Christian Petzold’s films are like no one else’s. At once intricately engaged with the real world and steeped in film history, they radically reimagine such genres as film noir, thriller, melodrama, and the spy drama, offering narrative mysteries, enigmatic protagonists immersed in even more enigmatic circumstances, an incomparable sense of atmosphere and style, and surprising links between Germany’s turbulent past and its fragile present. A founding member of the loose movement known as the Berlin School, and a longtime collaborator of the late Harun Farocki, Petzold gained international attention with acclaimed titles Jerichow (2008), Barbara (2012; NYFF50), Phoenix (2014), and his latest masterwork, Transit (2018; NYFF56). The expanse of his career to date—including several inventive films made for television—affirms his status as one of contemporary cinema’s premier directors. This fall the Film Society is honored to host Petzold in person. In addition to featuring his own works, we will present a selection of movies that have influenced him. Presented in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut, with support from German Films.

Organized by Dennis Lim and Dan Sullivan

Acknowledgments:
Austrian Filmmuseum; Judith Revault d’Allonnes — Centre Pompidou; Deutsche Kinemathek; Goethe-Institut; German Films Service + Marketing GmbH; Institut français; The Match Factory; Music Box Films; Schramm Film

Explore the Christian Petzold brochure flipbook or read below.


This browser does not support PDFs. Please download the PDF to view it: Download PDF