Hank Levine

Hank Levine
Born
Hans-Werner Maria Levy

(1965-06-29) June 29, 1965 (age 59)
Bonn, West Germany (now Germany)
NationalityGerman
Other namesHans-Werner Maria Stumpf
Alma materFree University of Berlin
University of Bonn
University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation(s)Director
Producer
Author
Years active1993 - present
Known forCity of God
Wasteland
War Zone

Hans-Werner Maria Levy (born 29 June 1965), better known as Hank Levine, is a German director, documentary filmmaker and writer based in Berlin, Germany. He is known for producing Academy Awards nominated films such as City of God and Wasteland.[1][2][3]

Early life

Levine was born in Bonn, West Germany in 1965 and spent his childhood years in Hennef (Sieg). He graduated from high school in 1985 and studied law at the university town of Marburg for a few semesters. Between 1988 and 1990, he attended University of Bonn where he studied Economics. From 1990 to 1993, Levine attended Free University of Berlin where he studied journalism. From 1994, Levine attended University of California, Los Angeles's Extension Program where he studied advertising and feature film production.[4][5]

Career

During his time at UCLA, Levine started shooting avant-garde short films and in 1993, he directed his first short film The Flying Dutchmen which premiered at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.[6] In 1995, he founded the production company Hank Levine Film GmbH.[7] In 1996, Levine collaborated with Maggie Hadleigh-West and produced the documentary, War Zone, under the banner of Hank Levine Film GmbH.[8] War Zone was filmed over several years and was premiered at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival in 1998.[9]

Levine's documentaries and feature films focus on environment, human-rights and socio-political conflicts. In 2000, Levine moved to Brazil where he collaborated with the Brazilian film director, Fernando Meirelles and produced City of God for Meirelles's production company O2 Filmes.[10] In 2005, Levine directed and produced a sports documentary, Ginga: The Soul of Brasilian Football, based on football in Brazil.[11] The film was nominated at Prêmio Contigo! de Cinema Nacional awards in 2007, in the category Best Director and Best Documentary.[12]

In 2010, Levine produced Rosa Morena, a Danish-Brazilian drama film directed by Carlos Augusto de Oliveira.[13] The film premiered at the São Paulo International Film Festival in 2010.[14] Later that year, he produced Waste Land directed by Lucy Walker.[15] The film chronicles the life of the artist Vik Muniz.[16] City of God and Waste Land were nominated under the several award categories at the 76th and the 83rd Academy Awards respectively.[17][18]

In the year 2014, Levine produced Futuro Beach, a Brazilian-German drama film directed by Karim Aïnouz and starring Wagner Moura, Clemens Schick and Jesuíta Barbosa.[19] The film premiered at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear awards.[20][21][22]

In 2017, Levine produced and directed Exodus - Where I Come From is Disappearing. The film documents the story about people as refugees and asylum seekers at the various part of the world.[23] The film's narration was written by Taiye Selasi and was narrated by Wagner Moura.[24] The film was part of the Reykjavík International Film Festival in the year 2017.[25]

Levine produced and directed Dialogue Earth in 2019, a feature length documentary based on the life of the German artist Ulrike Arnold.[26]

Selected filmography

Year Film Credited as Notes
Director Producer
1993 The Flying Dutchmen Yes Yes Short film
1995 Ocean Blue No Yes Short film
1998 The Original Sin No Yes Short film
1998 War Zone No Yes Documentary
1999 Hidden Agenda No Yes
(co-executive producer) 		Feature film
2000 Waterproof No Yes
(executive producer) 		Feature film
2000 Deus Jr. No Yes Feature film
2002 City of God No Yes Feature film
2005 Ginga: The Soul of Brasilian Football Yes Yes Documentary
2010 Pesadelo Yes Yes Short film
2010 Rosa Morena No Yes Feature film
2010 Waste Land No Yes Documentary
2011 Abandonados Yes Yes Documentary
2011 Barcelona or Barsakh Yes Yes Documentary
2014 Futuro Beach No Yes Feature film
2017 Exodus Where I Come from Is Disappearing Yes Yes Documentary
2019 Dialogue Earth Yes Yes Documentary

References

  1. ^ Blaney, Martin (9 February 2014). "Weingartner making English debut". screendaily.com. Screen Daily. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  2. ^ Miami Staff (27 January 2011). "'Waste Land' (unrated)". miamiherald.com. Miami Herald. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  3. ^ Kilday, Gregg (27 October 2010). "'Exit Through the Gift Shop,' 'Waste Land' Nominated for IDA Best Doc". hollywoodreporter.com. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Hank Levine – Director/Producer - Biography". refugeediaries.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Bibliographie der ungarischen Exilpresse im Ungarischen Institut München". adoc.pub. ANZDOC. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Biography - Hank Levine, Producer". wastelandmovie.com. Almega Projects. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Hank Levine Film GmbH, Düsseldorf". cylex.de. Cylex. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  8. ^ Maslin, Janet (12 August 1998). "FILM REVIEW; A Woman Cries Wolf Whistler - War Zone". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  9. ^ "War Zone Director Maggie Hadleigh-West shoots and interviews the men that harass her in public". d-word.com. The D-Word. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  10. ^ Levine, Sydney (23 February 2014). "Profile of a Producer: Hank Levine". sydneysbuzz.com. SydneysBuzz. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  11. ^ Edwards, Russell (16 August 2005). "Film Review - Ginga: The Soul Of Brazilian Football". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Confira a lista completa dos indicados ao 2º Prêmio Contigo!". oglobo.globo.com (in Portuguese). O Globo. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  13. ^ Det Danske Filminstitut (24 April 2011). "Filmdatabasen - Rosa Morena Carlos Oliveira, Denmark, 2011". dfi.dk. Danish Film Institute. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  14. ^ BRAFFTv (21 September 2011). "Brazilian Film & Tv Festival of Toronto". magazinediscover.com. Discover. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  15. ^ Holden, Stephen (29 October 2010). "'Waste Land': Lucy Walker Film on Brazilian Catadores - Review". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  16. ^ THR Staff (14 October 2010). "Waste Land -- Film Review". hollywoodreporter.com. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  17. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (13 February 2012). "Ainouz sees Futuro with German-Brazilian drama". screendaily.com. Screen Daily. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  18. ^ Ryzik, Melena (3 February 2011). "Documentaries Provide Oscar Drama". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  19. ^ Lodge, Guy (11 February 2014). "Berlin Film Review: 'Praia do Futuro'". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  20. ^ THR Staff (11 February 2018). "A dreamy, melancholy drama from Karim Ainouz that's stronger on mood than narrative depth". hollywoodreporter.com. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Film file - Praia do futuro". berlinale.de. Berlin International Film Festival. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  22. ^ "64th Berlin International Film Festival 2014". filmaffinity.com. FilmAffinity. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  23. ^ German Documentaries (29 March 2018). "a film by Hank Levine - EXODUS - Where I come from is disappearing". german-documentaries.de. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Exodus. Where I come from is disappearing - Milano Design film Festival". milanodesignfilmfestival.com. Milano Design Film Festival. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  25. ^ "Reykjavik International Film Festival 2017 - Exodus – Where I Come From is Disappearing". mubi.com. Mubi. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  26. ^ Mastalerz, Christopher (23 August 2020). "Erdmalerin" in Künstlers Garten". wz.de (in German). Westdeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 15 February 2021.