Peter Fleischmann (26 July 1937 – 11 August 2021) was a German film director, screenwriter and producer. He worked also as an actor, cutter, sound engineer, interviewer and speaker. Fleischmann belonged to the

New German Cinema New German Cinema () is a period in Cinema of Germany, West German cinema which lasted from 1962 to 1982, in which a new generation of directors emerged who, working with low budgets, and influenced by the French New Wave and Italian Neorealism, ...

of the 1960s and 1970s. He is known for directing the 1969 '' Jagdszenen aus Niederbayern'' (''Hunting Scenes from Bavaria''), but he produced films of many genres.

Life and career

Peter Fleischmann was born in

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

. He studied at the (German Institute of Film and Television, DIFF) in Munich and Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (''IDHEC'') in Paris. He had contact with representatives of the French

Nouvelle Vague The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of i ...

movement, and became a friend of

Jean-Claude Carrière Jean-Claude Carrière (; 17 September 1931 – 8 February 2021) was a French novelist, screenwriter and actor. He received an Academy Award for best short film for co-writing '' Heureux Anniversaire'' (1963), and was later conferred an Honorar ...

, with whom he later wrote screenplays. After years as an assistant director, he became a director in 1963 in short films and children's films. In 1967, he directed a documentary, ', about the subculture, which anticipated the gereration conflicts of the 1968

student movement Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. In addition to education, student groups often play central roles in democratization and winning civil rights. Modern stu ...

. His first full-length film was released in 1969, '' Jagdszenen aus Niederbayern'', based on the play of the same name by Martin Sperr, who also played the leading role. The film reflects critically how a Bavarian village deals with outsiders, especially the homosexual character played by Sperr. The film was awarded prizes, including the Filmband in Silber of

Deutscher Filmpreis The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...

. It was suggested for a nomination as the

Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...

' best foreign film but was not nominated. The film made Fleischmann a representative of the

of the 1960s and 1970s. The same year, Fleischmann and

Volker Schlöndorff Volker Schlöndorff (; born 31 March 1939) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer who has worked in Germany, France and the United States. He was a prominent member of the New German Cinema of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He ha ...

founded the film production company Hallelujah-Film. In Fleischmann's later works, often the seemingly villainous character would turn out to be a good person. In '' Das Unheil'' (''Havoc''), with a script by Fleischmann and Martin Walser, he criticised in 1972 the provincial attitude of a Hessian small town and pollution of the environment. The film was awarded the Prix Luis Buñuel of the Cannes Festival. In ' (1974), he created a provocative satire on the sexfilm wave. His 1979 film '' The Hamburg Syndrome'' (''Die Hamburger Krankheit'') about an unknown infectious plague in German, with actor

Helmut Griem Helmut Griem (6 April 1932 – 19 November 2004) was a German film, television and stage actor, and director. Biography Born in Hamburg, Griem was primarily a stage actor, appearing at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, the Deutsches Schauspielha ...

, received attention again in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fleischmann's films were often critically acclaimed, but not successful at the box office, which reduced the potential for projects in the 1980s. Schlöndorff described him as a Renaissance person, comparable to

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

, who had visions but was reduced to early works. In 1990, he created '' Es ist nicht leicht ein Gott zu sein'' (''Hard to Be a God''), an elaborate film after a science-fiction novel by

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky The brothers Arkady Strugatsky (28 August 1925 – 12 October 1991) and Boris Strugatsky (14 April 1933 – 19 November 2012) were Soviet and Russian science-fiction authors who collaborated through most of their careers. Their notable works in ...

. Faithful to his early documentaries, he produced ''Deutschland, Deutschland'' from interviews with simple passers-by in Germany's East and West about

Die Wende The Peaceful Revolution () – also, in German called ' (, "the turning point") – was one of the peaceful revolutions of 1989 at the peak of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s. A process of sociopolitical change that led to, am ...

