Life and career
Wolfgang Becker was born in Hemer on 22 June 1954. He studied German, History and American Studies at the Free University in Berlin. In 1980 he landed a job at a sound studio and later enrolled at the German Film and Television Academy (DFFB). In 1983 he started work as a freelance cameraman graduating from the DFFB in 1986 with ''Schmetterlinge'' (Butterflies), which won the Student Academy Award in 1988, the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival, and the Saarland Prime-Minister's Award at the 1988 Saarbrücken. Becker directed an episode of the television drama '' Tatort'', titled "". He made his second feature ''Kinderspiele'' (''Child's Play'') in 1992. He created a documentary the same year, ''Celibidache'', about Sergiu Celibidache returning to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic after 38 years. In 1994 Becker co-founded the production company X Filme Creative Pool with Tom Tykwer, Stefan Arndt, and Dani Levy. He worked with Tykwer on the Berlinale competition feature '' Das Leben ist eine Baustelle'' (''Life Is All You Get'', 1997). Becker was a founding member of the Deutsche Filmakademie in 2003. He was a member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 2004. Becker's biggest success was the 2003 film ''Good Bye, Lenin!'', with over 6 million viewers. The short film ''Ballero'' was produced for the 2006 FIFA World Cup draw ceremony and broadcast worldwide on television. In October 2024, Becker directed a last film ''Der Held vom Bahnhof Friedrichstraße'' about German-German history. Becker was married and had a daughter. He died in Berlin on 12 December 2024 after a severe illness, at the age of 70.Filmography
Becker directed selected films: * '' Schmetterlinge'' (1988) * '' Tatort'' (TV series) (1 episode, "Blutwurstwalzer") (1991) * ''Child's Play'' (''Kinderspiele'') (1992), also writer * '' Life Is All You Get'' (''Das Leben ist eine Baustelle'') (1997), also writer and actor * '' Good Bye, Lenin!'' (2003), also co-writer * ''Welcome to São Paulo'' (''Bem-Vindo a São Paulo'') (2004), segment * ''Ballero'' (2005), also writer * '' Germany 09: 13 Short Films About the State of the Nation'' (2009), segment "Krankes Haus", also writer * '' Me and Kaminski'' (2015), also writerAwards
* 1997 Berlin International Film Festival, Honourable Mention for ''Das Leben ist eine Baustelle'' * 1998 Bavarian Film Awards, Best Production, for ''Das Leben ist eine Baustelle''References
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