Fassbinder said “I don’t throw bombs. I make films“, and I would have loved to tell him, “I make films, too”. (Christoph Schlingensief in Christoph Schlingensief and his Films)

CURRENTLY:
- SAY GOODBYE TO THE STORY at the Berlinale 2012
- GOLDEN LION @ VENICE BIENNALE 2011!
- HAMLET - THIS IS YOUR FAMILY on DVD

The German Pavilion, composed of works of Christoph Schlingensief, was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale 2011! The work of Christoph Schlingensief represented German's entry at the Venice Biennale 2011 (June 4th - November 27th). Filmgalerie 451 was responsible for the film part: 6 films were screened every day in new, digitally-restored HD versions inside the German Pavilion - many of them for the first time with English subtitles: Menu Total, Egomania, 100 Years Adolf Hitler, The German Chainsaw Massacre, Terror 2000, United Trash as well as Frieder Schlaich's Interviewfilm.

About the director

Christoph Schlingensief, video and performance artist, theatre and opera director, talk show host, author and all-round cultural rebel always insisted that he was first and foremost a filmmaker.
His "The German Chainsaw Massacre" presents our first ever VHS release; since then, Filmgalerie 451 produced some and released all of Christoph Schlingensief's films - from feature films to his early 8- and 16mm short films.

Christoph Schlingensief's filmography: Complete DVD Edition (12 DVDs) – can be ordered here exclusively!

Growing up in the shadow of the New German Cinema, Schlingensief was deeply influenced by the likes of Rainer Werner Fassbinder - many members of whose stock company of actors such as Udo Kier, Margit Carstensen, Irm Hermann or Volker Spengler became regulars in Schlingensief's films - or Alexander Kluge, with whom he collaborated on numerous occasions. To said period of film, Schlingensief delivered both a heartfelt homage as well as the final coup de grâce with "The 120 Days of Bottrop" (special guest appearance by Helmut Berger!) in much the same way he dealt with German avant-garde cinema 15 years earlier with his first feature film „Tunguska – The Crates Are Delivered“ starring Alfred Edel. Other influences include Luis Buñuel, Werner Schroeter or Herbert Achternbusch - and Schlingensief's filmic works have been compared to just as wide a range of filmmakers, from Jean-Luc Godard to Russ Meyer.

It was with his "Germany Trilogy", consisting of "100 Years Adolf Hitler - The Last Hour in the Führerbunker", "The German Chainsaw Massacre - The First Hour of the Reunification" and "Terror 2000 - Germany out of Control" that Schlingensief came to prominence. Since then he shaped the cultural and political discourse in Germany for more than two decades and established himself as one of the country's most important and versatile artists.

"As the son of a pharmacist, what I often say is that my father cured people with minute amounts of poison. He gave them poison so that their bodies could right themselves. And I think that’s how we should understand images of Germany. When I’m making a film I would like to know what disease I’m dealing with."
                                                          - Christoph Schlingensief, Christoph Schlingensief and his Films

To gain more insight into the complex web of influences, aims and stories behind one of Germany's most daring, innovative and radical filmmakers, we recommend "Christoph Schlingensief and His Films", Frieder Schlaich's 2005 feature film length interview, the DVD of which contains nearly all of Christoph Schlingensief's early short films as bonus material!

Don't miss his third feature film "Egomania" for one of the first appearances of a young Tilda Swinton!
Watch this space for the release of Schlingensief's last filmic project, The African Twin Towers with Patti Smith!

On 21st August 2010, during his preparations to represent Germany and design the Pavilion for the Venice Biennale 2011, Christoph passed away far too early. We miss him dearly - and will continue to take care of his filmic oeuvre.

Although not able to design it himself, The German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2011 was completely devoted to the works of Christoph Schlingensief. It was awarded the Golden Lion.

Obituary in the New York Times
Obituary in The Guardian

Venice Biennale 2011 – German Pavilion: Christoph Schlingensief – Press Release (2011)
Biography by the Guggenheim Museum, New York (1998)
Kunstforum Biography in English (1998)