Alexander Tuschinski (born October 28, 1988, Stuttgart, West Germany) is a German film director, film producer, writer, actor and musician. Internationally, he is best known for his feature films which have won awards at film festivals. His documentary Caligari in the Desert was a submission to the 91st Academy Awards.[1] Additionally, Tuschinski is known for his academic writing on the early works of Tinto Brass.
Both of Alexander Tuschinski's parents were born in RomanianSighișoara and emigrated to West Germany in 1983. Tuschinski was born in Stuttgart on 28 October 1988.[2] As a child, he watched silent films, slapstick-films and early sound films on VHS cassette with his father, leading to a fascination with silent movie aesthetics, montage and camera tricks. He particularly recalled watching films starring Charlie Chaplin.[3]
Tuschinski attended Dillmann-Gymnasium in Stuttgart, Germany, and originally wanted to study physics after graduating in 2008. However, he changed his mind shortly before enrolling at university realizing that film was his main passion, and instead started studying Audiovisual Media at Hochschule der Medien. As a pupil, Tuschinski produced several comedic short films and music videos which he published on YouTube prior to 2008.[4]
2008-present
Shortly before graduating Dillmann-Gymnasium in Summer 2008, Tuschinski wrote, produced and directed the no-budget comedy film Killer Squirrels (Killereichhörnchen) with a 56-minute runtime, releasing it on YouTube. As with many of his films, he composed and performed songs and instrumental music for the soundtrack.[5] The next year, he wrote, produced, directed and edited the feature film comedy Menschenliebe about student life and dating. Tuschinski produced the film parallel to his studies, and it had its premiere early 2010 in Stuttgart. Tuschinski wrote the screenplay between November 2008 and January 2009 as a newly enrolled student at Hochschule der Medien inspired by student life and produced the no-budget project entirely from his savings parallel to his studies. Filming took place from April to September 2009, and he credited his studies to have given him insight in technical aspects of filmmaking. The cast consisted of 46 amateur actors found among Tuschinski's friends and acquaintances.[5] Shortly after filming, Tuschinski cited O Lucky Man!, Barry Lyndon and the opera films by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle as works that were stylistically influential to him. Menschenliebe had its world premiere in January 2010 at Dillmann-Gymnasium in a screening for cast, crew and friends. In March 2011, Tuschinski expressed his desire to have a production company produce his next feature film.[5]
Afterward, Tuschinski, again parallel to his studies, produced the documentary film Quasicrystal Research and the no-budget music video Mutant Calculator, writing and producing the music for both. According to him, he filmed Mutant Calculator to "clear his head" after the bigger production Menschenliebe.[6]Quasicrystal Research was selected to play during the Australian National Science Week in 2012, being shown in 400 venues around Australia during that week.[7] During 2010 and 2011, Tuschinski occasionally performed satirical songs live on stage, combined with comedy routines.[8]
Menschenliebe had its US premiere at Park City Film Music Festival,[9] and in 2011/12, along Mutant Calculator, went on to win numerous awards at festivals in the United States, which was covered in the German press and on German TV. Parallel to this, from around 2010, Tuschinski had started filming the first scenes for his next low-budget feature film Break-Up, again parallel to his studies. He first announced working on Break-Up in a February 2012 press article.[4][10]
Tuschinski's first novel, Das Fahrzeug, was published in Germany in 2011.[11] In Summer 2011, Tuschinski graduated Hochschule der Medien as a Bachelor of Engineering in Audiovisual Media. His Bachelor's thesis focused on reconstructing Tinto Brass' original intentions for the film Caligula that, in the 1970s, had been changed in editing without the director's input. Before graduating, Tuschinski had already written papers on film history and on Tinto Brass' film Nerosubianco.[12] From October 2011, Tuschinski enrolled at University of Stuttgart to study history and literature. On 13 February 2012, he did a public reading from the novel Das Fahrzeug at Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart, and on that occasion also performed satirical songs he had written. During a second reading at Literaturhaus Stuttgart, he first presented scenes from his work-in-progress film Break-Up.[10] While Tuschinski was filming Break-Up, he reached out to German film director Hugo Niebeling whose films he considered influential to his style. They became friends, and Hugo Niebeling made positive remarks about Tuschinski's works.[13]
In 2012, Tuschinski restored several of Tinto Brass' 1960s films using material from the director's private archive, and they were screened at a retrospective in Hollywood.[14] In 2014, Tuschinski was called an "encyclopledic Brass expert" on Caligula.[15] The same year, Tuschinski wrote an essay on Tinto Brass' film The Key which was published as a booklet with the British Blu-ray release of said film.[16]Break-Up had its world premiere in Los Angeles in early 2014. It was called a "surreal satire on power and conventions", and was filmed with 38 amateur actors, again cast from friends and acquaintances of the director. The film received awards in the United States.[17] In the summer of 2014, Tuschinski received his second degree as a Bachelor of Arts in history and German philology at Universität Stuttgart, and immediately continued pursuing a Master's Degree in history there. That year, he published an album featuring classical music recorded on synthesizer and vocoder.[citation needed]
Helmut Berger (right) and Alexander Tuschinski on the set of Timeless (2015)
In 2014/15, Tuschinski produced, wrote, directed and edited the feature film Timeless mostly in Stuttgart. He had started writing the film in 2013. The cast included international actors like Harry Lennix, Rick Shapiro and Angus Macfadyen, whom Tuschinski had met at film festivals. On the occasion, Lennix called Tuschinski "an avant-gardist and neo-classical director".[18] In August 2015, scenes with Helmut Berger were filmed in Stuttgart.[19] Shortly after filming ended in 2015, Tuschinski considered Timeless "by far" his best film.[citation needed] In an interview, Tuschinski mentioned doing the film with a low budget and no external funding, so he would be able to start filming immediately and be spontaneous. As people helped the production without expecting payment, sequences like a WW2 scene featuring a Soviet T-34 tank were possible despite being initially planned with fewer props and sparser settings.[20] In 2016, Hörzu reported a theatrical release happening soon.[21] In 2021, Tuschinski self-published a coffee-table book about the filming of Timeless featuring information about the production process and numerous photos.[22]
Hugo Niebeling, photographed by Alexander Tuschinski in 2014.
