Wolfgang Becker (director, born 1954)

For the earlier German director and film editor, see Wolfgang Becker (director, born 1910).

Wolfgang Becker
Becker at the Berlinale in 2020
Born	(1954-06-22)22 June 1954 Hemer, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Died	12 December 2024(2024-12-12) (aged 70) Berlin, Germany
Occupations	Film director screenwriter

Wolfgang Becker (22 June 1954 – 12 December 2024) was a German film director and screenwriter, best known to international audiences for his work Good Bye, Lenin! (2003).[1] He was a co-founder of the production company X Filme Creative Pool, which produced his first successful feature film, Das Leben ist eine Baustelle, in 1997.

Life and career

Wolfgang Becker was born in Hemer on 22 June 1954.[2] He studied German, History and American Studies at the Free University in Berlin.[2][3] In 1980 he landed a job at a sound studio and later enrolled at the German Film and Television Academy (DFFB). In 1983 he started work as a freelance cameraman graduating from the DFFB in 1986 with Schmetterlinge (Butterflies), which won the Student Academy Award in 1988,[2] the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival,[3] and the Saarland Prime-Minister's Award at the 1988 Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis [de] Saarbrücken.[2]

Becker directed an episode of the television drama Tatort, titled "Blutwurstwalzer [de]".[4] He made his second feature Kinderspiele (Child's Play) in 1992.[2] He created a documentary the same year, Celibidache, about Sergiu Celibidache returning to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic after 38 years.[5]

In 1994 Becker co-founded the production company X Filme Creative Pool with Tom Tykwer, Stefan Arndt, and Dani Levy.[6] He worked with Tykwer on the Berlinale competition feature Das Leben ist eine Baustelle (Life Is All You Get, 1997).[2]

Becker was a founding member of the Deutsche Filmakademie in 2003.[3] He was a member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 2004.[7]

Becker's biggest success was the 2003 film Good Bye, Lenin!, with over 6 million viewers.[8] The short film Ballero was produced for the 2006 FIFA World Cup draw ceremony and broadcast worldwide on television.[9] In October 2024, Becker directed a last film Der Held vom Bahnhof Friedrichstraße about German-German history.[10][11]

Becker was married and had a daughter.[6] He died in Berlin on 12 December 2024 after a severe illness, at the age of 70.[3][6][4][12]

Filmography

Becker directed selected films:[8]

• Schmetterlinge (1988)
• Tatort (TV series) (1 episode, "Blutwurstwalzer") (1991)
• Child's Play (Kinderspiele) (1992), also writer
• Life Is All You Get (Das Leben ist eine Baustelle) (1997), also writer and actor
• Good Bye, Lenin! (2003), also co-writer
• Welcome to São Paulo (Bem-Vindo a São Paulo) (2004), segment
• Ballero (2005), also writer
• Germany 09: 13 Short Films About the State of the Nation (2009), segment "Krankes Haus", also writer
• Me and Kaminski (2015), also writer

Awards

• 1997 Berlin International Film Festival, Honourable Mention for Das Leben ist eine Baustelle[13]
• 1998 Bavarian Film Awards, Best Production, for Das Leben ist eine Baustelle[14]
• 2003 Berlin International Film Festival, Blue Angel for Good Bye Lenin![15]
• 2003 European Film Awards, Audience Award for Best Director for Good Bye Lenin![3]
• 2004 Goya Awards, Best European Film for Good Bye Lenin![2]
• 2004 Bavarian Film Awards, Audience Award for Good Bye Lenin![16]
• 2004 César Awards, Best European Union Film for Good Bye Lenin![2]

References

1. Daum, Andreas W. (2023). "Good Bye, Lenin! (2003): Coping with Change—and the Future in the Counterfactual". Deutsche Filmgeschichten: Historische Porträts, ed. Nicolai Hannig et. al. Goettingen: Wallstein. pp. 221–276.
2. "Wolfgang Becker". Deutsche Filmakademie (in German). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
3. ""Good Bye, Lenin!"-Regisseur Wolfgang Becker gestorben". rbb (in German). 13 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
4. Holighaus, Alfred (13 December 2024). "Good Bye, Wolfgang! Die Filmakademie trauert um Wolfgang Becker". Berlin Philharmonic (in German). Retrieved 17 December 2024.
5. "Sergiu Celibidache: The triumphant return". Berlin Philharmonic (in German). Retrieved 17 December 2024.
6. ""Good Bye, Lenin"-Regisseur Wolfgang Becker mit 70 Jahren gestorben". tagesschau.de (in German). 13 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
7. "Director Boorman heads Venice film fest's jury". Deset News. 26 July 2004. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
8. "Wolfgang Becker". x-filme.de (in German). Retrieved 17 December 2024.
9. "Film1 GmbH & Co.KG". Film1 GmbH & Co.KG (in German). Retrieved 17 December 2024.
10. Heueis, Freddy (28 October 2024). "Wolfgang Becker dreht "Der Held vom Bahnhof Friedrichstraße"". Blickpunkt:Film (in German). Retrieved 17 December 2024.
11. Dpa, Flp (13 December 2024). "Er drehte gerade noch in Leipzig: "Good Bye, Lenin"-Regisseur Wolfgang Becker gestorben". LVZ – Leipziger Volkszeitung (in German). Retrieved 17 December 2024.
12. "È morto Wolfgang Becker, il regista di "Good Bye, Lenin!"". Il Post (in Italian). 13 December 2024.
13. "Berlinale: 1997 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
14. Bayerischer Filmpreis – "Pierrot" Bayerischer Filmpreis
15. "Film Screening: EUFF Classics". @GI_weltweit. 28 October 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
16. "Kult Kino: Good Bye, Lenin!". Goethe-Institut Singapore. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.

External links

• Wolfgang Becker at IMDb
• Wolfgang Becker discography at Discogs
• BBC interview following Good Bye Lenin!
• X Filme Creative Pool