Yony Leyser is a writer and director from Chicago who has been based in Berlin since 2010. A versatile storyteller, his intimate, real, and colorful work spans documentary film, theater, and television. With an MFA in Film, he brings a unique perspective to storytelling, exploring diverse topics and communities, particularly those related to culture, artists, and LGBTQIA+ life.

Leyser has directed and produced feature films, documentaries, docuseries, and miniseries that have screened internationally at festivals including IDFA, BFI London Film Festival, Hot Docs, Viennale, Slamdance, and Seattle International Film Festival, and on platforms such as ZDF, ARTE, RTL+, and Netflix.

His work often challenges stereotypes and social norms while reflecting real lived experiences. Projects have ranged from a portrait of the American author William S. Burroughs to explorations of Berlin’s nightlife and a drag wrestling collective.

His award-winning feature films include William S. Burroughs: A Man Within (2010), Desire Will Set You Free (2015), and Queercore: How To Punk A Revolution (2017). In 2019, the Maxim Gorki Theatre premiered his first theater piece W(A)RM HOLES. In 2020 he co-wrote the book Queercore: How To Punk A Revolution (PM Press). In 2022 he directed the three-part docuseries Drag Me to the USA for RTL+. In 2023 he released two short films, The Fourth Generation and Chokehold: Drag Wrestlers Do Deutschland, and directed the 90-minute branded documentary miniseries Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: Changing the Game for NYX Professional Makeup x Vice.

Leyser directs in both English and German.

He holds a BA in Film and Journalism from Eugene Lang College at The New School in New York and an MFA (Diplom II) in Media Arts from the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM), graduating with honors (1.1).

A member of the European Film Academy and the Deutsche Filmakademie, Leyser has worked with artists and cultural figures including Nina Hagen, John Waters, Sonic Youth, Gus Van Sant, Blixa Bargeld, Peter Weller, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Amiri Baraka, and Peaches.

He was also the inspiration for the character Yony in Israel Cárdenas and Laura Amelia Guzmán’s film Holy Beasts, starring Geraldine Chaplin and Udo Kier, and for the character Yoni in Ingrid Veninger’s I Am a Good Person / I Am a Bad Person.

Leyser’s work has received critical coverage in publications including The Guardian, The New York Times, Der Spiegel, NME, The Wall Street Journal, Vice, The Los Angeles Times, and Der Tagesspiegel.