, indicating future difficulties after Germany's reunification. In 2006, he produced ''Mein Freund, der Mörder'' (''My Friend the Murderer''), a documentary about his friend whom he had portrayed before in the 1987 ''Der Al Capone der Pfalz''. He published a novel in 2008, ''Die Zukunftsangst der Deutschen'', about the Germans' fear of the future. He was active with the restoration of several of his films. In the 1990s, Fleischmann was on the board of the

Babelsberg Studio Babelsberg Film Studio () (also known as Studio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world, producing films since 1912. With a total area of about and a studio area of a ...

s of the former UFA and

DEFA DEFA (''Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft'') was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) throughout the country's existence. Since 2019, DEFA's film heritage has been made accessible and licensable on the PR ...

, and was instrumental in the rescue of the studios, finding investors from European countries. He was a founding member of the

Deutsche Filmakademie The Deutsche Filmakademie is a German independently run organization with a focus on filmmaking. History The academy was founded in 2003 in Berlin, on the initiative of Helmut Dietl, Bernd Eichinger, and Ulrich Felsberg. It initially compris ...

in 2003. His last residence was in Werder near

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, where he died at age 84 after a bad fall.

Awards

* 1966 – ''Special Prize for Educative and Didactic Film for Children'' of 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 ...

for ''Alexander and a Car without the Left Headlight'' * 1969 – Filmband in Silber for '' Jagdszenen aus Niederbayern'' * 1972 – Prix Luis Buñuel of the Cannes Festival * 1991 – Kurd Laßwitz Award in the category Best Film (Movie) for ''Es ist nicht leicht, ein Gott zu sein''

Films

Fleischmann was active as actor, director, script writer and producer, among others.Peter Fleischmann
(in German) filmportal.de 2021

Director

Films directed by Fleischmann include: * 1957: ''Die Eintagsfliege'' (''The Mayfly''), short film * 1961: ''Geschichte einer Sandrose'' (''Story of a Sand Rose''), short documentary, also script * 1962: ''Brot der Wüste'' (''Bread of the Desert''), short film * 1963: ''Begegnung mit Fritz Lang'' (''A Meeting with

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...

''), short documentary * 1964: ''Der Test'' ('' The Test''), short film * 1965: ''Alexander und das Auto ohne linken Scheinwerfer'' (''Alexander and the Car with the missing Headlight''), short film, also producer * 1967: ', documentary * 1969: '' Jagdszenen aus Niederbayern'' (''Hunting Scenes from Bavaria''), based on Martin Sperr's 1965 play '' Jagdszenen aus Niederbayern'', also script * 1972: '' Das Unheil'' (''Havoc''), screenplay with Martin Walser, also producer * 1973: ' (''Dorothea's Revenge''), screenplay with

, also producer * 1975: '' Weak Spot'', screenplay with

and Martin Walser, based on Antonis Samarakis' 1965 novel ''To Lathos'', also co-producer * 1979: '' Die Hamburger Krankheit'' (''The Hamburg Syndrome''), screenplay with

Roland Topor Roland Topor (7 January 1938 – 16 April 1997) was a French illustrator, cartoonist, comics artist, painter, novelist, playwright, film and TV writer, filmmaker and actor, who was known for the surrealism, surreal nature of his work. He was of Po ...

and , also producer * 1983: ' (''Sacrilege'' or ''Mischief''), screenplay with Jacques Rozier, also actor, cutter, producer * 1987: ''Der Al Capone von der Pfalz'', documentary, also actor, script, commentary, interviews, sound, producer * 1989: '' Hard to Be a God'', screenplay with

, based on

's 1964 novel '' Hard to Be a God'', also producer * 1991: ''Deutschland, Deutschland'' (''Germany, Germany''), documentary, also actor, script, interviews, producer * 1993: ''Mein Onkel der Winzer'', TV documentary, also speaker, script, interviews, producer * 2006: ''Mein Freund der Mörder'' (''My Friend the Murderer''), documentary, also speaker, script, interviews, producer

Screenwriter

* 1986: '' Exploits of a Young Don Juan'', directed by Gianfranco Mingozzi, screenplay with

— based on

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

's 1911 novel

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleischmann, Peter 1937 births 2021 deaths German film directors German-language film directors People from the Palatinate (region) Institut des hautes études cinématographiques alumni