Rainer Werner Fassbinder was probably Germany’s most significant post-war director. His demise at the early age of 37 in 1982 left behind a vacuum in European filmmaking, as well as a body of unique, multi-layered work of astonishing consistency and rigour. From 1969 onwards, director and film historian Christian Braad Thomsen maintained a close yet respectfully distanced friendship with Fassbinder. This film is based on his personal memories as well as a series of conversations and interviews he held with Fassbinder and his mother Lilo in the 1970s. Berlin Film Festival 2015.
Christian Braad Thomsen
Born in 1940, he made his debut at the Venice Film Festival in 1972 with Dear Irene. Alongside feature films, he has also directed documentaries about Karen Blixen, amongst others, and has written numerous books about film history greats such as Hitchcock, Pasolini and Godard. In 1984, his Ladies on the Rock received a special screening in the Berlinale Competition. His film The Blue Monlk won the Carl Th. Dreyer Prize in Copenhagen in 1999.
