Percy Adlon
Encyclopedia
Percy Adlon is a German film
and television director
, screenwriter
, and producer
. He is best known for his film Bagdad Café
aka Out of Rosenheim.
n countryside. He studied art and theater history, and German literature
at Munich's Ludwig-Maximilian University, took acting
and singing
classes, and was a member of the student theater group. He started his professional career as an actor
, became interested in radio
work, was a narrator
and editor of literature series and a presenter
and voice-over
actor in television
for 10 years.
In 1970 he made his first short film for Bavarian Television, followed by more than 150 documentary films about art and the human condition. His first one-hour portrait Tomi Ungerer's Landleben started a very successful co-operation with Benigna von Keyserlingk who became the Adlon's television producer
of documentaries and feature films.
Percy and Eleonore Adlon formed their film production company, pelemele FILM GmbH, in 1978. Their first project was the docu-drama The Guardian and his Poet about the Swiss novelist and poet Robert Walser
for which they won 2 Adolf-Grimme Awards in Gold (best writer/director, best actor). Their first feature film
Céleste
, drew international attention at Cannes
in 1981. Bagdad Cafe
(1987) started their co-operation with Dietrich v. Watzdorf (Bayerischer Rundfunk). The story of Jasmin Münchgstettner and the Café owner Brenda was an international hit. Marianne Sägebrecht
whom Percy Adlon discovered in 1979 became a cult figure, and Bob Telson
's song "Calling You
" a classic.
In 1997 Percy Adlon started working with a digital camera. He filmed a three hour special about the draftsman Tomi Ungerer
for ARTE
, Mozart's Magic Flute with images of today's Berlin
, Die Straußkiste/Forever Flirt, 22 short films based on unknown masterpieces by Johann Strauss, Jr., a 90 minute film about his past and present relationship with his hometown Munich
, Mein München, and in 2001, he completed his tenth feature film HAWAiiAN GARDENS, a Californian-Bavarian story, starring André Eisermann and Valeria Hernandez.
In 2001/02, Percy Adlon made the documentary Koenig's Sphere, about the monumental sculpture that survived when the Twin Tower in New York fell. In 2003, the Adlons created a stage version of Bagdad Cafe, which premiered in Barcelona in 2004, toured in France in 2005 and 2006, and played in Theatre Mogador in Paris, France in 2006.
In 2007, the Adlons traveled to Ngorongoro, Tanzania three times to film their new two hour documentary Orbela's People about an extended Maasai family.
Percy and Eleonore Adlon believe in film as an art form. The new possibilities for truly independent filmmaking are most fascinating to them. They believe that only films that are made without any commercial speculations can create innovations for cinema. They are proud to be independent filmmakers who write, direct, produce and own their own work.
Percy and Eleonore Adlon live in Pacific Palisades, California, working together with their son Felix whose first feature film Eat Your Heart Out (1997) they produced with their US company Leora Films. Felix was also the lead in the Adlons' docu-fantasy The Glamorous World of the Adlon Hotel about the world famous Hotel Adlon
in Berlin
which Percy's great-grandfather Lorenz Adlon
founded.
Percy and Eleonore Adlon have won numerous awards, including top honors in Rio de Janeiro
for Bagdad Cafe, and in Montreal
for Salmonberries
, two Césars, the Ernst-Lubitsch-Award, the Swedish
and the Danish
Academy awards, the Prix Humanum, Belgium
, prizes in Venice
, Chicago
, Valladolid
, Brussels
, Tokyo
as well as Bavaria
n and German Federal Film Awards, among others.
Percy Adlon is the recipient of the Officer's Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany, and a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and television director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He is best known for his film Bagdad Café
Bagdad Café
Bagdad Café is a 1987 German film directed by Percy Adlon.The film is a comedy set in a remote truck-stop café and motel in the Mojave Desert. The plot is centered around two women who have recently separated from their husbands, and the blossoming friendship which ensues. It ran 95 minutes in...
aka Out of Rosenheim.
Biography
Percy Adlon grew up in Ammerland/Starnberger See, in the BavariaBavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n countryside. He studied art and theater history, and German literature
German literature
German literature comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German part of Switzerland, and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora. German literature of the modern period is mostly in Standard German, but there...
at Munich's Ludwig-Maximilian University, took acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
and singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
classes, and was a member of the student theater group. He started his professional career as an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, became interested in radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
work, was a narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
and editor of literature series and a presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
actor in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
for 10 years.
In 1970 he made his first short film for Bavarian Television, followed by more than 150 documentary films about art and the human condition. His first one-hour portrait Tomi Ungerer's Landleben started a very successful co-operation with Benigna von Keyserlingk who became the Adlon's television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
of documentaries and feature films.
