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Erich Lessing

Actor
Erich Lessing was not primarily known as an actor or director but rather as a renowned Austrian photographer and photojournalist. Born on July 13, 1923, in Vienna, Austria, Lessing made a significant impact in the field of photography, particularly through his work documenting political events and historical moments in post-war Europe. He joined the prestigious Magnum Photos agency and captured iconic images of major events, including the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. His works have been featured in major international publications and exhibited worldwide. Lessing received numerous accolades for his contributions to photography, including the awards from the Art Directors Club and the Grand Austrian State Prize for Artistic Photography. While he wasn't involved in filmmaking, his powerful visual storytelling through photography has left a lasting legacy.

Films

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Ben Berlin

Ben Berlin

2015 | 90 min | Biography

He sat in the cafeteria with Bertolt Brecht, fed elephants with Willy Brandt, argued with Joseph Beuys about oak trees, and phoned Mikhail Gorbachev in the Kremlin. Performance artist, environmental activist, natural philosopher, gallery owner, tree godfather and "anarchist" Ben Wagin, aka BEN BERLIN, has left his mark on the city of Berlin with his controversial style. BEN BERLIN by Sobo Swobodnik and Pantea Lachin steps calmly and observantly into the realm of the 86-year-old artist Ben Wagin. ...

Signs of War

Signs of War

2022 | 80 min | Documentary

Embarking on a poignant exploration of conflict and its human repercussions, this documentary follows Pierre Crom, a Dutch parliament photographer turned war documentarian, as he captures the unfolding war in Ukraine. Drawn to Crimea on the eve of its annexation by Russia in February 2014, Crom finds himself amidst an escalating crisis. His journey through key historical stages of the conflict—starting from Sloviansk's war outbreak, the MH17 crash, to Debaltseve's tank battle—offers a raw glimpse ...

Zownir: Radical Man

Zownir: Radical Man

2006 | 60 min | Biography

Stanley Kubrick's screenwriter and satirical novelist Terry Southern called Miron Zownir the poet of radical photography. Born in Karlsruhe in 1953, Zownir moved to Berlin in 1976 and then to the U.S. in 1981. There he spent 15 years in New York, Los Angeles & Pittsburgh. Zownir is one of the greatest existentialist photographers of our time. His images are icons of lust, pain, hunger, madness, starvation & death.

AIDE MÉMOIRE - ein schwules Gedächtnisprotokoll

AIDE MÉMOIRE - ein schwules Gedächtnisprotokoll

1996 | 16 min | Biography

Photographer Jürgen Baldiga (1959-1993) and filmmaker Michael Brynntrup engage in a private discourse and personal investigation into the handling of images of life and death. "AIDE MÉMOIRE recalls a deceased friend in a radically personal way. The intimate, tender gaze of the filmmaker causes a closeness also of the spectators on AIDS disease, death and transience." (Jury statement - International Short Film Festival Oberhausen)

Vera Lossau - What I See

Vera Lossau - What I See

2012 | 65 min | Documentary

A documentary about the Düsseldorf artist Vera Lossau. How does an artistic idea develop and how is it translated into a work of art? Wolfgang Waldmann accompanies the artist for a year and portrays her creative process in a video diary. The creativity of the artist is under pressure: expectations and the growing dictatorship of art market rules are beginning to threaten her work. Vera Lossau addresses these conflicts and finds ways to integrate them into her artistic process. The Cologne composer ...

Show Your Wound - Art and Spirituality in the Work of Joseph Beuys

Show Your Wound - Art and Spirituality in the Work of Joseph Beuys

2015 | 84 min | Biography

Joseph Beuys, action artist, sculptor, art theorist and educator, controversial throughout his life, and provocative in the best sense of the word, wanted to move others and to be moved. The emotional and physical vulnerability of human beings was his theme. It is no coincidence that one of his most famous installations bears the title "Zeige deine Wunde" ("Show Your Wound"). Beuys, today regarded worldwide as one of the most important artists of the 20th century, had a deep interest in mythology, ...

Elfie Semotan, Photographer

Elfie Semotan, Photographer

2019 | 76 min | Documentary

For over half a century, Semotan has worked successfully at the intersection of art, fashion and advertising photography and photographed Louise Bourgeois, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Willem Dafoe, Maria Lassnig or Udo Kier, among others.

Shot In The Dark

Shot In The Dark

2017 | 79 min | Documentary

"I only understood how powerful light is after I went blind." A documentary about three blind photographers: Pete Eckert, Sonia Soberats and Bruce Hall - three exhibiting artists. What do they see in their mind's eyes? "Even with no input the brain keeps creating images," says Pete Eckert. Sonia Soberats states, "I only understood how powerful light is after I went blind." A blind person is probably the last person you’d expect to be a photographer. Shot in the dark is an intimate portrait of ...

Roland Klick: The Heart Is a Hungry Hunter

Roland Klick: The Heart Is a Hungry Hunter

2013 | 79 min | Biography

This is the story of a film maniac who was crushed between the opposing fronts of German cinema and his own lack of compromise. Otto Sander recalls his first screen appearance in "Ludwig." Eva Mattes reviews one of her most memorable roles and recounts the making of "Supermarkt." Hark Bohm commemorates his brother Marquard, who rose to stardom with DEADLOCK. And horror film icon David Hess, who raged alongside Hopper in "White Star," interprets Klick's drama from an American perspective: "He was ...

Age of the Gods

Age of the Gods

1993 | 92 min | Documentary

How does art influence politics – and how much does politics influence art? This question is particularly pressing in the case of Arno Breker, a sculptor whose works played a central role in National Socialism. Breker was Adolf Hitler's official state artist and created monumental sculptures that embodied the ideal of National Socialist aesthetics. Between 1936 and 1945, Arno Breker worked almost exclusively for the architect Albert Speer and his plans for the redesign of Berlin into the “world ...