Maren Ade (; born 12 December 1976) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer. Ade lives in Berlin, teaching screenwriting at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg. Together with Janine Jackowski and Jonas Dornbach, she runs the production company Komplizen Film. She is best known for her film Toni Erdmann, which was nominated for an Academy Award.
Early life and education Ade was born in Karlsruhe, West Germany. As a teenager, she directed her first short films.
In 1998, she began studying film production and media management, and later film direction at the University of Television and Film (HFF) in Munich,Manohla Dargis (May 22, 2016), The Director of ‘Toni Erdmann' Savors Her Moment at Cannes New York Times. which she successfully completed in 2004.
Career In 2001, Ade co-founded the film production company Komplizen Film together with Janine Jackowski, a fellow graduate from HFF. It was with Komplizen Film that she produced her final student film The Forest for the Trees at HFF in 2003. Among other honors, the film received the Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005. The Forest for the Trees was screened at a large number of international festivals.
In 2009, her second film Everyone Else celebrated its world premiere in the Official Competition section of the Berlin International Film Festival, where it received the Silver Bear for Best Film (Jury Grand Prix) and the Best Actress Silver Bear for Birgit Minichmayr. Everyone Else was released in theatres in over 18 countries.
In 2012, Ade announced she would be writing and directing a film called Toni Erdmann about a man who begins to play pranks on his adult daughter after he finds she has become too serious. The film debuted In Competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, the first German film to debut there in 10 years. The film won the top prize at the European Film Awards (Best European Film), thus making Ade the first woman to direct a movie that won the top prize at those awards.
Ade served on the jury of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, chaired by Pedro Almodóvar.Rachel Donadio (25 April 2017), Will Smith and Jessica Chastain Join Pedro Almodóvar on Cannes Festival Jury New York Times. At the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, she presided over the festival's short film competition jury, as well as the jury for the La Cinef lineup of student films.Scott Roxborough (25 April 2025), Cannes: ‘Toni Erdmann’ Director Maren Ade Heads up Short Film Jury The Hollywood Reporter.
Personal life Ade lives with director Ulrich Köhler and their two children in Berlin.
In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Ade signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.
Filmography
Feature films YearEnglish TitleOriginal TitleNotes2003The Forest for the TreesDer Wald vor lauter Bäumen2009Everyone ElseAlle anderen2016Toni ErdmannTBAThe Magic WordIn production
Short films 2000: Level 9 2001: Vegas
Only producer YearEnglish TitleOriginal TitleDirector(s)Notes2002Karma CowboySonja Heiss and Vanessa van HoutenProducer2006Sonja Heiss2011Sleeping SicknessSchlafkrankheitUlrich Köhler2012TabuMiguel GomesCo-producerThe Dead and the LivingDie LebendenBarbara Albert2013Tanta AguaAna Guevara and Leticia JorgeRedemptionMiguel Gomes2014Love IslandJasmila ŽbanićSuperegosÜber-Ich und DuBenjamin HeisenbergProducer2015Hedi Schneider Is StuckHedi Schneider steckt festSonja HeissArabian NightsAs Mil e uma NoitesMiguel GomesCo-producer2017WesternValeska GrisebachProducer2021The Story of My WifeA feleségem történeteIldikó EnyediSpencerPablo Larraín2025DeliciousNele Mueller-StöfenSentimental ValueAffeksjonsverdiJoachim TrierCo-producer2026The Dreamed AdventureDas Geträumte AbenteuerValeska GrisebachProducer
Accolades 2005: Special Jury Award, Sundance Film Festival for The Forest for the Trees 2005: Best Feature Film - Grand Prize, IndieLisboa - International Independent Film Festival for The Forest for the Trees 2005: Best Film, nomination for the German Film Award for The Forest for the Trees 2005: Best Feature Film, Cine Jove Valencia Film Festival for The Forest for the Trees 2005: Best Actress: Eva Löbau, Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival for The Forest for the Trees 2009: Silver Bear – Jury Grand Prix, Berlinale, for Everyone Else 2009: Silver Bear– Best Actress for Birgit Minichmayr, Berlinale, for Everyone Else 2010: Nominated for Best Film, Best Direction and Best Female Lead for Birgit Minichmayr, German Film Award for Everyone Else 2010: Best Direction and FIPRESCI Critics' Award, Buenos Aires Festival of Independent Cinema for Everyone Else 2010: Main Prize, International Women's Film Festival Dortmund for Everyone Else 2010: Best Actor for Lars Eidinger, Love Is Folly International Film Festival for Everyone Else 2010: Best Actress for Birgit Minichmayr, Ourense Film Festival for Everyone Else 2014: Berlin Art Prize in the category Film and Media Art 2015: DEFA Foundation Award for Outstanding Performance in German Film for Komplizen Film 2016: Academy Award nomination, Best Foreign Film, for "Toni Erdmann"
References
Further reading Take 100, The Future of Film: 100 New Directors, Phaidon Verlag, 2010 The Berlin School: Films from the Berliner Schule, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2013
External links
50 Best Filmmakers Under 50 Was ich dir noch sagen wollte Perfectly Happy, Until They Venture Into the Outside World