Christoph Silber (born 26 April 1971, in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

) often credited as Chris Silber, is a German-American author, filmmaker and leadership teacher. Rated among "Europe's hottest new screenwriters" by ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...

'', Silber works and lives in the United States.

Early life

Silber spent most of his childhood and youth in Germany. Raised bilingual, he studied in London and Berlin. His mother Christa Schuenke is a philosopher and award-winning literary translator; his foster father Maik Hamburger was a well-known Shakespeare scholar and

dramaturge A dramaturge or dramaturg (from Ancient Greek δραματουργός – dramatourgós) is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and pr ...

. Silber's step-grandmother

Ursula Kuczynski Ursula Kuczynski (15 May 1907 – 7 July 2000), also known as Ruth Werner, Ursula Beurton and Ursula Hamburger, was a German Communist activist who spied for the Soviet Union during the 1930s and 1940s, most famously as the handler of nuclear sc ...

fought the Nazis in WWII as a Soviet secret agent. His grandfather was a denazification officer for the Allied Forces and confronted former Nazi leaders after the war. Writing runs in Silber's family, with several journalists and published authors in his bloodline.

Career

Silber worked as an actor, translator and journalist prior to his professional writing career. Taking advantage of his bilingual upbringing, he translated film-related books and screenplays for German book publishers, including

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

's ''

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

''. The book became a best-seller and led to Silber's first assignment as a playwright. In 1995 the acclaimed Vienna

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (; literally: "Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater", originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in ...

asked him to adapt Puccini's ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'' for a stage production. This led to further theatre work and connections in the film industry. Silber's screenwriting career began in European television in the mid-1990s. A genre traveller, Silber worked as a

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio ...

of sitcoms as well as crime series. Silber has collaborated on numerous films, including the award-winning ''

Good Bye, Lenin! ''Good Bye, Lenin!'' is a 2003 German tragicomedy film, directed by Wolfgang Becker. The cast includes Daniel Brühl, Katrin Sass, Chulpan Khamatova, and Maria Simon. The story follows a family in East Germany (GDR); the mother (Sass) is ded ...

'', ''

North Face North face or Northface or The North Face may refer to: * North face (Eiger), in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland * North Face (Everest), in Himalaya, usually traversed ascending Everest from the north * North face (Fairview Dome), a climbing route i ...

'', ''

Arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestratio ...

'' and ''

My Last Day Without You ''My Last Day Without You'' is an independent feature film starring Nicole Beharie and Ken Duken, and directed by Stefan Schaefer. It was written by Schaefer and Christoph Silber, and produced by Diane Crespo, Silber and Schaefer and their com ...

'', for which he also co-wrote several songs performed by

Nicole Beharie Nicole Beharie is an American actress. She is best known for her starring roles in films such as the drama '' American Violet'' (2008), the psychological drama ''Shame'' (2011), the biographical sports drama '' 42'' (2013), and the independent d ...

. He also established himself in the family entertainment market with his feature film scripts for the highly successful

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have been tra ...

-based ''Hanni & Nanni'' franchise. Several of his contributions to German television like ''

Tatort ("Crime Scene") is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-se ...

'' "Schwanensee" have broken ratings records. Based in Los Angeles since 2012, Silber has been honoured by the

Vilcek Foundation The Vilcek Foundation is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit organization. The foundation's programs include the Vilcek Foundation Prizes. The Foundation was established in 2000 by Ján Vilček, Jan and Marica Vilcek, Immigrants to the ...

as "an immigrant filmmaker...whose creative spirit enlivens and inspires American cinema." In 2019, Silber sold a WWII series pilot inspired by his grandfather's story to Hollywood-based Blitz Films. In 2023, ', a mini-series co-created and head-written by Silber, was released by Disney+ worldwide and by Hulu in the United States. Since 2016, Silber has also been active as a coach and speaker in the arena of personal development and leadership teaching. Collaborating with his mentor, executive leadership coach Alan Cahn, Chris has mentored young creatives and business leaders in the US, Africa and Europe.

Personal life

Silbers former wife Joleita, who inspired his film ''

'', died from cancer in 2013. He reflected on his family's grief journey in his children's book ''The Cloud In Our House (Die Wolke Unterm Dach)'', which was released in Germany in 2022. In 2022 Silber, married American actress and writer Tracey Graves. In 2023 they founded their production company SilberLove Productions, with their first co-writing venture ''The Gifted Family'' shooting in Germany the same year.

Filmography

Theatrical

* 2022: Cloud In The Attic (writer, story) * 2017: I'm Off Then (writer) * 2015: The Trapp Family – A Life Of Music (writer) * 2015: Azure (short; director, producer) * 2013: (writer) * 2013: (writer) * 2012: (writer) * 2011: My Last Day Without You (writer, producer) * 2010: (writer) * 2010: The Albanian (writer) * 2010:

Young Goethe in Love ''Young Goethe in Love'' (originally titled ''Goethe!'') is a 2010 German historical drama film directed by Philipp Stölzl and starring Alexander Fehling, Miriam Stein, and Moritz Bleibtreu. It is a fictionalized version of the early years of t ...

