action films. He achieved this brilliantly with Independence Day, in which he staged the invasion of alien monsters with charm, humor, and breathtaking visual effects. The film remains one of the biggest box office hits of all time.
At 70, Roland Emmerich is still working; most recently, he directed the successful gladiator series Those About to Die for streaming and television. His credo: “I’ll keep making films until I drop.”

The documentary “Master of the Apocalypse – Roland Emmerich” offers unprecedented insights into the work and, above all, the private life of the star director. For almost forty years, Jo Müller accompanied this exceptional
filmmaker—visiting him in his villa or at private parties, at public events, or on film sets. A film about dreams becoming true and repressed sexuality, about the rules of the dream factory, and about life in America.