Ralf Kirsten
Ralf Kirsten (born May 30, 1930 in Leipzig ; † January 23, 1998 in Berlin ) was one of the most important directors and scriptwriters in the GDR . Kirsten became known to a wider audience primarily through his collaboration with Manfred Krug , for whose films he often wrote the script and directed.
biography
Kirsten was born in Leipzig as the son of a primary school teacher. After graduating from high school and an apprenticeship as an electrician, he began studying German and theater studies at the Humboldt University in Berlin . In 1951 he moved to the theater institute in Weimar and in 1952 to the FAMU film school in Prague, where he began studying directing.
His diploma film from 1956 Bärenburger Schnurre convinced the critics, but he did not get a permanent contract with DEFA and instead ended up with the new medium of television. Here he gained experience with all types and genres and worked in youth television. In 1958 he was given the opportunity to work as assistant director for Slatan Dudow's Confusion of Love again for DEFA, where he was finally hired in 1960 as a director of the DEFA studios for feature films.
His first work, Stone Age Ballad , received little attention from the critics. In 1961 he succeeded in a film that was celebrated by the public with On the Sunny Side , in which Manfred Krug played the leading role. This collaboration proved to be extremely successful, so that Kirsten worked with him in four other films.
In addition to the big DEFA feature films, Kirsten also worked as a director for GDR television . With the reunification and the end of DEFA, his work was no longer in demand. From then on he taught as a lecturer for directing at the University of Film and Television Potsdam .
Filmography
- 1956: Bärenburger Schnurre (director)
- 1957: Tomorrow's ski champions (director)
- 1958: Just one woman (assistant director)
- 1959: Confusion of Love (assistant director)
- 1960: Encounter in the Twilight (assistant director)
- 1960: Stone Age Ballad (director, co-screenplay)
- 1961: Hope for Credit (TV; Director)
- 1961: On the sunny side (director, co-script)
- 1962: Description of a summer (director, co-script)
- 1963: Vixen and Beaver (director, screenplay)
- 1963: Dreams Are Foams (co-director)
- 1964: Follow me, Canailles! (Director)
- 1966/1971: The Lost Angel (Director, Screenplay)
- 1967: Mrs. Venus and her devil (director, screenplay)
- 1970: Network (director, co-script)
- 1970: Two letters to Pospischiel (two-part TV series; director)
- 1971: Young man (TV; director)
- 1973: The Devil's Elixirs (Director)
- 1973: Unterm Birnbaum (director, screenplay)
- 1975: A Pyramid for Me (director, co-script)
- 1978: I'll Make You Live (Director, Screenplay)
- 1979: Addio, piccola mia (actor)
- 1979: Laughing Doves Don't Cry (Director)
- 1984: Where Others Are Silent (Director)
- 1987: Käthe Kollwitz - Pictures of a Life (Director, Screenplay)
Awards
- 1962: Heinrich Greif Prize 1st class in the collective for On the Sunny Side
- 1962: Literature Prize of the FDGB for On the Sunny Side
- 1971: Heinrich Greif Prize 1st class for network
- 1978: Medal of Merit of the GDR
- 1980: Heinrich Greif Prize 1st class in the collective for laughing pigeons don't cry
- 1984: National Prize of the GDR, 2nd class for art and literature
- 1985: Art Prize of the FDGB for where others are silent in a collective
Web links
- Ralf Kirsten in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Literature by and about Ralf Kirsten in the catalog of the German National Library
- Biography on defa-stiftung.de
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Kirsten, Ralf |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German film director and screenwriter |
DATE OF BIRTH | May 30, 1930 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Leipzig |
DATE OF DEATH | January 23, 1998 |
Place of death | Berlin |