Percy and Eleonore Adlon formed their film production company, pelemele FILM GmbH, in 1978. Their first project was the docu-drama The Guardian and his Poet about the Swiss novelist and poet Robert Walser
Robert Walser (writer)
Robert Walser , was a German-speaking Swiss writer.-1878–1897:...
for which they won 2 Adolf-Grimme Awards in Gold (best writer/director, best actor). Their first feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
Céleste
Celeste (film)
Céleste is a German film by Percy Adlon about the life of the French writer Marcel Proust as he lay in his bed from 1912 to 1922; the story is told through the eyes of his real life maid, Céleste Albaret...
, drew international attention at Cannes
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in 1981. Bagdad Cafe
Bagdad Café
Bagdad Café is a 1987 German film directed by Percy Adlon.The film is a comedy set in a remote truck-stop café and motel in the Mojave Desert. The plot is centered around two women who have recently separated from their husbands, and the blossoming friendship which ensues. It ran 95 minutes in...
(1987) started their co-operation with Dietrich v. Watzdorf (Bayerischer Rundfunk). The story of Jasmin Münchgstettner and the Café owner Brenda was an international hit. Marianne Sägebrecht
Marianne Sägebrecht
Marianne Sägebrecht is a German film actress.Her background included stints as a medical lab assistant and magazine assistant editor before she found her calling in show business...
whom Percy Adlon discovered in 1979 became a cult figure, and Bob Telson
Bob Telson
Robert "Bob" Eria Telson is an American composer, songwriter, and pianist best known for his work in musical theater and film, for which he has received Tony, Pulitzer, and Academy Award nominations. He is currently living and working in Argentina.-Biography:Robert Eria Telson was born in Cannes,...
's song "Calling You
Calling You
"Calling You" is an Academy Award nominated song from the Bagdad Café movie. Originally, it was recorded by Jevetta Steele. Bob Telson who wrote the song also recorded his version. Both appeared on the movie soundtrack in 1987.- Céline Dion version :...
" a classic.
In 1997 Percy Adlon started working with a digital camera. He filmed a three hour special about the draftsman Tomi Ungerer
Tomi Ungerer
Jean-Thomas "Tomi" Ungerer is a French illustrator best known for his erotic and political illustrations as well as children's books.- Biography :...
for ARTE
Arte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
, Mozart's Magic Flute with images of today's 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...
, Die Straußkiste/Forever Flirt, 22 short films based on unknown masterpieces by Johann Strauss, Jr., a 90 minute film about his past and present relationship with his hometown Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Mein München, and in 2001, he completed his tenth feature film HAWAiiAN GARDENS, a Californian-Bavarian story, starring André Eisermann and Valeria Hernandez.
In 2001/02, Percy Adlon made the documentary Koenig's Sphere, about the monumental sculpture that survived when the Twin Tower in New York fell. In 2003, the Adlons created a stage version of Bagdad Cafe, which premiered in Barcelona in 2004, toured in France in 2005 and 2006, and played in Theatre Mogador in Paris, France in 2006.
In 2007, the Adlons traveled to Ngorongoro, Tanzania three times to film their new two hour documentary Orbela's People about an extended Maasai family.
Percy and Eleonore Adlon believe in film as an art form. The new possibilities for truly independent filmmaking are most fascinating to them. They believe that only films that are made without any commercial speculations can create innovations for cinema. They are proud to be independent filmmakers who write, direct, produce and own their own work.
Percy and Eleonore Adlon live in Pacific Palisades, California, working together with their son Felix whose first feature film Eat Your Heart Out (1997) they produced with their US company Leora Films. Felix was also the lead in the Adlons' docu-fantasy The Glamorous World of the Adlon Hotel about the world famous Hotel Adlon
Hotel Adlon
Hotel Adlon is a hotel on Unter den Linden, the main boulevard in the Berlin city centre, directly opposite the Brandenburg Gate.-First Hotel Adlon 1907-1945:...
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...
which Percy's great-grandfather Lorenz Adlon
Lorenz Adlon
Lorenz Adlon was a German caterer, gastronomer and hotelier.-Early life:Lorenz Adlon was born at Mainz. His original name had been Laurenz. He was the sixth out of nine children of the shoemaker Jacob Adlon and his wife Anna Maria Elisabeth, who was an accoucheuse...
founded.
Percy and Eleonore Adlon have won numerous awards, including top honors in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
for Bagdad Cafe, and in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
for Salmonberries
Salmonberries
Salmonberries is a 1991 drama film directed by Percy Adlon and written by Adlon and his son Felix. It stars k.d. lang as Kotzebue, a young woman of androgynous appearance who works as a miner in Alaska, and Rosel Zech as Roswitha, an East German immigrant and librarian...
, two Césars, the Ernst-Lubitsch-Award, the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Academy awards, the Prix Humanum, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, prizes in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
as well as Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n and German Federal Film Awards, among others.
Percy Adlon is the recipient of the Officer's Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany, and a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
.
Awards
- 1982 Bavarian Film AwardBayerischer FilmpreisThe Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the State Government of Bavaria in Germany for “exceptional achievement in German filmmaking.” Along with the German Film Awards, these are the most highly regarded awards for filmmaking achievement in Germany.The Bavarian Film...