Parallel to producing Timeless, Tuschinski assisted Hugo Niebeling in restoring and re-editing B7, Niebeling's director's cut of his 1972 film showing the Berlin Philharmonic performing Beethoven's seventh symphony conducted by Herbert von Karajan.[23] Additionally, Niebeling and Tuschinski together edited Niebeling's short film Apotheosis of Dance from the last movement of the symphony.[24] Parallel to this, Tuschinski produced his own experimental short film Gold., which set the last movement of Beethoven's seventh symphony to images of nature and decay.[25]Gold. won the "Golden Pelican" award at Mykonos Biennale in early 2015.[26]
After Timeless, Tuschinski produced and directed several short films between 2017-2019, including a silent movie adaption of Woyzeck starring Thomas Goersch, the experimental film Cycle-Kreislauf, as well as several documentary portraits of artists. Among those documentaries, the film Caligari in the Desert about Roger Ball was a submission to the 91st Academy Awards,[27] and the film The Songwriter of Botnang portraying Gerda Herrmann, a poet and composer born in 1931, was screened at several international festivals.[28][29][30] In late 2017, Tuschinski filmed first scenes for his feature film Revolution!, including Helmut Berger's last appearance in as an actor which was filmed in Salzburg during December of that year. While the film Revolution! as of 2024 has been shelved, some of its scenes were used for the short film Gas-Shaped Light and for Tuschinski's autobiographic 2024 documentary Cutting Squares.[31]
In 2018, Tuschinski's research into, and interest in, Tinto Brass's work on Caligula was examined in his feature documentary Mission: Caligula.[32] At the documentary's premiere in Los Angeles, Tuschinski made a joint announcement with Kelly Holland, then-owner of Penthouse and rightsholder of Caligula regarding a proposed new cut of the film. In the 1970s, Brass had been dismissed by Penthouse in post-production before he could complete editing, and his workprint had been dismantled to edit the film again from scratch. In 2016, Tuschinski had discovered and reconstructed Tinto Brass' unfinished workprint in Penthouse's archive. The announced project would have aimed for Brass to restore and finish his 1970s workprint of Caligula with Tuschinski's assistance. In case Brass would decline to work on the film, Tuschinski would have finished the workprint according to his reconstruction of Brass' 1970s style and plans. [33] In July 2018, Tuschinski released Mission: Caligula on Vimeo and YouTube.[32] However, the project did not come to pass.[31] That year, Tuschinski also self-published his second novel Fetzenleben, which he had written in 2014/15 parallel to working on Timeless.[34]
In Summer 2019, Tuschinski started filming a feature film adaption of his novel Fetzenleben. The film used the same title as the novel, but was freely adapted, focusing on a love story set in Paris and changing many aspects from the novel to fit the new setting and focus. Filming in Paris started in August 2019, and the cast consisted of German and international actors. As with his prior feature films, Tuschinski produced, wrote, directed and edited Fetzenleben himself, improvising many scenes on set. Additionally, he wrote and performed much of the film's soundtrack on accordion, piano and various instruments.[3] The film won several awards at international film festivals and has a runtime of 165 minutes.[2]
Tomas Kurth in Tuschinski's film Statue of Liberty.