(script consultant) * 2008: ' (writer) * 2008: ''

'' (writer) * 2007: ''

'' (script consultant) * 2007: Mrs. Ratcliffe's Revolution (script consultant) * 2006: Ice Wind (short; writer, director, actor) * 2004: ''

The Ring Thing ''The Ring Thing'' is a 2004 Swiss parody film. Produced without state film funding, it is a low-budget comic spoof on the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy. It had its world premiere on 14 December 2004 at the Pathé cinema centre near Zurich. ...

'' (writer, producer) * 2003: ''

'' (collaborator on screenplay) * 2001: Julietta (writer) * 2001: Brooklyn Bridge (short; writer)

Television

* 2024: Perfect Match (writer) * 2023: The Gifted Family (writer) * 2023: (miniseries, co-creator & head writer) * 2022: 5 Hours - The Miracle of Cape Town (writer) * 2019: Walpurgis Night (miniseries, creator & writer) * 2017: Balaton Residence (miniseries, co-creator & writer) * 2016: Rivals Forever (miniseries, co-creator & writer) * 2015: The New Girl (writer) * 2014: Dresden Homicide (crime series; creator & head writer) * 2012: A Day for a Miracle (writer) * 2011: Girl on the Ocean Floor (writer) * 2010: Love Is Just a Word (writer) * 2006-today:

(crime series; writer & head writer) * 2006–2010:

Der Kriminalist ' is a German television series produced by Monaco Film Hamburg, subsidiary of Odeon Film. Directors during the first season were Sherry Hormann and , during the second: Thomas Jahn, Jobst Oetzmann and Torsten C. Fischer. List of episodes ...

(crime series; writer & head writer) * 2004: My Best Years (series; head writer) * 2000: Trivial Pursuit (writer)

Awards and nominations

Wins

* 2024

Grimme Award The Grimme-Preis (Grimme Award), formerly known as the Adolf-Grimme-Preis, is one of the most prestigious German television awards. It is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme. The Grimme Institute ...

: Best TV Series ' * 2023 Clio Awards: Best Historic TV Series ' * 2022 Hamburg Film Festival: Best TV Film ''The Miracle of Cape Town'' * 2016 Munich Film Festival: Best TV Film or Miniseries ''Rivals Forever'' * 2016

Romy Award The Romy television award in honor of the German-born and naturalized French actress Romy Schneider, born in Vienna, was created in 1990 by the Austrian newspaper ''Kurier'' – or rather their movie reviewer Rudolf John, who also designed t ...

: Best TV Film ''Berlin One'' * 2013

International Emmy The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sc ...

: Best TV Film or Miniseries '' A Day for a Miracle'' * 2012

: Best Screenplay '' A Day for a Miracle'' * 2012

Black Reel Awards The Black Reel Awards, or BRAs, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African Americans in film (FAAAF) to recognize excellence of African Americans, as well as the cinematic achievements of the Af ...

: Best Independent Film ''My Last Day Without You'' * 2012 Golden Sparrow Award: Best Children's Film ''Hanni & Nanni 2'' * 2011 Brooklyn Film Festival: Best Producer ''My Last Day Without You'' * 2011

Max Ophüls Maximillian Oppenheimer ( , ; 6 May 1902 – 26 March 1957), known as Max Ophüls ( , , ) or simply Ophuls, was a German and French film director and screenwriter. He was known for his opulent and lyrical visual style, with heavy use of trac ...

Award: Best Film ''The Albanian'' * 2011

Hawaii International Film Festival Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, th ...

: AIFP honoree, sponsored by the

* 2009 German Film Critics Award: Best Screenplay ''North Face'' * 2009

: Audience Award ''Tatort: Auf der Sonnenseite'' * 2007 Brooklyn Film Festival: Best Film ''Arranged'' * 2001 Brooklyn Film Festival: Best Film ''Julietta''

Nominations

* 2016

Civis media prize The CIVIS Media Prize for Integration and Cultural Diversity in Europe, or CIVIS Media Prize for short, was founded in 1987 by the Federal Government Commissioner for Foreigners' Issues together with ARD (broadcaster), ARD, under the responsibilit ...

: Best TV Film ''The New Girl'' * 2013

: Best TV Film '' A Day for a Miracle'' * 2013 Montblanc Screenplay Award: ''Banklady'' * 2012

: Best Original Song ''My Last Day Without You'' * 2009 Golden Camera: Best TV Film ''Tatort: Auf der Sonnenseite''

References

External links

*

Personal Blog 1971 births Living people German emigrants to the United States German male screenwriters German television writers Mass media people from Berlin {{Improve categories , date=April 2024