, Best Director - 1987 Bavarian Film Award, Best Screenplay
- 1991 Bavarian Film Award, Best Director
Filmography
- Vormund und sein Dichter, Der (1978) (TV) Director, Writer (written by), Producer ... aka The Guardian and His Poet (USA) (Adolf Grimme Award in Gold)
- Herr Kischott (1980) (TV) Director
- CélesteCeleste (film)Céleste is a German film by Percy Adlon about the life of the French writer Marcel Proust as he lay in his bed from 1912 to 1922; the story is told through the eyes of his real life maid, Céleste Albaret...
(1981) Director, (Writer Special Jury Award IFF Chicago) - Fünf letzte Tage (1982) Director ... aka Last Five Days ... aka The Five Last Days (German Federal Film Award, Bavarian Film Award, OCIC-Prize, IFF Venice, 1982)
- Die Schaukel (1983) Director, Writer ... aka The Swing
- Zuckerbaby (1985) Director, Writer ... aka Sugarbaby (Ernst-Lubitsch-Award for Marianne Sägebrecht)
- Herschel und die Musik der Sterne (1986) (TV) Director, Writer
- Out of Rosenheim aka Bagdad CafeBagdad CaféBagdad Café is a 1987 German film directed by Percy Adlon.The film is a comedy set in a remote truck-stop café and motel in the Mojave Desert. The plot is centered around two women who have recently separated from their husbands, and the blossoming friendship which ensues. It ran 95 minutes in...
(USA) (1987) Director, Writer, Producer (Grand Prix IFF Rio de Janeiro, César, best foreign Film (French FIlm Award), Ernst-Lubitsch-Award (Director), Swedish and Danish Film Academies, Bavarian Film Award (original screenplay) Prix Humanum, Belgium.) - Babycakes (1989) (TV) Writer (screenplay Zuckerbaby, aka, Sugarbaby)
- Rosalie Goes ShoppingRosalie Goes ShoppingRosalie Goes Shopping is a 1989 German film directed by Percy Adlon and starring Marianne Sägebrecht, Brad Davis, and Judge Reinhold. The film, which was in competition at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and was rated "PG" in the MPAA film rating system, met mixed reviews...
(1989) Director, Writer, Producer (Official German Entry, 1989 Cannes Film Festival1989 Cannes Film Festival- Jury :*Wim Wenders *Christine Gouze-Renal*Claude Beylie*Georges Delerue*Hector Babenco*Krzysztof Kieślowski*Peter Handke*Renée Blanchar*Sally Field*Silvio Clementelli-Feature film competition:* Chimère by Claire Devers...
. Best Film - Section "Cinema & Denaro", IFF EuropaCinema & TV, Viareggio.) - Red Hot and Blue (1990) (TV) Director
- SalmonberriesSalmonberriesSalmonberries is a 1991 drama film directed by Percy Adlon and written by Adlon and his son Felix. It stars k.d. lang as Kotzebue, a young woman of androgynous appearance who works as a miner in Alaska, and Rosel Zech as Roswitha, an East German immigrant and librarian...
(1991) Director, Writer ... aka Percy Adlon's Salmonberries (Germany: poster title) (Grand Prix des Ameriques, Montreal. Bavarian Film Awards for director P.A. and for Rosel Zech, Best Actress.) - Younger and YoungerYounger and YoungerYounger And Younger is 1993 American comedy film directed by Percy Adlon.-Plot:A strange man owns a self-storage facility and lives in a reality of his own until reality comes crashing down.-Cast:*Donald Sutherland.....Jonathan Younger...
(1993) Director, Writer, Producer. (Special Prize of the Jury, Brussels. Best Actress IFF Tokyo Lolita Davidovich) - In der glanzvollen Welt des Hotel Adlon (1996) (TV) Director ... aka Hotel AdlonHotel AdlonHotel Adlon is a hotel on Unter den Linden, the main boulevard in the Berlin city centre, directly opposite the Brandenburg Gate.-First Hotel Adlon 1907-1945:...
(Germany: short title) (Bavarian Television Award) - Eat Your Heart Out (1997) Producer
- Die Straußkiste (1999) Director, Writer CinematographerCinematographerA cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
... aka Forever Flirt (International: English title) - Hawaiian Gardens (2001) Director, Writer
- Koenig's Sphere (2001) Director ... aka Koenigs Kugel (German title)
- Bagdad Cafe - The Musical (2003–2006) Director
- Orbela's People (2007)
Other work
- Elisir D'Amore (2003) opera by Gaetano DonizettiGaetano DonizettiDomenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
, directed by Percy Adlon for the Berlin State Opera Unter den LindenBerlin State OperaThe Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
. - Wolkenstein (2004) A new opera by Wilfried Hiller and Felix Mitterer, directed by Percy Adlon. Premiere at the State Opera Nürnberg.
External links
- percyadlon.com Official Website Author grants public domain use.
- Sundancechannel.com, Bagdad Café
- NYtimes.com, New York Times - Percy Adlon