Herbert Achternbusch | |
|---|---|
 Achternbusch in 2015 | |
| Born | Herbert Schild (1938-11-23)23 November 1938 Munich, Germany |
| Died | 10 January 2022(2022-01-10) (aged 83) Munich, Germany |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1971–2002 |
| Awards | |
Herbert Achternbusch (néSchild; 23 November 1938 – 10 January 2022) was a Germanfilm director, writer and painter.[1] He began as a writer of avant-garde prose, such as the novelDie Alexanderschlacht, before turning to low-budget films. He had a love-hate relationship withBavaria which showed itself in his work. Some of his controversial films, such asDas Gespenst (The Ghost), were presented at theBerlinale festival.
Born Herbert Schild in 1938 in Munich,[2] Achternbusch was the illegitimate son of the sports teacher Luise Schild, née Muckenthaler, and the dental technician Adolf Achternbusch.[3] He grew up in theBavarian Forest with his grandmother.[3][4] In 1960, he was adopted by his biological father and took the name Achternbusch.[5] After hisAbitur inCham,[6] he studied at theAcademy of Fine Arts, Nuremberg, and at theAcademy of Fine Arts, Munich.[4][7]
In the early 1970s, Achternbusch wrote the proseDie Alexanderschlacht,[4] an important novel for the literary avant-garde of the time.[8] Achternbusch produced almost 30 low budget films.[9] He was often the leading actor in his films,[10] and worked mainly with friends.[11] In 1975, Achternbusch met actorJosef Bierbichler, who played in 15 of his films, partly without salary.[12] Also notable were the actressesAnnamirl Bierbichler [de] andMargarethe von Trotta,[13] as well as actor and painterHeinz Braun and cinematographerJörg Schmidt-Reitwein.[14] In 1974, he made his film debut withDas Andechser Gefühl.[15] The 1977 filmBierkampf [de] (Beerfight) caused attention with numerous drunkOktoberfest visitors as involuntary amateur actors.[4] Role models are the comediansKarl Valentin andGroucho Marx.[16][17][18] Hisanarchistsurrealistic films are not known to a wide audience in Germany, although one of them,Das Gespenst (The Ghost), caused a scandal in 1983 because of its allegedblasphemous contents,[19] including a scene where Christ climbs down from the cross and later goes bathing with a nun.[15] Federal Minister of the InteriorFriedrich Zimmermann halted the funding for the film as it was deemed to have violated the "religious feeling of large parts of the population".[4] For a long time, no public broadcaster showed any of Achternbusch's films.[20] Years of legal battle ensued, with Achternbusch finally winning in 1992.[11] In the 1983 filmDer Depp, he had his favorite enemyFranz Josef Strauss poisoned.[6]
In 2002, Achternbusch stopped making films.[10] In 2008, theMunich Film Festival dedicated a retrospective to him,[7] and on the occasion of his 80th birthday, theMunich Film Museum paid tribute with eight of his feature films and a film portrait.[6]
Achternbusch was also prolific as a writer and painter, producing 20 plays, 40 books, and hundreds of paintings.[9] The first English language translation of his written works appeared in 2024 with a compilation entitledThe Olympic Champion.[21] It includes four "filmbooks" and two plays. "Filmbook" is the word used to describe the unique, quasi-novelistic form in which Achternbusch wrote works for both publication (whether alone or within a larger volume) and filming. His large-format paintings have been described as child-like, expressive, and "naively excessive".[11] For his 70th birthday, theMuseum of Modern Art Passau [de] made an exhibition of his works.[7] His plays were present on German stages, such as his two-person playGust at theMunich Kammerspiele in 1986,[22] and his last playDogtown Munich at theMünchner Volkstheater in 2017.[23][24] He was also a theatre director.[20]Werner Herzog, a director of theNew German Cinema, based his filmHeart of Glass on a story by Achternbusch.[25] Achternbusch wrote novels, poetry, children's books and also theatre reviews for the German newspaperSüddeutsche Zeitung.[26]
Achternbusch was the father of six children with three women.[27] In 1959, his daughter Eva was born. The child's mother was a classmate. In 1962, during his studies, Achternbusch met Gerda Oberpaul, whom he married in November.[28] The children from that marriage were Rut (born 1963), Andreas (born 1964), Rita (born 1966), and Judit (born 1968).[29] They divorced in 1982.[29] From 1985 to 1993, Achternsbusch's partner and actress in 20 of his films wasAnnamirl Bierbichler [de], sister ofJosef Bierbichler.[30] In the 1980s, they lived together in a commune in Ambach,Lake Starnberg.[11] From 1990 onward, Achternbusch lived on Munich's Burgstraße.[31] From 1993 to 1997, he was married to the actress Judith Tobschall. Their daughter is the actressNaomi [de] (born 1994).[29] He had a love-hate relationship with his homeland ofBavaria.[3]
Achternbusch eventually withdrew from public life,[3] and died in Munich on 10 January 2022, at the age of 83.[32][33] Federal PresidentFrank-Walter Steinmeier described Achternbusch in a letter of condolence as a "unique universal artist" and that he "invaluably enriched the German cultural landscape, also because he provoked and polarized".[34][35]
Achternbusch was awarded the German international literaryPetrarca-Preis in 1977, but he declined the honor.[4][31] He burned the prize check after accepting it and left the event.[31] He won theMülheimer Dramatikerpreis in 1986 and 1994.[36] In 1996, Achternbusch refused to personally receive the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Film Award in Bielefeld.[37] In 2010, he was awarded theKassel Literary Prize.[38]
