Sönke Wortmann: Difference between revisions

Sönke Wortmann
Sönke Wortmann
	Sönke Wortmann (2006)
Born	25 August 1959; Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Nationality	German
Occupation(s)	Film director, Producer
Spouse	Cecilia Kunz
Children	3

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Sönke Wortmann (German: [ˈzøːn.kə ˈvɔʁtˌman] ^ⓘ; 25 August 1959 in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German film director and producer.

Biography

Wortmann's father was a miner. After Wortmann's A-Levels he wanted to become a professional football player and started playing with Westfalia Herne and later SpVgg Erkenschwick in the German 3rd division. After three years he gave up the idea of becoming a professional football player.

One semester he studied sociology before entering the University of Television and Film Munich to study film directing. After spending some time at the London Royal College of Art he finished his career successfully. While studying, he worked as a taxi driver and actor, for example in the TV series Die glückliche Familie. His debut feature film Der bewegte Mann was released in 1994. It became one of the most successful German film of the post-war era.

The Superwife (1996) was filmed, as he himself said, to prove that it is possible to make "a successful film out of a successful novel". Der Campus was more or less accomplished on the same terms, but achieved fewer viewers. Films like Mr. Bluesman and the drama film in episodes St Pauli Night, for which he was acclaimed by critics, turned out to be commercial failures and didn't run a long time in cinemas. Wortmann shot The Hollywood Sign, based on Leon de Winter's novel "De hemel van Hollywood", in the US with a very good cast. The Hollywood Sign came out in 2004 in Germany, but didn't run long in cinemas. Wortmann sees The Miracle of Bern as his greatest success, which became the most successful film in German cinemas in the year 2003.

During the Confederations Cup 2005 and the Football World Cup 2006 he joined the Germany national team on their trip. At every match he sat on the trainer's bench and, by order and for account of national team manager Jürgen Klinsmann, he prepared films which were later shown to the players in order to prepare them for an upcoming match. The two-hour documentary film on the world cup, produced from over 100 hours of filming material, was presented to the Germany national football team on 14 August 2006 as a preview and premiered in cinemas on 5 December 2006 under the title Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen. The film had more than 4 million viewers and was a big success. The net profits of the film were donated to SOS Children's Villages.

In 1998 Wortmann founded his own production company Little Shark Entertainment [de].

From 2007 he worked on the project to adapt the novel "Pope Joan". The production was carried out by Bernd Eichinger. Initially, the female pope Johanna was going to be portrayed by Franka Potente. In Mai 2008 though, the production company announced that Johanna Wokalek was going to play the pope. The production was also conducted under Oliver Berben. In the year 2009, the film was released in cinemas.

Sönke Wortmann is married to the actress Cecilia Kunz and has three children.

Wortmann is an active member of the German authors' national football team (Autonama). He also supports "Dein Fußballclub" since April 2008. This club's aim is to engage over 30,000 new members every year, who pay €39.95 each every year. The foundation of this club was modeled after the English club Ebbsfleet United F.C.

Sönke Wortmann is also member of Alliance '90/The Greens political party.

Awards

1985 – Special award at the Royal College of Art in London for Nachtfahrer (Night driver)
1988 – Kodak-Eastmann award for Three D
1988 – Nomination for the Oscar category of student film for Three D
1988 – Filmband in gold for Noblesse oblige
1991 – promotional award from the Hypo-Bank for the Munich Film Festival for Alone Among Women
1991 – German video award for Alone Among Women
1992 – Filmband in gold for Little Sharks
1992 – Award (Best young director) at the World Film Festival for Little Sharks
1992 – Award (Best film) at the film festival in Quebec for Little Sharks
1994 – DIVA award
1994 – Bambi award for Der bewegte Mann
1995 – German film award, nomination (film, director) for Der bewegte Mann
1995 – Ernst Lubitsch award for Der bewegte Mann
1998 – Bavarian film award for Der Campus
2003 – Bavarian film award for The Miracle of Bern
2004 – Landesmedien award from North Rhine-Westphalia for The Miracle of Bern
2006 – Bambi for the category "Documentary" for Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen
2007 – Adolf-Grimme award for the category "information and culture" for Germany for Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen
2007 – Merrit award from North Rhine-Westphalia
2009 – culture award from the Sparkasse culture-foundation Rhine-Westphalia
2010 – Askania Award

