Helma Sanders-Brahms (20 November 1940 – 27 May 2014) was a German

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and producer.

Biography

Helma Sanders was born on 20 November 1940 in

Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...

, Germany. She attended a school for acting in

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

from 1960 to 1962, then majored in literature and drama at

Cologne University The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

. Her early career involved work as a hospital aide and an on-air announcer for the Cologne television station WDR-3. She produced documentaries and film shorts for the station. During a trip to Italy in 1967, she interned with film directors

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

and

Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed both very violent Spaghetti Westerns and bloodless Bud Spencer and Terence Hill action comedies. He is the older bro ...

, a decisive experience in her choice to pursue film-making. Beginning in 1969, she made her own films, writing her own screenplays and producing many of her films herself. Her film-making comprised both fiction and documentary films, and many of her films contain a strong autobiographical component. Her early films engage critically with the themes of labour, migration, and the situation of women in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. Her 1971 television film ''Gewalt'' dealt with workers on the assembly line of a

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

factory. Her 1973 documentary film ''Die Maschine'' was awarded the

FIPRESCI Prize The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

. ''

Under the Pavement Lies the Strand ''Under the Pavement Lies the Strand'' (german: Unter dem Pflaster ist der Strand) is a 1975 West German black and white drama film directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms. This low-budget film was her first feature film."Helma Sanders-Brahms: Film and N ...

'' was a central film for the German women's movement and for the student movement, as well as for the director's own emergence as an explicitly feminist film-maker. The controversial made-for-television movie ''Shirin's Wedding'' depicted the tragic death of a Turkish migrant to Germany, addressing the subject of

forced marriage Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later force ...

. From her reading of classic German literature, she developed a special sympathy for the work of

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays ''Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', ''The Broken Jug'', ''Amphit ...

. At least three of her films are either based on, or explicitly refer to, that author. In the late 1970s, Sanders-Brahms' films turned away from political themes and towards radical subjectivism, linking mother-daughter relationships to the tumultuous history of Germany. She gained international recognition with '' Germany, Pale Mother'', which addresses German women's experiences during and after the Nazi period. As a director of the

New German Cinema New German Cinema (german: Neuer Deutscher Film) is a period in German cinema which lasted from 1962 to 1982, in which a new generation of directors emerged who, working with low budgets, and influenced by the French New Wave and Italian Neorea ...

movement, her scripts focus on the concerns of the political left. Her final theatrical film ''

Geliebte Clara ''Geliebte Clara'' ("Beloved Clara") is a Franco-German-Hungarian 2008 film, directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms, her last film before her 2014 death, about the pianist Clara Schumann and her marriage with the composer Robert Schumann. Plot Afte ...

'' ("Beloved Clara") concerned the love triangle between

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

, and

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

. Her films have been awarded many prizes at festivals worldwide. In 1982, she was a member of the jury at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival.

Honours

She was made an Officier of the French

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

and a member of the

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

Death

Sanders-Brahms died in Berlin on 27 May 2014 of cancer, aged 73.

Legacy

Abroad, Sanders-Brahms was highly received by film critics from countries such as the United States, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom. In her home country of Germany however, her work was not as well regarded. German critics found her films "heavyhanded" and "navel-gazing." Shortly before her death, she was quoted saying: "Before I die, I’d just like to make one last attempt to rescue my films from oblivion in my country and say: at least have a look at them".

Selected filmography

*''Violence'' (1971, TV film) *''The Employee'' (1972, TV film) *''The Machine'' (1973) *''The Last Days of Gomorrah'' (1974, TV film) *''

'' (1975) *'' Earthquake in Chile'' (1975, TV film) *''Shirin's Wedding'' (1976) *' (1977) *'' Germany, Pale Mother'' (1980) *''

No Mercy, No Future ''No Mercy, No Future'' (german: Die Berührte , ''"The Touched"'') is a 1981 West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formatio ...

'' (1981) *'' The Future of Emily'' (1984) *''

Laputa Laputa uh·poo·tuhis a flying island described in the 1726 book ''Gulliver's Travels'' by Jonathan Swift. It is about in diameter, with an adamantine base, which its inhabitants can manoeuvre in any direction using magnetic levitation. The ...

'' (1986) *' (Segment: "Er am Ende") (1988, anthology film) *''

Apple Trees An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

'' (1992) *''

My Heart Is Mine Alone ''My Heart Is Mine Alone'' (german: Mein Herz – niemandem!) is a 1997 German experimental drama film directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms. A 1997 issue of '' Jewish Currents'' wrote that the film is "a kind of German movie that usually requires mo ...

'' (1997) *''

'' (2008)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders-Brahms, Helma 1940 births 2014 deaths Film people from Lower Saxony German film actresses Deaths from cancer in Germany