The late actor Horst Buchholz was considered the James Dean of German cinema. He had an extensive career on stage, screen and television, and was most famous for his roles in Sky without Stars (for which he won a Cannes Film Festival award as best actor) as well as his international work with such film-makers as Billy Wilder (One, Two, Three), John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven) and J. Lee Thompson (Tiger Bay). ‘My father was somebody who did not enjoy talking about himself,’ says Christopher Buchholz, who co-directed this lovely documentary portrait of his father with Sandra Hacker. ‘Although many a star of his generation has written an autobiography, he never felt inclined to do so. In order to encourage him to talk about his life, I decided to interview him. From 2001 until his death in March 2004, we recorded several hours of conversations, during which he opened up to me as he had never done before.’ The results make for a very intimate and revealing account of the sorrows and the joys of a man who became a superstar.
We are delighted that Christopher Buchholz and Sandra Hacker will introduce this screening.