Filmography

As a director

1981: Nachtfahrer (Short)
1984: Anderthalb (Short)
1986: Fotofinish (Short)
1988: Three D [de]
1990: Liebesgeschichten: Die Hochzeit des Figaro (TV series episode)
1990: A Crazy Couple (TV film)
1991: Alone Among Women [de]
1992: Little Sharks
1993: Mr. Bluesman [de]
1994: Der bewegte Mann (Maybe, Maybe Not) — based on comic books by Ralf König
1996: The Superwife — based on a novel by Hera Lind [de]
1996: Charley's Aunt [de] (TV film) — based on Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas
1998: Der Campus (Campus) — based on a novel by Dietrich Schwanitz
1999: St. Pauli Night [de] — based on a novel by Frank Göhre [de]
2001: The Hollywood Sign — based on a novel by Leon de Winter
2003: The Miracle of Bern
2006: Freunde für immer – Das Leben ist rund (TV series, 2 episodes)
2006: Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen (Germany. A summer fairy tale)
2009: Pope Joan — based on Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross
2012: Das Hochzeitsvideo [de] (The Wedding Video)
2014: Wrecked — based on a novel by Charlotte Roche
2015: Frau Müller muss weg! — based on a play by Lutz Hübner [de] and Sarah Nemitz [de]
2017: Charité (TV series, 6 episodes)
2017: Sommerfest [de] — based on a novel by Frank Goosen
2018: How About Adolf? — based on a play by Alexandre de La Patellière [fr] and Matthieu Delaporte [fr]
2020: Contra
2020: Locked-in Society
2022: Family Affairs [de] — sequel to How About Adolf

As a producer

Lammbock (2001)
The Miracle of Bern (2003)
Arnies Welt (2005) (TV film)
Hardcover (2008)
Hangtime [de] (2009)
Eine Insel namens Udo (2011)
Lommbock (2017)

As an actor

1987–1991: Die glückliche Familie (as Ritchie)
1997: Knocking on Heaven's Door

Other work

Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen (2006) Diary of the World Cup
Das Wunder von Bern, audiobook at Hörverlag, ISBN 3-89940-205-7

