Maren Ade (; born 12 December 1976) is a German

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

, screenwriter and producer. Ade lives in Berlin, teaching screenwriting at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a Cities of Germany, city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg (district), Lu ...

. Together with Janine Jackowski and Jonas Dornbach, she runs the production company Komplizen Film. She is best known for her film '' Toni Erdmann'', which was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

Early life and education

Ade was born in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

, West Germany. As a teenager, she directed her first short films. In 1998, she began studying film production and media management, and later film direction at the University of Television and Film (HFF) in Munich, Manohla Dargis (May 22, 2016)
The Director of ‘Toni Erdmann' Savors Her Moment at Cannes
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. which she successfully completed in 2004.

Career

In 2001, Ade co-founded the film production company Komplizen Film together with Janine Jackowski, a fellow graduate from HFF. It was with Komplizen Film that she produced her final student film '' The Forest for the Trees'' at HFF in 2003. Among other honors, the film received the Special Jury Award at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

in 2005. ''The Forest for the Trees'' was screened at a large number of international festivals. In 2009, her second film '' Everyone Else'' celebrated its world premiere in the Official Competition section of the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

, where it received the Silver Bear for Best Film (Jury Grand Prix) and the Best Actress Silver Bear for Birgit Minichmayr. '' Everyone Else'' was released in theatres in over 18 countries. In 2012, Ade announced she would be writing and directing a film called '' Toni Erdmann'' about a man who begins to play pranks on his adult daughter after he finds she has become too serious. The film debuted In Competition at the

2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian filmmaker George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and ...

, the first German film to debut there in 10 years. The film won the top prize at the

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...

(Best European Film), thus making Ade the first woman to direct a movie that won the top prize at those awards.

Personal life

Ade lives with director and their two children in Berlin. In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Ade signed an open letter published in ''

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

'' demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.

Awards and nominations

* 2005: Special Jury Award,

for ''The Forest for the Trees'' * 2005: Best Feature Film - Grand Prize, IndieLisboa - International Independent Film Festival for ''The Forest for the Trees'' * 2005: Best Film, nomination for the German Film Award for ''The Forest for the Trees'' * 2005: Best Feature Film, Cine Jove Valencia Film Festival for ''The Forest for the Trees'' * 2005: Best Actress: Eva Löbau, Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival for ''The Forest for the Trees'' * 2009: Silver Bear – Jury Grand Prix, Berlinale, for '' Everyone Else'' * 2009: Silver Bear– Best Actress for Birgit Minichmayr, Berlinale, for '' Everyone Else'' * 2010: Nominated for Best Film, Best Direction and Best Female Lead for Birgit Minichmayr, German Film Award for '' Everyone Else'' * 2010: Best Direction and FIPRESCI Critics' Award, Buenos Aires Festival of Independent Cinema for '' Everyone Else'' * 2010: Main Prize, International Women's Film Festival Dortmund for '' Everyone Else'' * 2010: Best Actor for Lars Eidinger, Love Is Folly International Film Festival for '' Everyone Else'' * 2010: Best Actress for Birgit Minichmayr, Ourense Film Festival for '' Everyone Else'' * 2014: Berlin Art Prize in the category Film and Media Art * 2015: DEFA Foundation Award for Outstanding Performance in German Film for Komplizen Film * 2016: Academy Award nomination, Best Foreign Film, for "Toni Erdmann"

Filmography

;As director and screenwriter * 2000: ''Level 9'', short film (script and direction) * 2001: ''Vegas'', short film (script and direction) * 2003: '' The Forest for the Trees'', feature film (script and direction) * 2009: '' Everyone Else'', feature film (script and direction) * 2016: '' Toni Erdmann'', feature film (script and direction) ;As producer * 2002: ''Karma Cowboy'', feature film by Sonja Heiss and Vanessa van Houten, producer * 2006: ', feature film by Sonja Heiss, producer * 2011: ''

Sleeping Sickness African trypanosomiasis is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals. Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as African sleeping sickness or simply sleeping sickness, is caused by the species '' Trypanosoma b ...

'', feature film by , producer * 2012: ''Tabu'', feature film by Miguel Gomes, co-producer * 2012: ''The Dead and the Living'', feature film by Barbara Albert, co-producer * 2013: ''Tanta Agua'', feature film by Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge, co-producer * 2013: ''Redemption'', short film by Miguel Gomes, co-producer * 2014: '' Superegos'', feature film by Benjamin Heisenberg, producer * 2014: '' Love Island'', feature film by Jasmila Žbanić, co-producer * 2015: '' Hedi Schneider Is Stuck'', feature film by Sonja Heiss, producer * 2015: ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...

'', feature film by Miguel Gomes, co-producer * 2017: ''

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

'', feature film by Valeska Grisebach, producer * 2020: '' The Story of My Wife'', feature film by

Ildikó Enyedi Ildikó Enyedi (; born 15 November 1955) is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. She is best known for directing ''On Body and Soul'', which won the top prize at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival among other awards, and was nom ...

, producer * 2021: '' Spencer'', feature film by

Pablo Larraín Pablo Larraín Matte (; born 19 August 1976) is a Chilean filmmaker. He is known for directing films such as ''Neruda (film), Neruda'' (2016), ''Jackie (2016 film), Jackie'' (2016), ''Spencer (film), Spencer'' (2021), ''El Conde (film), El Cond ...

, producer * 2025: '' Delicious'', Feature film by Nele Mueller-Stöfen

References

External links

*
50 Best Filmmakers Under 50

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ade, Maren 1976 births Living people European Film Award for Best Director winners European Film Award for Best Screenwriter winners Film people from Berlin Mass media people from Karlsruhe