Florian Henckel von DonnersmarckFlorian Maria Georg Christian Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (German:; born 2 May 1973) is a German-Austrian film director. He is best known for writing and directing the 2006 dramatic thriller Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He also wrote and directed the 2010 romantic thriller The Tourist starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, and the 2018 epic drama Never Look Away.
StasiThe Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit, pronounced [minɪsˈteːʁiʊm fyːɐ̯ ˈʃtaːtsˌzɪçɐhaɪt]; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (pronounced [ˈʃtaːziː] , an abbreviation of Staatssicherheit), was the intelligence service and secret police of East Germany (the German Democratic Republic or GDR) from 1950 to 1990.
Ulrich MüheFriedrich Hans Ulrich Mühe (German pronunciation:; 20 June 1953 – 22 July 2007) was a German film, television and theatre actor. He played the role of Hauptmann (Captain) Gerd Wiesler in the Oscar-winning film Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others, 2006), for which he received the gold award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, at the Deutscher Filmpreis (German Film Awards); and the Best Actor Award at the 2006 European Film Awards.
Sebastian KochSebastian Koch is a German television and film actor. He is known for roles in the 2007 Academy Award-winning film The Lives of Others, in Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, and as Otto Düring in the fifth season of the Showtime series Homeland. Early life and educationSebastian Koch was born in 1962 in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany. He grew up in Stuttgart with his mother, a single parent.
East GermanyEast Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally viewed as a communist state and described itself as a socialist workers' and peasants' state.
East BerlinToday part ofGermanyEast Berlin (German: Ost-Berlin; pronounced) was the capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989, East Berlin was separated from West Berlin by the Berlin Wall. The Western Allied powers did not recognize East Berlin as the GDR's capital, nor the GDR's authority to govern East Berlin.Ulrich TukurUlrich Tukur (born Ulrich Gerhard Scheurlen; 29 July 1957) is a German actor and musician. He is known for his roles in Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon, Steven Soderbergh's Solaris, the docudramaNorth Face based on the 1936 Eiger climbing disaster in Switzerland, and as Wilhelm Uhde in Martin Provost's biopicSéraphine. Early life and educationTukur spent his youth near Hannover where he finished his final secondary school examinations in 1977.
Cinema of GermanyThe cinema of Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. The film industry in Germany made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg became a household synonym for the early 20th century film industry in Europe, similar to Hollywood later. Early German and German-speaking filmmakers and actors heavily contributed to early Hollywood, many of whom were Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution.
Suhrkamp VerlagSuhrkamp Verlag is a German publishing house, established in 1950 and is generally acknowledged as one of the leading European publishers of fine literature. Its roots go back to the "arianized" part of the S. Fischer Verlag. In January 2010, the headquarters of the company moved from Frankfurt to Berlin. Suhrkamp declared bankruptcy in 2013, following a longstanding legal conflict between its owners. In 2015, economist Jonathan Landgrebe was announced as director.
Martina GedeckMartina Gedeck (German: [maʁ.ˈtiː.na ˈɡeː.dɛk] ; born 14 September 1961) is a German actress. She achieved international recognition due to her roles in films such as Mostly Martha (2001), The Lives of Others (2006), and The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008). She has won several awards, including two Deutscher Filmpreis, in 1997 for Supporting Actress in Life is All You Get, and in 2002 for Actress in Mostly Martha.Sony Pictures ClassicsSony Pictures Classics Inc. (also known as Sony Classics or SPC) is an American independent film production and distribution company that is an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment and part of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group. It was founded in January 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produces and acquires specialty films such as documentaries, independent and arthouse films.
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesAmerican film distribution studioWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.