Edward Berger

Edward Berger
Berger in 2018
Born	1970 (age 53–54) Wolfsburg, West Germany
Nationality	Austrian, Swiss
Education	New York University, 1995

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.

Early life and education

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

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

Film

Television

TV series

• 2001, 2002: Schimanski (2 episodes)
• 2004: Bloch (Episode "Schwestern")
• 2005, 2006: Unter Verdacht (Wrote 2 episodes, directed 1 episode)
• 2006: Tatort (Episode "Das letzte Rennen [de]")
• 2008: KDD – Kriminaldauerdienst (Director of 3 episodes and book with 2 episodes)
• 2010: Polizeiruf 110 (Wrote and directed episode "Aquarius")
• 2013: Tatort (Episode "Wer das Schweigen bricht [de]")
• 2015: Deutschland 83
• 2018: The Terror
• 2018: Patrick Melrose
• 2020: Your Honor

TV movies

• 2007: Windland
• 2011: A Good Summer [de] (screenwriter and director)
• 2012: Mom's Gotta Go [de] (director)

Awards and prizes

• 1998: Winner of the Film Prize of the City Lünen at the Kinofest Lünen for Gomez – Kopf oder Zahl
• 2000: Variety Award "Ten European Directors To Watch" for Female 2 Seeks Happy End
• 2003: Nomination for the Adolf-Grimme-Preis for the episode Asyl – crime series Schimanski
• 2004: Nomination for the International Emmy Award for the episode Asyl – crime series Schimanski
• 2012: Adolf-Grimme-Preis for A Good Summer
• 2013: Nomination for the Adolf-Grimme-Preis for Mom's Gotta Go
• 2013: Nomination for the Hamburger Krimipreis for Mom's Gotta Go
• 2014: Audience Prize at the filmkunstfest Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Schwerin for Jack
• 2014: Audience Prize at the Festival of German Film in Ludwigshafen for Jack
• 2014: Prize for the best screenplay at the Fünf-Seen-Filmfestival in Starnberg for Jack
• 2014: Filmfest Lünen, School Children aged 10+ Prize for Jack
• 2014: Deutscher Regiepreis Metropolis for best film for Jack
• 2015: Bavarian Film Prize for Jack, VGF Bester Nachwuchsproduzent
• 2015: TV-Festival Séries Mania Paris, Best World Drama for Deutschland 83
• 2015: European Youth Film Festival of Flanders, Best Feature Film for Jack
• 2015: Nomination for the German Film Prize Lola in the categories Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Feature Film for Jack
• 2015: German Film Prize in Silver for the Best Feature Film for Jack
• 2022: National Board of Review Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for All Quiet on the Western Front
• 2022: San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for All Quiet on the Western Front
• 2023: BAFTA Award for Best Direction for All Quiet on the Western Front
• 2023: BAFTA Award for Best International Film for All Quiet on the Western Front
• 2023: BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for All Quiet on the Western Front
• 2023: Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for All Quiet on the Western Front
• 2023: Septimius Awards for All Quiet on the Western Front ^[9]

References

External links

• Official website
• Edward Berger at IMDb