Helene Hegemann (born 19 February 1992 in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

) is a German writer, director, and actress. As a young writer her work was highly praised, but her

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, ''Axolotl Roadkill'', sparked a plagiarism controversy. The book has since been translated in various languages.

Life

She was raised by her divorced mother, a graphic artist and painter. After her mother's death, Hegemann moved in with her father. She began writing and first gained attention with her blog. On 6 December 2007, her play, ''Ariel 15'' premiered in Berlin at

Ballhaus Ost Ballhaus may refer to: People * Michael Ballhaus (1935–2017), German cinematographer * Florian Ballhaus German cinematographer *William F. Ballhaus, Jr. American engineer * William F. Ballhaus, Sr. (1918–2013), American engineer *William L. Bal ...

, directed by

Sebastian Mauksch Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...

. Hegemann called her play a literary fairy tale piece. Deutschland Radio adapted it as a radio drama in 2008. That same year, a screenplay she wrote at 14 was developed. It was underwritten by the Federal Cultural Foundation. The resulting film, ''Torpedo'', a youth drama, premiered in 2008 at the

Hof International Film Festival The Hof International Filmfestival is a German film festival that takes place in Hof, Bavaria, every year in October. Apart from numerous foreign productions, the main focus traditionally is on German films. During six festival days, about 130 f ...

and ran in German cinemas in summer 2009. It won the

Max Ophüls Prize Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

. Hegemann credits the

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-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 Fran ...

film ''Weekend'' as a major influence on her writing style. In 2009, Hegemann played a role in the episodic film '' Germany 09'', by

Nicolette Krebitz Nicolette Krebitz is a German director, actress, model, and singer. She is often credited as Coco in her creative works. Life and work Nicolette Krebitz made her film debut at age eleven. Later, she hosted television and radio shows for childr ...

. Hegemann appeared in the segment "Die Unvollendete", where

Ulrike Meinhof Ulrike Marie Meinhof (7 October 1934 – 9 May 1976) was a German left-wing journalist and founding member of the Red Army Faction (RAF) in West Germany, commonly referred to in the press as the "Baader-Meinhof gang". She is the reputed author ...

and

Susan Sontag Susan Sontag (; January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American writer, philosopher, and political activist. She mostly wrote essays, but also published novels; she published her first major work, the essay "Notes on 'Camp'", in 1964. He ...

meet. Hegemann lives in Berlin with her partner Andrea Hanna Hünniger and studies at a high school for non-traditional students. In 2013, her second novel ''Jage zwei Tiger'' and in 2018 the third novel ''Bungalow'' were published.

Works

Books

*''Axolotl Roadkill'', Ullstein, 22 January 2010, **''Axolotl Roadkill / druk 1'', Translator Marcel Misset, Arbeiderspers, 2010, **''Roadkill'', Translator I. Amico Di Meane, Einaudi, 2010, **''Axolotl Roadkill'', Constable & Robinson Limited, 2012, *''Jage zwei Tiger'', Hanser, 26 August 2013, *''Bungalow'', Hanser, Berlin 2018,

Movies

* Torpedo 2008, (Director, Writer) * Axolotl Overkill 2017 (Director, Writer)

Life

Works

Books

Movies

See also

References

Further reading