Edgar Reitz (born 1 November 1932) is a German filmmaker and Professor of Film at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung (State University of Design) in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

. He is best-known for his internationally acclaimed ''Heimat'' film series (1984–2013).

Early life and education

Reitz was born in

Morbach Morbach is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality that belongs to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also a state ...

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced mountain range, upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle (river), Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued ...

. His father Robert was a

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

and his business in Morbach was later taken over by Reitz's brother Guido. Reitz's interest in acting and producing plays began in his school years in Simmern, where he was encouraged by his German teacher Karl Windhäuser. After taking his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

, he studied

German studies German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on German culture, German h ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

and

theatre studies Theatre studies (sometimes referred to as theatrology or dramatics) is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psychological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also enco ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

from 1952. His first experiences in film-making however were not theoretical; he worked as a camera, editing, and production assistant from 1953. His interests in the advancement of new developments in film went as far as he cooperated with Wolfgang Georgsdorf and his '' Osmodrama'' in 2016 which led to a complete scent synchronisation of his movie “home from home” which premiered as an allegedly well functioned cinema on 17 July 2016.

Institut für Filmgestaltung

In 1963 along with

Alexander Kluge Alexander Kluge (born 14 February 1932) is a German author, philosopher, academic and film director.(editor) Early life, education and early career Kluge was born in Halberstadt, Province of Saxony (now Saxony-Anhalt), Germany. After growing ...

he founded the ''Institut für Filmgestaltung'' (Institute for Film Design) which was affiliated to the Ulm School of Design, where he taught film directing and camera theory until the School of Design closed in 1968. As part of the group around Kluge, Reitz was a participant in the

Oberhausen Manifesto The Oberhausen Manifesto was a declaration by a group of 26 young West German filmmakers at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia on 28 February 1962. The manifesto was a call to arms to establish a "new estGerm ...

which was announced at the

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

Short Film Festival of 1962. With this manifesto young German filmmakers demanded nothing less than a new form of cinema: "Der alte Film ist tot. Wir glauben an den neuen." ("The old film is dead. We believe in the new film"). The manifesto is associated with the motto "Papas Kino ist tot" ("Papa's cinema is dead"). Subsequently, the concept of the

auteur An (; , ) is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded and personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, thus manifesting the director's unique style or thematic ...

gained in popularity in Germany, and Reitz played a significant role in shaping this concept in the following years.

Awards

Reitz received one of his first awards for his film ''Mahlzeiten'' which was awarded the prize for best debut work at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

in 1967. In 1971 he founded Edgar Reitz Filmproduktion (ERF) in Munich. He now began to collaborate on films with his former academic colleague

amongst them the 1974 fictitious

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

''In Gefahr und größter Not bringt der Mittelweg den Tod''. The lavish production costs of the 1979 film '' The Tailor of Ulm'', which portrays the downfall of the aviation pioneer Albrecht Berblinger, caused Reitz's own financial circumstances to suffer. The film was entered into the

11th Moscow International Film Festival The 11th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 14 to 28 August 1979. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Italian-French film ''Christ Stopped at Eboli (film), Christ Stopped at Eboli'' directed by Francesco Rosi, the Spanish film ''S ...

. It was during this crisis that the idea for a film project about his homeland, the

, first came to Reitz. What began as an attempt at self-discovery, ultimately broadened out into the ''

Heimat ''Heimat'' () is a German word translating to 'home' or 'homeland'. The word has connotations specific to German culture, German society and specifically German Romanticism, German nationalism, German statehood and regionalism so that it h ...

'' trilogy (from 1984), which met with critical acclaim, an enthusiastic international audience, and numerous prizes. With this epic and monumental production, Reitz achieved a quite new perspective, an approach, both poetical and realistic, to the past of Germany as it might have played out in the provinces. In 2004 Reitz was awarded the Carl Zuckmayer Medal by the state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

for his life's work. In the same year, he received the Master of Cinema Award of the

International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg The Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival (), often referred to by the German-language initialism IFFMH, is an annual film festival established in 1952 hosted jointly by the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg, the ...

. Reitz is married to the singer and actress

Salome Kammer Salome Kammer (born 17 January 1959) is a German actress, singer and cellist. Professional career Born in Nidda, Hesse, Nidda, Hesse, Kammer was the fourth of six children. Her father was a Protestant pastor. Although born in Nidda, she grew up ...

(who appeared in Heimats 2 and 3) and lives in Munich. He is an atheist.Matteo Galli, ''Edgar Reitz'', Il Castoro, 2006, p. 25.

Selected filmography

* '' Lust for Love'' (''Mahlzeiten'') (1967) * '' Cardillac'' (1970) * '' Trip to Vienna'' (''Die Reise nach Wien'') (1973) * '' In Danger and Deep Distress, the Middleway Spells Certain Death'' (''In Gefahr und größter Not bringt der Mittelweg den Tod'') (1974) (co-director:

) * '' Zero Hour'' (''Stunde Null'') (1977) * "Grenzstation" in ''Germany in Autumn'' (''Deutschland im Herbst'') (1978) * '' The Tailor from Ulm'' (''Der Schneider von Ulm'') (1978) * ''

'' (1984, TV series) * '' Home from Home'' (''Die andere Heimat'') (2013)

Miscellaneous

* '' Eight Hundred Times Lonely'' (''800 Mal Einsam – Ein Tag mit dem Filmemacher Edgar Reitz'') (2019), film portrait of Edgar Reitz by the German filmmaker Anna Hepp * '' Filmstunde_23'' Subject: Filmmaking

Sources

This article is derived principally from the German Wikipedia article of the same name and the sources listed there.

External links

Edgar Reitz's official website
*

(via UC Berkeley)

from

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

Long article about Reitz and Heimat
by Carole Angier, from

Sight and Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (formerly written ''Sight & Sound'') is a monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Since 1952, it has conducted the well-known decennial ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time. ...

, 1991
heimat123.de: substantial archive with information, reports, discussion and material about Edgar Reitz and his films

Heimat fan page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reitz, Edgar German film directors German film educators German film producers German television directors German television producers German television show creators 1932 births Living people People from Bernkastel-Wittlich People from the Rhine Province German atheists Mass media people from Rhineland-Palatinate Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Academic staff of the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design