Herbert Achternbusch German film director, writer, artist, actor, producer. Date of Birth: 23.11.1938 Country: Germany

Herbert Achternbusch Biography

Herbert Achternbusch was a German film director, writer, artist, actor, and producer. He was born Herbert Schild on November 23, 1938, in Munich, Germany, as an illegitimate child. In 1960, he was adopted by his biological father and took on the name Achternbusch.

Achternbusch spent his early years living with his grandmother in the Bavarian Forest. He attended a local school and later a gymnasium, where he completed his education in 1960. During this time, he began studying art in Nuremberg and Munich, exploring various forms such as painting, sculpture, and literature. He financed his artistic pursuits through odd jobs and chance earnings.

In 1962, Achternbusch married Gerda, an art teacher, and they had four children together. His first book of poetry was published in 1964, and from 1969 onwards, his works were published by the prestigious Zurkamp Publishing House.

In the early 1970s, Achternbusch directed his first short films. It was during this time that he met renowned filmmakers such as Werner Herzog, for whom he wrote the screenplay for the film "Heart of Glass," as well as Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta, with whom he collaborated on their projects.

In 1974, influenced by these connections, Achternbusch wrote the screenplay for his first film, "The Andechs Feeling." Schlöndorff produced the film, while Margarethe von Trotta played the lead role. Achternbusch himself, as in all his subsequent films, took on the central role. Since then, he has regularly worked as a screenwriter, director, producer, and sometimes even distributor of his films.

Achternbusch's films draw on themes of love and hate towards the distinctive characteristics of his Bavarian homeland, such as beer gardens, belief in authorities, and clericalism. They also reflect his personal biography, including his attachment to his mother, and his own obsessions. His films, along with articles on other directors such as Kurosawa, Valentin, Fassbinder, and Herzog, are an important component of his diverse body of work.

Achternbusch collaborates with a relatively constant group of friends and performers, including his wife Gerda and their daughters, as well as professionals like cinematographer Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein.

His willingness to break taboos brought him recognition beyond his circle of fans. Television networks would censor "indecent" scenes, and in 1981, the Bavarian Radio and Television Council protested against the screening of his film "Hello, Bavaria." In 1983, the refusal of the federal minister of the interior, Friedrich Zimmermann, to release already approved subsidies for his film "The Ghost" turned into a national scandal, as it was seen as an attempt to manipulate the cultural and political situation in West Germany.