Christian Petzold
Director · b. 1960 · Hilden, Germany
Christian Petzold (born September 14, 1960; Hilden) is a German filmmaker, best known for directing the films Barbara, Jerichow, and Phoenix. He is credited to the Berlin School and has received numerous prizes and awards. Petzold writes his own scenarios, often collaborating with Harun Farocki. As his former teacher at dffb, Farocki was a major influence on Petzold, who, along with Angela Schanelec and Thomas Arslan, is generally considered to be part of the Berlin School. While the Berlin School is often associated with a new turn towards realism and political cinema, Petzold's films, while they address issues of work and employment, also deal with conflicts between life and death. His first film was "Pilots" (1995), which he directed for his film school graduation in 1995. While "The State I Am In" (2000) was his first feature film, also noting his first collaboration with Harun Farocki. In 2005, his film "Ghosts"was presented at the Berlin International Film Festival, as was his 2007 film "Yella". Petzold's film Barbara (2012) competed in competition at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival and Petzold won the Silver Bear for Best Director. The film was selected as the German entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist. For the film Afire (2023), Christian Petzold received the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2023.
Movies10
- MovieDocumentary
Portraits of students of Berlin Film School.
19 Portraits
1990
Movie6.5DocumentaryBarrage and Bunker is an essay film about the (narrative) space imagined by fiction films. Reflections and associations about movement in space are the basis of every kind of story-telling. The film is sometimes referred to as part of Bitomsky's Cinema Trilogy. Sequences from over 20 movies are quoted and commented on by a team of three "researchers" (Bitomsky, Petzold, Tanner) in a sort of laboratory. TV-monitors, production stills and screenshots are used as well as quotations from books. A long night's work.
Movie7.2DocumentaryHistoryThroughout the 19th century, imaginative and visionary artists and inventors brought about the advent of a new look, absolutely modern and truly cinematographic, long before the revolutionary invention of the Lumière brothers and the arrival of December 28, 1895, the historic day on which the first cinema performance took place.
L’Œil, le pinceau et le cinématographe : naissance d'un art
The Cinematograph: Birth of an Art
2021 · 6 votes
Movie7.0DocumentaryDocumentary about German film critic Michael Althen.
Was heißt hier Ende? Der Filmkritiker Michael Althen
2015 · 2 votes
Movie7.2DocumentaryHe is the despicable child killer in Fritz Lang's M. Drawing on testimonies and archives, this portrait sheds light on Peter Lorre's turbulent career and complex personality, unable to escape the monster that made him famous.
Peter Lorre : Derrière le masque du maudit
2024 · 5 votes
Movie4.0Documentary2014 documentary featuring interviews with Petzold, Hoss, actors Nina Kunzendorf and Ronald Zehrfeld, and production designer K. D. Gruber
The Making of 'Phoenix'
2014 · 1 votes
- Movie
The revolution is as good as over, but the captain wants to send his crew into one last battle. Before this can happen, however, he is murdered. The crew is finally free. Meanwhile, the revolutionary Snow White has hidden on the ship, but she is discovered.
Navy Cut
1993
- Movie6.3Documentary
This is not merely another film about cinema history; it is a film about the love of cinema, a journey of discovery through over a century of German film history. Ten people working in film today remember their favourite films of yesteryear.
Auge in Auge - Eine deutsche Filmgeschichte
2008 · 3 votes
- Movie7.0Documentary
Only the chosen few know this woman who started working as a secretary for the German Film and Television Academy (DFFB) on 13 February, 1966. The path of Helen’s career is paved with famous names – including that of Wolfgang Petersen, Holger Meins (who later became a member of the Red Army Faction) as well as directors Wolfgang Becker, Detlev Buck and Christian Petzold. All have fond memories of forgetting their troubles after having poured their hearts out over a cup of coffee in Helene’s office – for Helene was both friend and advisor to countless film students.
MovieDocumentaryNew conversation between director Christian Petzold and actor Nina Hoss
Series4
- TV4.4News
Volle Kanne
1999 · 7 votes
TV8.0RealityDeutscher Fernsehpreis
1999 · 1 votes
- TVTalk Show
- TVDocumentary