Thomas Heise

Biography

Thomas Heise, born in Berlin in 1955, belongs to the last generation of DEFA (the nationally-owned film studio of the GDR) and is one of the most successful contemporary documentary filmmakers today. His works have won numerous awards, including for best documentary from the German Association of Critics. He also often works as a director in the theatre, above all with plays by the dramatist Heiner Müller, whose work he followed on film for many years. From 2007 to 2013 he was Professor for Film and Media Art at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design, and in October 2013 he became the successor to Harun Farocki at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Thomas Heise lives in Berlin.