External links

Sönke Wortmann at IMDb
Sönke Wortmann at WorldFootball.net

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|German film director and producer}}
-[[Image:SoenkeWortmann.jpg|thumb|Sönke Wortmann (2006)]]
+{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
-'''Sönke Wortmann''' (25 August 1959 in [[Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia]]) is a German film director and producer.
+{{Infobox person
+| name           = Sönke Wortmann
+| image          = SoenkeWortmann.jpg
+| image_size     =
+| caption        = Sönke Wortmann (2006)
+| birth_date     = 25 August 1959
+| birth_place    = Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
+| death_date     = <!-- If applicable -->
+| death_place    = <!-- If applicable -->
+| nationality    = German
+| occupation     = Film director, Producer
+| spouse         = Cecilia Kunz
+| children       = 3
+| website        = <!-- Official website, if applicable -->
+}}
+'''Sönke Wortmann''' ({{IPA|de|ˈzøːn.kə ˈvɔʁtˌman|lang|De-Sönke Wortmann.ogg}}; 25 August 1959 in [[Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia]]) is a German film director and producer.
 == Biography ==
-Wortmann’s father was a [[miner]]. After Wortmann's A-Levels he wanted to become a professional [[Association football|football]] player and started playing with [[SC Westfalia Herne|Westfalia Herne]] and later [[SpVgg Erkenschwick]] in the German 3rd division. After three years he gave up the idea of becoming a professional football player.
+Wortmann's father was a [[miner]]. After Wortmann's A-Levels he wanted to become a professional [[Association football|football]] player and started playing with [[SC Westfalia Herne|Westfalia Herne]] and later [[SpVgg Erkenschwick]] in the German 3rd division. After three years he gave up the idea of becoming a professional football player.
 One semester he studied sociology before entering the [[University of Television and Film Munich]] to study film directing. After spending some time at the London [[Royal College of Art]] he finished his career successfully. While studying, he worked as a taxi driver and actor, for example in the TV series ''[[Die glückliche Familie]]''. His debut feature film ''[[Der bewegte Mann]]'' was released in 1994. It became one of the most successful German film of the post-war era.
-''[[The Superwife]]'' (1996) was filmed, as he himself said, to prove that it is possible to make "a successful film out of a successful novel". ''Der Campus'' was more or less accomplished on the same terms, but achieved fewer viewers. Films like ''Mr. Bluesman'' and the drama film in episodes ''St Pauli Nacht'', for which he was acclaimed by critics, turned out to be commercial failures and didn't run a long time in cinemas. Wortmann shot ''[[The Hollywood Sign (film)|The Hollywood Sign]]'', based on [[Leon de Winter]]'s novel "De hemel van Hollywood", in the USA with a very good cast. ''The Hollywood Sign'' came out in 2004 in Germany, but didn't run long in cinemas. Wortmann sees ''[[The Miracle of Bern]]'' as his greatest success, which became the most successful film in German cinemas in the year 2003.
+''[[The Superwife]]'' (1996) was filmed, as he himself said, to prove that it is possible to make "a successful film out of a successful novel". ''Der Campus'' was more or less accomplished on the same terms, but achieved fewer viewers. Films like ''Mr. Bluesman'' and the drama film in episodes ''St Pauli Night'', for which he was acclaimed by critics, turned out to be commercial failures and didn't run a long time in cinemas. Wortmann shot ''[[The Hollywood Sign (film)|The Hollywood Sign]]'', based on [[Leon de Winter]]'s novel "De hemel van Hollywood", in the US with a very good cast. ''The Hollywood Sign'' came out in 2004 in Germany, but didn't run long in cinemas. Wortmann sees ''[[The Miracle of Bern]]'' as his greatest success, which became the most successful film in German cinemas in the year 2003.
-During the [[2005 FIFA Confederations Cup|Confederations Cup 2005]] and the [[2006 FIFA World Cup|Football World Cup 2006]] he joined the [[German national football team|German football team]] on their trip. At every match he sat on the trainer’s bank and, by order and for account of national team manager [[Jürgen Klinsmann]], he prepared films which were later shown to the players in order to prepare them for an upcoming match. The two-hour documentary film on the world cup, produced from over 100 hours of filming material, was presented to the German national football team on 14 August 2006 as a preview and premiered in cinemas on 5 December 2006 under the title ''[[Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen]]''. The film had more than 4 million viewers and was a big success. The net profits of the film were donated to [[SOS Children's Villages]].
