Christian Petzold (director)
Encyclopedia
Biography
Raised in HaanHaan
Haan is a town in the Bergian district of Mettmann, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Haan is located close to Düsseldorf. In 1975, Gruiten was incorporated into Haan.-International relations:...
, after his high-school graduation in 1979 he fulfilled his military civil service („Keine Flucht nach Berlin!“) in a small cineclub of local YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
(„Doppelprogramme, bestehend aus einem Appetizer und einem Filmkunstwerk, alles für schwer erziehbare Jugendliche.“). From 1981 on he lived in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he was studying theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and German studies
German studies
German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents, and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German history, and German politics in addition to the...
at the Free University of Berlin
Free University of Berlin
Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...
. During 1988-1994 he pursued his education at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb)
Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin
The Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin is a film school in Berlin, Germany.In the German film school ranking of FOCUS , the dffb - together with the Academy of Media Arts Cologne and the international filmschool cologne - were ranked as 2nd after the Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg...
.
His first film was Pilotinnen, which he conducted for his graduation in 1995. In 2005, his film Gespenster was presented at the Berlinale film festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
, as was his 2007 film Yella. Petzold writes his own scenarios, often collaborating with Harun Farocki
Harun Farocki
Harun Farocki is a German filmmaker.He has made over 90 films, the vast majority of them short experimental documentaries...
. As his former teacher at dffb, Farocki was a major influence on Petzold (as well as for Angela Schanelec and Thomas Arslan); this traditionally places Petzold as part of the Berlin School.
However, while this group is often associated with a new turn towards realism and political cinema
Political cinema
Political cinema in the narrow sense of the term is a cinema which portrays current or historical events or social conditions in a partisan way in order to inform or to agitate the spectator...
, Petzold's latest movies, starting with Die innere Sicherheit, deal primarily with conflicts between life and death through issues of work and employment. In Gespenster the protagonist leads a ghost-like existence, in Yella the protagonist is, possibly, already dead at the beginning of the film. These three movies came to be viewed as the „Gespenster Trilogy“.
The 2008 movie Jerichow
Jerichow (film)
Jerichow is a 2008 German drama film directed by Christian Petzold. The film was invited into the competition of the 65th Venice Film Festival and was also nominated for the 2009 German Film Prize in the Best Feature Film and Best Director categories.The official German premiere was on 8 January...
was his fourth collaboration with Nina Hoss
Nina Hoss
-Early life:Nina's father, Willi Hoss, was a German trade unionist and politician . Her mother, Heidemarie Rohweder, was an actress at Stuttgart National Theatre and later director of the Esslingen-based Württemberg State Playhouse .-Career:In 1997 Hoss graduated from the Drama School "Ernst Busch"...
after Something to remind me (German: Toter Mann), Wolfsburg and Yella. The drama concerns a soldier who, having returned from Afghanistan to Prignitz, becomes involved in relationships with married women. The movie was nominated in the main competition at the 65th Bienale film festival
65th Venice International Film Festival
The 65th Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was opened on August 27, 2008 by Burn After Reading, and closed on September 6, 2008....
in 2008. In 2009, Petzold was nominated for this film with a 'best director' Deutscher Filmpreis
Deutscher Filmpreis
The Deutscher Filmpreis is the highest German movie award. From 1951 to 2004 it was awarded by a commission, since 2005 the award has been given by the Deutsche Filmakademie...
award.
Being famous as a movie director, Petzold has also staged Arthur Schnitzler
Arthur Schnitzler
Dr. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and dramatist.- Biography :Arthur Schnitzler, son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter , was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian...
's The lonely way (German: Der einsame Weg) at Deutsches Theater
Deutsches Theater
The Deutsches Theater in Berlin is a well-known German theatre. It was built in 1850 as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater, after Frederick William IV of Prussia. Located on Schumann Street , the Deutsches Theater consists of two adjoining stages that share a common, classical facade...
following an invitation by Oliver Reese. The drama, with Nina Hoss as protagonist, premiered on March 14, 2009.
Filmography
Television:- 1995: Pilotinnen (With Eleonore WeisgerberEleonore WeisgerberEleonore Weisgerber is a German actress. She established a foundation to help research for the treatment of bipolar disorder.-Filmography:*Derrick - Season 2, Episode 2 "Tod am Bahngleis" -External links:*...
