The Lives of Others

The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen)
Directed by	Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Written by	Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Produced by	Max Wiedemann Quirin Berg
Starring	Ulrich Mühe Martina Gedeck Sebastian Koch Ulrich Tukur
Cinematography	Hagen Bogdanski
Edited by	Patricia Rommel
Music by	Gabriel Yared Stephane Moucha
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics Buena Vista International
Release dates	Feb 23, 2007 (US)
Running time	137 min
Country	Germany
Language	German

The Lives of Others (German title: Das Leben der Anderen) is a German movie, which marks the feature film debut of director/screenwriter Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. It won seven Deutscher Filmpreis awards including best film, best director, best screenplay, best actor and best supporting actor, after having set a new record with 11 nominations.

The thriller/drama is about the cultural scene of East Berlin, riddled by secret agents of the Stasi. It stars Ulrich Mühe as Stasi agent Gerd Wiesler, Ulrich Tukur as his chief officer Anton Grubitz, Sebastian Koch as the playwright Georg Dreymann, and Martina Gedeck as his lover Christa-Maria Sieland.

The film was released in Germany on March 23 2006. At the same time the screenplay was published by Suhrkamp Verlag.

Awards

• German Films Awards 2006
  • Best Film
  • Best Actor
  • Best Supporting Actor
  • Best Director
  • Best Cinematography
  • Best Production Design
  • Best Screenplay
• Vancouver International Film Festival 2006 People's Choice Award
• Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinéma 2006 People's Choice Award
• Copenhagen International Film Festival 2006 Best Actor & Audience Award
• Locarno International Film Festival 2006 Audience Award
• Warsaw International Film Festival 2006 Audience Award
• Bavarian Film Awards 2005
  • Best Actor: Ulrich Mühe
  • Best Newcomer Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
  • Best Screenplay: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
  • VGF Producer Prize: Wiedemann & Berg

Festival Screenings

• Toronto International Film Festival 2006 (Special Presentation)
• Telluride Film Festival 2006
• Pusan International Film Festival 2006
• Vancouver International Film Festival 2006
• Locarno International Film Festival 2006 (Piazza Grande)
• London Film Festival 2006
• The Helsinki International Film Festival - Love & Anarchy 2006
• Copenhagen International Film Festival 2006
• AFI Los Angeles 2006
• Sevilla Festival de Cine 2006
• Festival de Cinema do Rio 2006
• Athens 2006
• Warsaw International Film Festival 2006
• Zagreb Film Festival 2006
• Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2006
• Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia 2006

Literature

• Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck: Das Leben der anderen. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 2006, ISBN 3-518-45786-1

External links

• The Lives of Others at IMDb
• Review in Variety
• Review from the BBC
• Article about the film's political impact in Germany in the Boston Globe
• Official website by Sony Pictures Classics