Christian Petzold (director)

Christian Petzold is a German film director.

Early life and education

Born in Hilden and raised in Haan, where he graduated from high school in 1979, Petzold fulfilled his military civil service in a small cinema club of a local YMCA, showing films to troubled adolescents.Interview on DVD ''Die innere Sicherheit'' From 1981 on he lived in Berlin, where he studied theatre and German studies at the Free University of Berlin. From 1988-1994, he studied film at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb) where he studied with mentors who "included filmmakers, media artists, and media theorists Harun Farocki and Hartmut Bitomsky, who are both known for their non-narrative films, video work, and film installations in galleries and museums." While at dffb, Petzold appeared in Thomas Arslan's short experimental film ''19 Porträts'' (1990), a 16-millimeter black-and-white film in the tradition of Andy Warhol's '' Screen Tests''.

Career

His first film was ''Pilotinnen'', which he directed for his film school graduation in 1995. While The State I Am In (German: Die innere Sicherheit) (2000) was his first feature film, also noting his first collaboration with Harun Farocki. In 2005, his film '' Gespenster'' was presented at the Berlin International Film Festival, as was his 2007 film '' Yella''. 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. 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 films came to be called the "Gespenster Trilogy".

The 2008 film ''Jerichow'' was his fourth collaboration with Nina Hoss 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 a relationship with a married woman. The movie was nominated in the main competition at the 65th Venice International Film Festival in 2008. In 2009, Petzold received a 'best director' nomination for the Deutscher Filmpreis award.

Although more famous as a director of film and television, Petzold has also staged Arthur Schnitzler's ''The Lonely Way'' (German: ''Der einsame Weg'') at the Deutsches Theater following an invitation by Oliver Reese. The drama, with Nina Hoss as protagonist, premiered on March 14, 2009.

Petzold's film '' Barbara'' 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. The film became Petzold's greatest box office success, grossing $4,129,250 worldwide.

Awards

* 1996: Max Ophüls assistance award in category feature-length film for ''Cuba Libre''
* 2001: Preis der deutschen Filmkritik for ''The State I Am In''
* 2001: German Film Award in category best movie for ''The State I Am In''
* 2002: Academy of Arts, Berlin, television award for ''Something to Remind Me''
* 2002: Deutscher Fernsehpreis for ''Something to Remind Me''
* 2003: Adolf Grimme Award

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