+During the [[2005 FIFA Confederations Cup|Confederations Cup 2005]] and the [[2006 FIFA World Cup|Football World Cup 2006]] he joined the [[Germany national football team|Germany national team]] on their trip. At every match he sat on the trainer's bench and, by order and for account of national team manager [[Jürgen Klinsmann]], he prepared films which were later shown to the players in order to prepare them for an upcoming match. The two-hour documentary film on the world cup, produced from over 100 hours of filming material, was presented to the Germany national football team on 14 August 2006 as a preview and premiered in cinemas on 5 December 2006 under the title ''[[Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen]]''. The film had more than 4 million viewers and was a big success. The net profits of the film were donated to [[SOS Children's Villages]].
 In 1998 Wortmann founded his own production company {{Interlanguage link multi|Little Shark Entertainment|de}}.
@@ Line 17: / Line 33: @@
 Sönke Wortmann is married to the actress Cecilia Kunz and has three children.
-Wortmann is an active member of the German authors national football team (Autonama). Wortmann also supports "DeinFussballClub" since April 2008. This club’s aim is to engage over 30,000 new members every year, who pay 39.95 euros each every year. The foundation of this club was modeled after the English club [[Ebbsfleet United F.C.]].
+Wortmann is an active member of the German authors' national football team (Autonama). He also supports "Dein Fußballclub" since April 2008. This club's aim is to engage over 30,000 new members every year, who pay €39.95 each every year. The foundation of this club was modeled after the English club [[Ebbsfleet United F.C.]]
-Sönke Wortmann is also member of [[Alliance '90/The Greens]].
+Sönke Wortmann is also member of [[Alliance '90/The Greens]] political party.
 == Awards ==
-* 1985 - Special award at the Royal College of Art in London for ''Nachtfahrer'' (''Night driver'')
+* 1985 – Special award at the Royal College of Art in London for ''Nachtfahrer'' (''Night driver'')
-* 1988 – Kodak-Eastmann award for ''Drei D'' (''Three D'')
+* 1988 – Kodak-Eastmann award for ''Three D''
-* 1988 – Nomination for the Oscar category of student film for ''Drei D''
+* 1988 – Nomination for the Oscar category of student film for ''Three D''
 * 1988 – Filmband in gold for ''Noblesse oblige''
-* 1991 – promotional award from the Hypo-Bank for the Munich Film Festival for ''Allein unter Frauen''
+* 1991 – promotional award from the [[Hypo-Bank]] for the Munich Film Festival for ''Alone Among Women''
-* 1991 – German video award for ''Allein unter Frauen''
+* 1991 – German video award for ''Alone Among Women''
-* 1992 - Filmband in gold for ''Kleine Haie''
+* 1992 – Filmband in gold for ''Little Sharks''
-* 1992 - Award (Best young director) at the World Film Festival for ''Kleine Haie''
+* 1992 – Award (Best young director) at the World Film Festival for ''Little Sharks''
-* 1992 - Award (Best film) at the film festival in Quebec for ''Kleine Haie''
+* 1992 – Award (Best film) at the film festival in Quebec for ''Little Sharks''
 * 1994 – DIVA award
 * 1994 – Bambi award for ''Der bewegte Mann''
@@ Line 36: / Line 52: @@
 * 1995 – Ernst Lubitsch award for ''Der bewegte Mann''
 * 1998 – Bavarian film award for ''Der Campus''
-* 2003 – Bavarian film award for ''The miracle of Bern''
+* 2003 – Bavarian film award for ''The Miracle of Bern''
-* 2004 – Landesmedien award from North Rhine-Westphalia for ''The miracle of Bern''
+* 2004 – Landesmedien award from North Rhine-Westphalia for ''The Miracle of Bern''
 * 2006 – Bambi for the category "Documentary" for ''Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen''
 * 2007 – Adolf-Grimme award for the category "information and culture" for Germany for ''Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen''
@@ Line 50: / Line 66: @@
 * 1984: ''Anderthalb'' (Short)
 * 1986: ''Fotofinish'' (Short)
-* 1988: ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Drei D|de}}''
+* 1988: ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Three D (film)|de|3=Drei D|lt=Three D}}''
 * 1990: ''Liebesgeschichten: Die Hochzeit des Figaro'' (TV series episode)
-* 1990: ''Eine Wahnsinnsehe'' (TV film)
+* 1990: ''A Crazy Couple'' (TV film)
-* 1991: ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Allein unter Frauen|de}}'' (''Alone Among Women'')
