Christian Petzold

Christian Petzold born September 14 1960 Hilden is a German filmmaker best known for directing the films Barbara Jerichow and Phoenix He is credited to the Berlin School and has received numerous prizes and awards Petzold writes his own scenarios often collaborating with Harun Farocki As his former teacher at dffb Farocki was a major influence on Petzold who along with Angela Schanelec and Thomas Arslan is generally considered to be part of the Berlin School While the Berlin School is often associated with a new turn towards realism and political cinema Petzolds films while they address issues of work and employment also deal with conflicts between life and death His first film was Pilots 1995 which he directed for his film school graduation in 1995 While The State I Am In 2000 was his first feature film also noting his first collaboration with Harun Farocki In 2005 his film Ghostswas presented at the Berlin International Film Festival as was his 2007 film Yella Petzolds film Barbara 2012 competed in competition at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival and Petzold won the Silver Bear for Best Director The film was selected as the German entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards but it did not make the final shortlist For the film Afire 2023 Christian Petzold received the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2023