Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | |
|---|---|
 Henckel von Donnersmarck in 2015 | |
| Born | Florian Maria Georg Christian Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (1973-05-02)2 May 1973 (age 52) |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse | Christiane Asschenfeldt |
| Children | 3 (includingLara Cosima) |
| Parent(s) | Count Leo-Ferdinand Henckel von Donnersmarck Countess Anna Maria von Berg |
Florian Maria Georg ChristianGraf Henckel von Donnersmarck (German:[ˈfloː.ʁi.aːnˈhɛŋ.kl̩fɔnˈdɔ.nɐsˌmaʁk]ⓘ; born 2 May 1973)[1] is a German-Austrian film director. He is best known for writing and directing the 2006 dramatic thrillerDas Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others), which won theAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He also wrote and directed the 2010 romantic thrillerThe Tourist starringAngelina Jolie andJohnny Depp, and the 2018 epic dramaNever Look Away.
Henckel von Donnersmarck was born in 1973 inCologne,West Germany, into the aristocratic Roman CatholicHenckel von Donnersmarck family. He grew up in New York City,Brussels, Frankfurt, andWest Berlin and is fluent in English, German, French, Russian, and Italian.
After graduating at the top of his class from the German section of theEuropean School of Brussels I, he studiedRussian literature inSt. Petersburg for two years and passed the State Exam for Teachers of Russian as a Foreign Language. He then readphilosophy, politics, and economics atNew College, Oxford, and received aBachelor of Arts degree, laterpromoted to a Master of Arts degree per tradition. He also studied at theUniversity of Television and Film in Munich, receiving a diploma in Film Directing.[2][not specific enough to verify]
The younger son ofLeo-Ferdinand Henckel von Donnersmarck, a former president of the German division of theOrder of Malta, and literary scoutCountess Anna Maria von Berg, Henckel von Donnersmarck holds German and Austrian citizenships. His father's only brother, Gregor Henckel Donnersmarck, is the emeritusabbot atHeiligenkreuz Abbey, aCistercian monastery in theVienna Woods where Henckel von Donnersmarck spent a month writing the first draft ofThe Lives of Others (German:Das Leben der Anderen).[3] His grandfather, CountFriedrich-Carl Henckel von Donnersmarck, was aThomist philosopher.[4] He is a distant relative of the German filmmakerAnna Henckel-Donnersmarck.[5]
Henckel von Donnersmarck is married to Christiane Asschenfeldt, the first International Executive Director ofCreative Commons. They have three children, includingLara Cosima Henckel von Donnersmarck, and currently live in Los Angeles.[6] He stands 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) tall.[7]
In 1977 (aged 4 or 5), while living as a child in New York, he saw his first movie at theMuseum of Modern Art. He expected to seeDoctor Dolittle but was "exposed instead to" the German melodramaVarieté. He cites this experience as the start of his interest in film.[8]
In 1996, he won a directing apprenticeship withRichard Attenborough onIn Love and War, and then went to study at the Fiction Directing Class of the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München (University of Television and Film Munich), Germany, alma mater of directors as diverse asWim Wenders,Roland Emmerich andMaren Ade, who was Donnersmarck's classmate. His first short film,Dobermann (which he wrote, produced, directed and edited), broke the school record for the number of awards won by a student production. It became an international festival sensation, and Donnersmarck traveled the festival circuit for over a year.[9][10]
His first feature filmDas Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others), which Donnersmarck spent three years writing, directing and completing, won theEuropean Film Award for Best Film, Best Actor and Best Screenplay in 2006. Donnersmarck won theLos Angeles Film Critics Association's award for Best Foreign Film, was nominated for theGolden Globe (which went toClint Eastwood instead), and on 25 February 2007 won theAcademy Award for Best International Feature Film.[11] In 2007, Donnersmarck was one of 115 new members to be invited to joinAMPAS.[12]
His next film,The Tourist, was released in 2010. Donnersmarck re-wrote, directed and completed his sophomore work in under eleven months, tellingCharlie Rose he had wanted a break from writing a dark screenplay about suicide.The Tourist was a thriller starringAngelina Jolie andJohnny Depp, and was nominated for threeGolden Globes: Best Musical or Comedy, Depp for Actor Musical or Comedy and Jolie for Actress Musical or Comedy.[13][14] It also won threeTeen Choice Awards nominations (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress) of which it won two. The film opened to middling number, but eventually ended up grossing US$278.3 million at the worldwide box office,[15] promptingThe Hollywood Reporter belatedly to proclaim it an "international hit".[16]
In 2019, his third feature filmNever Look Away was nominated for theGolden Lion at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, for aGolden Globe by theHollywood Foreign Press Association and for twoOscars in theBest International Feature Film andBest Cinematography categories at the91st Academy Awards.[17] This was only the second time in history that a German language film by a German director was nominated for an Oscar inmultiple categories, the other film beingWolfgang Petersen'sDas Boot 36 years prior. It became one of less than two dozen German language features since the end ofWorld War II to surpass one million dollars at the North American box office.[18] Donnersmarck andChristian Petzold are the only directors to have two films in that list. In most international territories, beginning with the Netherlands,Never Look Away became the most successful German language film sinceThe Lives of Others.[19][20]
In 2022, he was set to direct the psychological thrillerVent for Alcon Entertainment.[21]
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Mitternacht | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-directed with Sebastian Henckel-Donnersmarck |
| 1998 | Das Datum | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1999 | Dobermann | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2002 | Der Templer | Yes | No | No | No | Co-directed with Sebastian Henckel-Donnersmarck |
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Petits mythes urbains | Episode "Témoin à charge" |
Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Lives of Others | Yes | Yes | Co-producer |
| 2010 | The Tourist | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2018 | Never Look Away | Yes | Yes | Yes |
In a 2010 interview withThe Guardian, directorHoward Davies named Donnersmarck as the artist he most admired.[22]
René Pollesch wrote a play,L'Affaire Martin!, which poked fun at von Donnersmarck. According to Pollesch, the director's parents attended a performance and came backstage to say they liked it.[23]
After meeting him at theDavos World Economic Forum,Jay Nordlinger, writing forNational Review, described Donnersmarck as "one of the most impressive people on the planet".[24]
The Europe List, a largest survey on European culture, named Donnersmarck'sThe Lives of Others second on a list of the best films in European culture, afterRoberto Benigni'sLife Is Beautiful and followed byJean-Pierre Jeunet'sAmélie.[25]
Kyle Smith writing forNational Review ranked Donnersmarck'sNever Look Away as the No. 1 Best Film of the Decade 2010–2019.[26]
In 2023 and 2024, Donnersmarck's daughterLara Cosima publicly refuted claims that her family had aided theNazis duringWorld War II.[27]
Commander of theBavarian Order of Merit
Commander of theNorth Rhine-WestphalianOrder of Merit
