Edward Berger (born 1970) is a West German-born Austrian[1] and Swiss[2] director and screenwriter. He notably directed German films Jack (2014), All My Loving (2019), and All Quiet on the Western Front (2022). For the latter, Berger received numerous accolades including the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and three BAFTA Awards for Best Film Not in the English Language, Best Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Edward Berger
Berger in 2018
Born1970 (age 53–54)
NationalityAustrian, Swiss
EducationNew York University, 1995

Early life and education

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Edward Berger graduated from Theodor-Heuss-Gymnasium in Wolfsburg.[3] Born in West Germany,[4] he holds Swiss citizenship as his mother was from Switzerland[4] and Austrian citizenship through his father. He attended the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig from 1990 to 1991 and then transferred to the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where he finished his studies in directing in 1994.[5] At NYU, he created numerous short films, which were screened at many international film festivals.

Career

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Berger gathered his first work experience at the U.S. independent production company Good Machine, working, among others, on the films of Ang Lee and Todd Haynes. Additionally, he gave lectures and carried out workshops at Columbia University, and at Universität der Künste Berlin[6] and at the HFF Potsdam.

Berger has lived in Berlin since 1997. His first feature based on his own screenplay was Gomez. He also worked as a screenplay author and director for episodes of the television series KDD – Kriminaldauerdienst. Aside from television productions, for which he frequently wrote screenplays, he has also directed films. In 2012, his film A Good Summer [de] was awarded the Grimme-Preis. His film Jack was invited into the official competition at the Berlinale 2014 and awarded the 2015 German Film Award in silver for the best feature film. Since August 2014, Berger has directed the eight-part television series Deutschland 83, for which he won an International Emmy after premiering it at the 2015 Berlinale. He also directed the limited series Patrick Melrose, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, for which he won his first BAFTA Award for the Best Limited Series. In 2022, Berger wrote and directed All Quiet on the Western Front, for which he won the Academy Award for Best International Film while receiving a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Picture and an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film went on to win a total of four Academy Awards and seven BAFTAS, among them a BAFTA Award for Best Direction, a BAFTA Award for Best International Film and a BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, making it the most successful foreign language film ever. Edward Berger won Best European Film at the Septimius Awards.[7][8]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Director Writer Producer
1998 Gomez – Kopf oder Zahl Yes Yes No
2001 Female 2 Seeks Happy End Yes Yes No
2014 Jack Yes Yes No
2019 All My Loving Yes Yes No
2022 All Quiet on the Western Front Yes Yes Yes
2024 Conclave Yes No No
TBA The Ballad of a Small Player Yes No Yes

Television

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TV series

TV movies

Awards and prizes

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References

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  1. ^ "ZEIT ONLINE | Lesen Sie zeit.de mit Werbung oder im PUR-Abo. Sie haben die Wahl".
  2. ^ "e-TALENTA". www.e-talenta.eu. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  3. ^ Tatort: Wolfsburger als Regisseur erfolgreich. Archived 2018-04-06 at the Wayback Machine Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung, retrieved, 29 April 2015
  4. ^ a b https://www.munzinger.de/search/portrait/Edward+Berger/0/31803.html munzinger.de
  5. ^ Edward Bergers Profil Archived 2017-08-04 at the Wayback Machine bei der Agentur Die Agenten, retrieved, 20 January 2014
  6. ^ "Vita Edward Berger". Soup Film. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  7. ^ "Felix Kammerer & Edward Berger win Best European Film & Best European Actor at the Septimius Awards 2023". Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  8. ^ "Edward Berger - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  9. ^ "Septimius Awards (2023)". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
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