Volker Schlöndorff
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"Volker Schlöndorff has endeavored to convey literature and film like no other German director," says Prof. Dr. Peter Seibert from the Department of Modern German Literature. This was the reason for the Institute of German Studies at the University of Kassel to award the Grimm Professorship to Schlöndorff in 2011. This also means that a Hessian university is paying tribute to the filmmaker from Hesse.
Image: Martin Kraft (Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 3.0)Literary adaptations such as DIE BLECHTROMMEL (D/F 1979), HOMO FABER (D/F/GR 1991), DIE VERLORENE EHRE DER KATHARINA BLUM (D 1975), DER TOD EINES EINES HANDLUNGSREISENDEN (USA 1985) and EINE LIEBE VON SWANN (F/D 1984) have made Volker Schlöndorff well-known and famous as a director. Schlöndorff has written film history with over 30 feature films.
GPP event series with Volker Schlöndorff
As part of his Kassel Brothers Grimm Professorship from June 28 to 30, Schlöndorff spoke about the films HOMO FABER, DER PLÖTZLICHE REICHTUM DER ARMEN LEUTE VON KOMBACH (D 1971) and his relationship to the Grimms, among other things.
On June 30, Schlöndorff discussed his cinematic adaptation of Homo Faber, whose author Max Frisch celebrated his 100th birthday in 2011. "It was a great experience for me to work with him for two years. He became a late role model for me. He was a loner who trusted his mind and his feelings," said Schlöndorff in the "publik" interview.
DER PLÖTZLICHE REICHUM DER ARMEN LEUTE VON KOMBACH, Schlöndorff's directorial work from 1971, was the focus of his lecture in Kassel on June 29. For the director, who was born in Wiesbaden, the film is also of great importance for his later work: "I really only began to develop with this film. The opportunity to remember my childhood in Hesse also did me good". The film was shot in Hessian locations and with Hessian actors and also contains references to Hessian authors. For example, the director incorporated quotes from Büchner's Woyzeck and the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm into the film. "While working on the film, I also saw myself as the Brothers Grimm when I was collecting material about that time," Schlöndorff recalls the making of the film. The film was awarded the German Film Award's Gold Ribbon for Directing.