Andreas Dresen (born 16 August 1963) is a German film director. His directing credits include Cloud 9, Summer in Berlin, Grill Point and Night Shapes. His film Stopped on Track premiered at the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Prize of Un Certain Regard. Dresen is known for his realistic style, which gives his films a semi-documentary feel. He works very team-oriented and heavily uses improvisation. In 2013 he was a member of the jury at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.
Early life and education
Dresen was born in Gera. From 1984-85 Dresen worked as a sound engineer for the Schwerin Theatre. From 1984-1986 he was a trainee at East Germany's DEFA Studio for Feature Films as an assistant director to Günter Reisch. Between 1989-91 he studied directing at the Konrad Wolf College of Film and Television in Potsdam-Babelsberg and was a Master student in Günter Reisch's class at the Berlin Art Academy.
Career
Starting in 1985, Dresen directed several short films, documentaries, and films for television, and wrote screenplays. His most successful film to date is Gundermann, a bio pic about the East German singer-songwriter Gerhard Gundermann, who died prematurely in 1998. It had taken Dresen twelve years to get funding for the film, which ended up focussing on Gundermann as a spy for the East German secret service instead of his spokesmanship for East German grievances both before and after 1989, his innovative concepts of theater and performance, or his staunchly leftist political ideas that included alternative visions of globalization and democracy.
Filmography 1990: (TV film) — (based on a story by Jurek Becker) 1992: 1994: Mein unbekannter Ehemann (TV film) 1994: Das andere Leben des Herrn Kreins (TV film) — (based on the play The Professional by Dušan Kovačević) 1996: Polizeiruf 110: Der Tausch (TV series episode) 1997: (TV film) 1999: Nightshapes 2000: (TV film) — (based on a novel by ) 2002: Grill Point (Halbe Treppe) 2005: — (based on a novel by Christoph Hein) 2005: Summer in Berlin — (screenplay by Wolfgang Kohlhaase) 2008: Cloud 9 2009: — (screenplay by Wolfgang Kohlhaase) 2011: Stopped on Track 2015: As We Were Dreaming — (based on a novel by Clemens Meyer) 2017: — (based on the novel Timm Thaler by James Krüss) 2018: Gundermann 2022: Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush 2024: From Hilde, With Love
Documentaries 1989: Jenseits von Klein Wanzleben 1994: Kuckuckskinder 2003: – 2010: 20 x Brandenburg (TV) 2012: Henryk from the Back Row
Awards
German Awards German Film Critics Association Awards o 1999: Best feature film for Night Shapes o 2003: Best feature film for Grill Point Bavarian Film Award o 2003: Director's Award for Grill Point o 2006: Director's Award for Summer in Berlin
Hessian Film Award o 1992: for Stilles Land
Grimme-Award o 2001: Adolf-Grimme-Award in Gold for Policewoman o 2011: Grimme-Award, Section Information and Kultur, for the artistic direction of 20 x Brandenburg
Fernsehfilm-Festival Baden-Baden o 2000: Hauptpreis für Policewoman
German Film Award o 1999: Nominated for the Film Award in Gold for Extraordinary Achievements in Directing for Night Shapes o 2002: Film Award in Silber for Grill Point o 2002: Nominated for the Film Award for Extraordinary Achievements in Directing for Grill Point o 2009: Best Director for Cloud 9
German Television Award o 2001: Award for best Director for Policewoman
Internationales Filmfest Emden Aurich Norderney o 1999: Nominated for the Film Award for Night Shapes
1992: German Film Critics Award
2007: Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
2011: Douglas-Sirk-Award of the Filmfest Hamburg
International Awards International Children's and Youth Filmfestival o 1998: Lucas for the age group 12- and 13 for Changing Skins
Max-Ophüls-Award o 1995: Sponsorship Award for Feature Film for Mein unbekannter Ehemann
International Filmfestival Berlin o 1999: Nominated for the Golden Bear for Night Shapes o 2002: Silver Bear of the jury for Grill Point
Montréal Film Festival o 2000: Nominated for the Grand Prix for Policewoman
International Filmfestival Flandern o 2002: Silver Spur for Grill Point
Chicago International Film Festival o 2002: Silver Hugo – Best Director for Grill Point
European Film Award o 2002: Nominated for Best Director for Grill Point o 2008: Nominated for Best Director for Cloud 9
International Film Festival of Cannes o 2008: Coup de coeur du jury for Grill Point o 2011: Prix Un Certain Regard for Stopped on Track
International Filmfestival Karlovy Vary o 2009: Best Director for Whiskey with Vodka
References
External links
Interview with Andreas Dresen by Ulrich Bach & Enrique Gonzales-Conti