Petra Seeger is a German

documentary film 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 ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and producer. Her 2008 documentary film, '' In Search of Memory: The Neuroscientist Eric Kandel'' explores the life of

Eric Kandel Eric Richard Kandel (; born Erich Richard Kandel, November 7, 1929) is an Austrian-born American medical doctor who specialized in psychiatry, a neuroscientist and a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the College of Physicians and Surgeo ...

, a Nobel Prize winning Austrian-born Jewish-American neuroscientist whose research focused on learning and memory.

Career

Seeger has worked as a director since 1979. Creating documentaries for the

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (; "West German Broadcasting Cologne"), shortened to WDR (), is a German public broadcasting, public-broadcasting institution based in the States of Germany, Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a const ...

, she covered the life of filmmaker

Christoph Schlingensief Christoph Maria Schlingensief (24 October 1960 – 21 August 2010) was a German theatre director, performance artist, and filmmaker. Starting as an independent underground filmmaker, Schlingensief later staged productions for theatres and festiva ...

, director

Peter Zadek Peter Zadek (; 19 May 1926 – 30 July 2009) was a German director of theatre, opera and film, a translator and a screenwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest directors in German-speaking theater. Biography Peter Zadek was born on 19 May ...

, and filmmaker/playwright

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...

. In 1999, she founded a production company named Petra Seeger Film. Her 2008 documentary film ''In Search of Memory'' engages with the life of Nobel Prize winning Austrian neuroscientist

. The film includes interviews with Kandel, his family, and friends, as well as archival footage and recreations of his childhood, and his recollections of witnessing

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

and his emigration to New York in 1939.

Critical reception

''In Search of Memory'' has been reviewed in ''Nature'', the ''New York Times'', ''The Boston Globe'', ''Variety'', ''The Christian Science Monitor'', ''The Chicago Reader'', and the ''Chicago Tribune''. ''In Search of Memory'' received the "Best Documentary" award at the 2010

Bavarian Film Awards The Bavarian Film Awards () are film awards given to German films in the state of Bavaria, awarded by the state government. Background and description The Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bav ...

. ''In Search of Memory'' is included in the permanent collection of the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

Partial filmography

Director

Television

* ''Gsellmanns Augenfutter'' (1979) * ''Der Bund Deutscher Mädel'' (1980) * ''Schule im 3. Reich'' (1980) * ''Turin - Santo Stefano Belbo'', film on

Cesare Pavese Cesare Pavese ( ; ; 9 September 1908 – 27 August 1950) was an Italian novelist, poet, short story writer, translator, literary critic, and essayist. He is often referred to as one of the most influential Italian writers of his time. Early ...

(1984) * ''Abschied vom Drehbuch'', film on " Zweite Heimat" by

Edgar Reitz 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. He is best-known for his internationally acclaimed Heimat (film series), ''Hei ...

(1990) * ''Ein Film kommt auf die Welt'' (1992) * ''Zwischen allen Stühlen'',

makes theater (1993) * ''Nikolaikirche Leipzig'' (1995) * ''Peter Zadek inszeniert Mondlicht von Harold Pinter'' (1996) * ''Film is a battleground'', film on director

Rudolf Thome Rudolf Thome (born 14 November 1939) is a German film director and producer. He has directed more than 30 films since 1964. His 1986 film ''Tarot'' was entered into the 15th Moscow International Film Festival. Selected filmography Director * ...

(1997/1998) * ''380° Afrika'' (1999) * ''Die Schiller-Gang'' (2000/2001) * ''Wim Wenders'', BAP und der Oscar (2002) * ''Bis zu der großen Ewigkeit'' (2006)

Cinema

* ''In Search of Memory'', documentary of

(2008) * ''Vatersland'' (2020)

Actress

* ''Gratwanderung'' (1984) * ''Zwei Bilder'' (1984)

Screenplay

*''Zwei Bilder'' (1984) *''Vatersland'' (2003)

References

External links

*
Petra Seeger's Filmography
*
In Search of Memory: Documentary by Petra Seeger, Question and Answer Session
Carnegie Institution for Science, January 27, 2009
Petra Seeger
at IMDb. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people {{Germany-film-bio-stub