, Nadeshda Brennicke, Udo Schenk, Annedore von Donop, Barbara Frey) - 1996: Cuba Libre (With Richy MüllerRichy MüllerRichy Müller is a German television and movie actor.-Filmography:* Die große Flatter * Sei zärtlich, Pinguin...
, Marquard BohmMarquard BohmMarquard Bohm was a German actor. He appeared in more than 100 films and television shows between 1965 and 2000...
, Eleonore Weisgerber) - 1998: Die Beischlafdiebin (With Constanze Engelbrecht, Richy Müller, Wolfram Berger)
- 2002: Something to remind me (German: Toter Mann) (Scenario Jean-Baptiste Filleau, with Nina Hoss, André HennickeAndré HennickeAndré Hennicke is a German actor.Hennicke was born in Johanngeorgenstadt in Saxony. He was awarded a German television award for his work in Toter Mann in 2002...
, Sven Pippig, Kathrin Angerer)
Feature films:
- 2000: The State I Am InThe State I Am In (film)The State I Am In is a 2000 German drama film directed by Christian Petzold....
(German: Die innere Sicherheit) (scenario with Harun FarockiHarun FarockiHarun Farocki is a German filmmaker.He has made over 90 films, the vast majority of them short experimental documentaries...
, with Julia Hummer, Richy Müller, Barbara AuerBarbara AuerBarbara Auer is a German actress. She has appeared in multiple television shows and films including Meine Tochter gehört mir , Impossibly Yours and Waiting for Angelina.-Awards:...
, Katharina Schüttler) - 2003: Wolfsburg (with Benno FürmannBenno FürmannBenjamin "Benno" Fürmann is a German film and television actor.-Life and work:Fürmann was born in Berlin-Kreuzberg. By the age of 15 he had lost both his parents. At 17, he had a serious accident while train surfing, and had to spend six weeks in the hospital as a result...
, Nina Hoss, Astrid Meyerfeldt) - 2005: GespensterGespenster (2005 film)Gespenster is a 2005 German film directed by Christian Petzold. Petzold also cowrote the screenplay with Harun Farocki. The film was presented at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival, where it was officially entered into competition.-Plot:...
(scenario with Harun Farocki, with Julia Hummer, Sabine Timoteo, Benno Fürmann) - 2007: Yella (scenario with Simone Baer, with Nina Hoss)
- 2008: JerichowJerichow (film)Jerichow is a 2008 German drama film directed by Christian Petzold. The film was invited into the competition of the 65th Venice Film Festival and was also nominated for the 2009 German Film Prize in the Best Feature Film and Best Director categories.The official German premiere was on 8 January...
(with Nina Hoss, Hilmi Sözer and Benno Fürmann)
Awards
- 1996: Max Ophüls assistance award in category feature-length film for Cuba Libre
- 2001: Verband der deutschen Filmkritik award as best acting film for Die innere Sicherheit
- 2001: Deutscher FilmpreisDeutscher FilmpreisThe Deutscher Filmpreis is the highest German movie award. From 1951 to 2004 it was awarded by a commission, since 2005 the award has been given by the Deutsche Filmakademie...
award in category best movie for Die innere Sicherheit - 2002: Deutsche Akademie der Künste television award for Toter Mann
- 2002: Deutscher FernsehpreisDeutscher FernsehpreisThe Deutscher Fernsehpreis is a German award for television programming, created in 1999 by German television channels Das Erste, ZDF, RTL and Sat.1. It was created as a equivalent to the Emmy Awards though it is not organized by an academy and is awarded annually in September or October...
for Toter Mann - 2003: Adolf Grimme Award for Toter Mann
- 2003: FIPRESCIFIPRESCIThe International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...
award in panorama of Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin for Wolfsburg - 2005: Adolf Grimme golden award for Wolfsburg
- 2006: Verband der deutschen Filmkritik award as best acting film for Gespenster
- 2008: Verband der deutschen Filmkritik award as best acting film for Yella
- 2009: Verband der deutschen Filmkritik award as best acting film for Jerichow
- 2009: Film award of German city Hof (Saale) (Internationale Hofer Filmtage)
External links
- Christian Petzold at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- 'The Cinema of Identification Gets on My Nerves': An Interview with Christian Petzold, Cineaste 33.3 (summer 2008)