Born in Moscow in 1973 Leo Khasin came to Germany as an 8-year-old and has been living in Berlin since 1984.

His professional life didn’t start with filmmaking, as he went to medical school to become a dentist. At some point however, he followed his calling and joined a theater ensemble for two years. After that, he studied directing. His short film Liebe Mutter (Dear Mother) was shown at many national and international festivals. Durst (Thirst) garnered a nomination for the 2003 Short Film Award. Kickback was part of the short film program at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival. In 2006 and 2007 he studied screen writing in Hamburg, where he wrote the screenplay for his first feature Kaddisch für einen Freund (Kaddish for a Friend). The award-winning film, that Khasin also directed, was shown at many international festivals. In 2012, it won the MFG-Star part of which is a three-month fellowship at Villa Aurora.