+* 1991: ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Alone Among Women|de|Allein unter Frauen}}''
 * 1992: ''[[Little Sharks]]''
 * 1993: ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Mr. Bluesman|de}}''
 * 1994: ''[[Der bewegte Mann]]'' (''Maybe, Maybe Not'') — based on comic books by [[Ralf König]]
 * 1996: ''[[The Superwife]]'' — based on a novel by {{Ill|Hera Lind|de}}
-* 1996: ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Charley’s Tante|de}}'' (TV film) — based on ''[[Charley's Aunt]]'' by [[Brandon Thomas]]
+* 1996: ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Charley's Aunt (1996 film)|de|3=Charley’s Tante|lt=Charley's Aunt}}'' (TV film) — based on ''[[Charley's Aunt]]'' by [[Brandon Thomas (playwright)|Brandon Thomas]]
 * 1998: ''Der Campus'' (''Campus'') — based on a novel by [[Dietrich Schwanitz]]
-* 1999: ''{{Interlanguage link multi|St. Pauli Nacht|de}}'' — based on a novel by {{Ill|Frank Göhre|de}}
+* 1999: ''{{Interlanguage link multi|St. Pauli Night|de|St. Pauli Nacht}}'' — based on a novel by {{Ill|Frank Göhre|de}}
 * 2001: ''[[The Hollywood Sign (film)|The Hollywood Sign]]'' — based on a novel by [[Leon de Winter]]
 * 2003: ''[[The Miracle of Bern]]''
@@ Line 67: / Line 83: @@
 * 2009: ''[[Pope Joan (2009 film)|Pope Joan]]'' — based on ''[[Pope Joan (novel)|Pope Joan]]'' by [[Donna Woolfolk Cross]]
 * 2012: ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Das Hochzeitsvideo|de}}'' (''The Wedding Video'')
-* 2014: ''Schoßgebete'' — based on a novel by [[Charlotte Roche]]
+* 2014: ''Wrecked'' — based on a novel by [[Charlotte Roche]]
 * 2015: ''[[Frau Müller muss weg!]]'' — based on a play by {{Ill|Lutz Hübner|de}} and {{Ill|Sarah Nemitz|de}}
-* 2017: ''[[Charité (TV series)|Charité]]'' (TV series, 6 episode)
+* 2017: ''[[Charité (TV series)|Charité]]'' (TV series, 6 episodes)
-* 2017: ''[[Sommerfest]]'' — based on a novel by [[Frank Goosen]]
+* 2017: ''{{Ill|Sommerfest|de|Sommerfest (Film)}}'' — based on a novel by [[Frank Goosen]]
+* 2018: ''[[How About Adolf?]]'' — based on a play by {{Ill|Alexandre de La Patellière|fr}} and {{Ill|Matthieu Delaporte|fr}}
-* 2018: ''Der Vorname''
+* 2020: ''[[Contra (film)|Contra]]''
+* 2020: ''[[Locked-in Society]]''
+* 2022: ''{{Ill|Family Affairs (2022 film)|de|3=Der Nachname|lt=Family Affairs}}'' — sequel to ''How About Adolf''
 === As a producer ===
@@ Line 78: / Line 97: @@
 * ''Arnies Welt'' (2005) (TV film)
 * ''[[Hardcover (film)|Hardcover]]'' (2008)
-* ''Hangtime'' (2009)
+* ''{{Ill|Hangtime (film)|de|3=Hangtime – Kein leichtes Spiel|lt=Hangtime}}'' (2009)
 * ''[[Eine Insel namens Udo]]'' (2011)
 * ''[[Lommbock]]'' (2017)
 === As an actor ===
-* 1987 - 1991: Die glückliche Familie (as Ritchie)
+* 1987–1991: ''Die glückliche Familie'' (as Ritchie)
-* 1997: [[Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997 film)|Knocking on Heaven's Door]]
+* 1997: ''[[Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997 film)|Knocking on Heaven's Door]]''
 == Advertisements ==
@@ Line 99: / Line 118: @@
 == External links ==
-* {{imdb name|0941811}}
+* {{IMDb name|0941811}}
 * {{WorldFootball.net|soenke-wortmann}}
+{{Sönke Wortmann}}
 {{Authority control}}
@@ Line 108: / Line 128: @@
 [[Category:Living people]]
 [[Category:People from Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia]]
-[[Category:German film directors]]
+[[Category:Mass media people from North Rhine-Westphalia]]
-[[Category:German-language film directors]]
 [[Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Art]]
 [[Category:Members of the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia]]
 [[Category:University of Television and Film Munich alumni]]
 [[Category:SC Westfalia Herne players]]
-[[Category:German footballers]]
+[[Category:German men's footballers]]
 [[Category:SpVgg Erkenschwick players]]
 [[Category:Best Director German Film Award winners]]
-[[Category:German footballers needing infoboxes]]
+[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
-[[Category:Association football midfielders]]
+[[Category:Footballers from Münster (region)]]
-[[Category:Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia]]
+[[Category:West German men's footballers]]

v t e Sönke Wortmann
Films directed	Little Sharks (1992) The Most Desired Man (1994) The Superwife (1996) The Hollywood Sign (2001) The Miracle of Bern (2003) Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen (2006) Pope Joan (2009) Frau Müller muss weg! (2015) How About Adolf? (2018) Contra (2020) Locked-in Society (2022)
Films produced only	Lammbock (2001) Hardcover (2008) Eine Insel namens Udo (2011) Lommbock (2017)

Authority control databases
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