Harun Farocki (9 January 1944 – 30 July 2014) was a German filmmaker, author, and lecturer in film.

Early life and education

Farocki was born as Harun El Usman FaroqhiMargalit Fox (3 August 2014)

''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. in Neutitschein, which is now Nový Jičín in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. His father, Abdul Qudus Faroqui, had immigrated to Germany from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in the 1920s. His German mother had been evacuated from

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 ...

due to the

Allied bombing of Germany World War II (1939–1945) involved sustained strategic bombing of railways, harbours, cities, workers' and civilian housing, and industrial districts in enemy territory. Strategic bombing as a military strategy is distinct both from close ...

. He simplified the spelling of his surname as a young man. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Farocki grew up in India and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

before the family resettled in Hamburg in 1958. Farocki, who was deeply influenced by

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

and

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as ...

, studied at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb) from 1966 to 1968. He began making films – from the very beginning, they were non-

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...

essays on the

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

imagery Imagery is visual symbolism, or figurative language that evokes a mental image or other kinds of sense impressions, especially in a literary work, but also in other activities such as. Imagery in literature can also be instrumental in conveying ...

– in the mid-1960s. From 1974 to 1984, when its publication ceased, he edited the magazine '' Filmkritik''. From 1993 to 1999, Farocki taught at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. He later was a professor at the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

. He died unexpectedly on 30 July 2014, aged 70.

Work

He made over 90 films, the vast majority of them short experimental

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

. In his 2000-2003 three-part installation, ''Eye/Machine'', Farocki coined the term " operational image". Farocki's work was included in the 2004–05

Carnegie International The Carnegie International is a North American exhibition of contemporary art from around the globe. It was first organized at the behest of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie on November 5, 1896, in Pittsburgh. Carnegie established ...

at the

Carnegie Museum of Art The Carnegie Museum of Art is an art museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The museum was originally known as the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute and was formerly located ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. A first major UK retrospective of his films was held at

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

in 2009. The 2011 exhibition "Harun Farocki: Images of War (at a Distance)" at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

was the first comprehensive solo exhibition of Farocki's work in a U.S. museum.

Films (selection)

(D = Director, E = Editor, S = Screenplay, P = Production, A = Actor) *1969: ''Die Worte des Vorsitzenden'' - The Words of The Chairman *1969: ''Nicht löschbares Feuer - Inextinguishable Fire'' (Short, D) *1970: Die Teilung aller Tage - The Division of All Days (D, E, S) *1971: ''Eine Sache, die sich versteht'' (D, S, P) *1975: ''By Hook or by Crook'' (S) *1978: ''Zwischen zwei Kriegen'' (''Between Two Wars'') (D, E, S, P) - Himself / narrator *1979: ''Ich räume auf'' (A) - Herausgeber *1980: ''Henry Angst'' (A) *1981: ''Etwas wird sichtbar'' (A) *1981: ''Etwas wird sichtbar - Before Your Eyes Vietnam'' (D, S, P) *1983: ''Ein Bild - An Image'' *1983: ''

Jean-Marie Straub Jean-Marie is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Marie Carroll (born 1956), English musician and composer * Jean-Marie Abgrall (born 1950), French psychiatrist, criminologist, specialist in forensic medic ...

and Danièle Huillet (at work on Franz Kafka's "Amerika") *1984: ''

Klassenverhältnisse ', known in English as ''Class Relations'', in French as ', is a 1984 film by the French filmmaking duo of Straub–Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet. It is based on Franz Kafka's unfinished first novel, ''Amerika (novel), Amerika''. ...

'' ( Straub-Huillet's) (A) - Delamarche *1985: ''Betrogen'' (''Betrayed'') (D, S) *1986: ''Wie man sieht'' (''As You See'') (D, S, P) *1987: ''Bilderkrieg'' (D) *1987: ''Die Schulung'' *1989: ''Bilder der Welt und Inschrift des Krieges'' (''Images of the World and the Inscription of War'') (D, S, P) *1990: ''Leben: BRD - How to live in the Federal Republic of Germany'' (D, S, P) *1991: ''Videogramme einer Revolution'' ('' Videograms of a Revolution'') (D, S, P) *1993: ''Was ist los? - What's up?'' (D, S) *1994: ''Die Umschulung'' *1995: ''Arbeiter verlassen die Fabrik'' (''Workers Leaving the Factory'') *1995: ''Schnittstelle'' *1996: ''Die Bewerbung - The Interview'' (TV) (D, S) *1996: ''Der Auftritt - The Appearance'' *1997: ''Stilleben - Still Life'' (D, S) *1997: ''Nach dem Spiel'' (P) *1998: ''Worte und Spiele'' *2000: ''Die innere Sicherheit - The State I Am In'' (S) *2000: ''Gefängnisbilder'' (''Prison Images'') (D, S) *2001: ''Auge/Maschine'' *2001: ''Die Schöpfer der Einkaufswelten - The Creators of the Shopping Worlds'' (D, S) *2003: ''Erkennen und Verfolgen'' (D, S, P) *2004: ''Nicht ohne Risiko'' (D, S, P) *2005: ''Die Hochzeitsfabrik (P) *2005: ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' (S) *2006: ''Am Rand der Städte'' (P) *2007: ''Aufschub'' *2007: ''Respite - first episode of Memories'' (Jeonju Digital Project 2007) *2009: ''Zum Vergleich'' (D, S) *2009-2010: ''Serious Games I-IV'' Video series *2012: '' Barbara'' (S) *2014: '' Phoenix'' (S)

DVD

''Images of the world and the inscription of war'' and ''Respite'' were released on

Region 0 DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to t ...

DVD on 7 June 2011 by Survivance.

Personal life

Farocki's first wife, Ursula Lefkes, whom he married in 1966, died in 1996. Farocki died in 2014 at age 70. His survivors include his second wife, Antje Ehmann, whom he married in 2001; twin daughters from his first marriage, Annabel Lee and Larissa Lu; and eight grandchildren.

References

External links

Harun Farocki Official site
*
Harun Farocki
in the Video Data Bank
'Harun Farocki. Empathy', Exhibition at Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona

Vídeo of the talk by Antje Ehmann about the Harun Farocky's work 'Labour in a Single Shot' at Fundació Antoni Tàpies museum, Barcelona, 2016

Academic articles

Embodied histories. Harun Farocki and Andrei Ujică's Videograms of a Revolution.

Pantenburg, Volker: ''Farocki/Godard: Film as Theory''. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press 2015.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farocki, Harun 1944 births 2014 deaths People from Nový Jičín Indian people of German descent german experimental filmmakers German documentary filmmakers German people of Indian descent Moravian-German people Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin alumni