Grigorij S. Richters (born 21 May 1987) is a film director, public relations expert, activist, producer and official Forbes Council member.

[1] He directed the feature film 51 Degrees North and co-founded the global awareness movement Asteroid Day with astrophysicist and Queen guitarist Brian May.

At the age of seven, he set up a stand at the river and started selling hot dogs and drinks to people on boats, making him over one thousand Euros on a good day,[citation needed] enough money to buy expensive camera equipment.

[12] German actor Mario Adorf was originally attached to play the character "Ashriel" but eventually dropped out due to a conflict in his schedule.

During this time he also directed his first feature film 51 Degrees North which lead to the creation of the United Nations Asteroid Day.

In 2013, while working for Kevin Spacey at the Old Vic theatre in London he was hired by UEFA to film the Opening Ceremony of the Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium.

Richters' production company Films United started managing Sutton's website, helping him run his social media and produced a documentary about his life which still hasn't been finished.

For the climactic moment of the movie, the producers cast 600 Extras and asked them to act as if the world ended on a Saturday Night at Piccadilly Circus.

[22][23] After screening his feature film 51 Degrees North at the Starmus Festival in 2014 he met Stephen Hawking who inspired Richters to create a global awareness day.

Just a few months after the festival he teamed up with Brian May, President of B612 Danica Remy and Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart to create Asteroid Day.

[27][28][29] In response to the Coronavirus crisis in 2020, Richters organised #SpaceConnectsUs with the European Space Agency, Asteroid Day and Markus Payer.

"They teamed up to connect Europe and the world with astronauts, scientists and world-famous performers, bringing a message of hope and support for everyone faced with the Coronavirus crisis," it reads on the Asteroid Day website.

His initiative is supported by Queen guitarist Dr. Brian May, influencers Lisa and Lena, astronaut Chris Hadfield, Stephen Fry but also politicians like German state minister Michael Roth.