From 2020, German online magazine postmondän published interviews that Tuschinski conducted with artists of his friend circle, like Gerda Herrmann,[35]Stephen Kalinich,[36] and Tomas Kurth (known as vanderkurth).[37] The November 2020 Blu-ray release of the 1971 film The Other Side of Madness includes a booklet written by Tuschinski, in which he gives a positive assessment about the film's visual style, sound design and editing.[38] From Winter to Summer 2021, Tuschinski produced, filmed, directed and edited the feature-length documentary Statue of Liberty about vanderkurth's life and his quest to build a "Statue of Liberty of Stuttgart" during lockdown.[39] Tuschinski calls the film a "docu-comedy". Throughout the film, its making is part of the documented process, giving it an experimental meta layer.[40]Statue of Liberty screened together with Fetzenleben and the second instalment of Die Liedermacherin von Botnang at Filmschau Baden-Württemberg in December 2022.[41]
On 27 December 2022, Tuschinski published his hour-long documentary Whisper and Laugh(Flüstern und Lachen) on YouTube.[42] The film portrays German protest singer Yann Song King, the peaceful protests in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic and the treatment of "unvaccinated" people in the country in winter 2021/22. It was filmed at 30 demonstrations throughout Germany and maintains a sense of humour while retelling the period from the protesters' point of view.[43] Tuschinski produced the film entirely by himself, filming it on a smartphone.[44] On 1 March 2023, Whisper and Laugh screened in competition at Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival at Regal Cinemas at L.A. Live, together with Tuschinski's short film "Vigil" (Mahnwache) about a healthcare-workers' demonstration in Berlin.[45] Eugen Zentner considers Whisper and Laugh as part of 2020s German counter-culture.[46]
In 2023, Tuschinski digitally released his concept album Cut Squares, which he composed and recorded by himself. Eugen Zentner considers the album's second half an "anti-war-album", while the first half mainly addresses conformity in society. He names it as characteristic for 2020s counter-culture pop music and notes the album's "unconventional, at times very experimental" sound, which together with the lyrics tells a story about the narrator "breaking out of a depressive situation with another person, and both finding like-minded people."[46] Most of the music was written during lockdowns between 2020-2022.[47]
From 2023, Tuschinski began researching and publicly discussing his paternal family history. On 22 November 2023, he presented an overview of his research on Demeter Ritter von Tuschinski, his great-grandfather, during a conference at Bukowina-Institut an der Universität Augsburg.[48][49][50] On 19 June 2024, Tuschinski's autobiographical documentary film Cutting Squares about his life, works and friends had its world premiere in Los Angeles.[51] In September 2024, Tuschinski published a reprint of his grandfather Constantin's collected 1929-1942 works, including the first published biography of the author that Tuschinski wrote based on his research.[52] Tuschinski intends to follow this up with a collection of Constantin's 1960s-1980s creative writing, and with a standalone, more thorough biography.[53]
Filmmaking style
General description
Alexander Tuschinski's films have been compared to "the early works of Woody Allen".[54] He uses an impressionistic camera- and editing-style that is considered experimental by some. His films frequently employ classical music with scenes edited to the rhythm and the structure of the music, as well as satirical songs that are often used to progress the story.[citation needed]
I find it boring when I can predict a film's outcome and find that conventional filmmaking can be quite uninteresting at times. My films have a strange, surrealistic logic to them.
—Alexander Tuschinski, Interview by Steve Williams for Take One 2012.[55]
Visual language
Tuschinski himself uses an analogy to language when describing his approach to cinematography and editing, calling different shots nouns (e.g. shots showing an object / a person without any additional intention than showing it, like establishing shots), verbs (shots used to depict an action or movement) or adjectives (shots "describing" things, like quick cut-aways and details), comparing regular visual rules of filmmaking to classical literature, while his way of filming is rather like slam poetry.[25]
To return to the example of slam-poetry vs. classical literature and the comparison to language: I throw around "words", meaning shots, in my films; might use more adjectives, nouns etc., than others, but still each sentence needs subject, verb and object so the recipient understands it. But it shouldn't be worded according to textbook rules, else it gets boring.
—Alexander Tuschinski, Interview by Ursula Drees for plusinsight 2015.[56]
In almost all of Tuschinski's films, him and Matthias Kirste share the cinematographer-credit. When Tuschinski is acting, Kirste operates the camera, and when Tuschinski is not seen in the frame, he often operates the camera himself. Sebastian B is often cast as the lead actor in Tuschinski's films.[citation needed]
Caligula is a 1979 erotic historical drama film about the rise and fall of Roman Emperor Caligula. The film stars Malcolm McDowell in the title role, alongside Teresa Ann Savoy, Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole, John Steiner, and John Gielgud.
Giovanni "Tinto" Brass is an Italian film director and screenwriter. In the 1960s and 1970s, he directed many critically acclaimed avant-garde films of various genres. Today, he is mainly known for his later work in the erotic genre, with films such as Caligula, Così fan tutte, Paprika, Monella and Trasgredire.
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Hugo Niebeling was a German film director and producer. He had been particularly noted for his work on industrial and music films, and is considered one of the most important renewers of these genres in Germany. His style is credited to have influenced and helped create the modern music video. His feature-film documentary Alvorada was nominated for an Academy Award in 1963.
Menschenliebe is an independent German feature film directed by Alexander Tuschinski. It had its premiere in Stuttgart, Germany in December 2010. It was screened and received numerous awards at international film-festivals, was additionally shown in various cinemas and screening events in Germany, and was officially released online in June 2013. It is the first instalment of Tuschinski's informal Trilogy of Rebellion - three very different feature films connected by the same thoughts, ideas and main characters, although each tells an independent story: Menschenliebe, Timeless and an upcoming project called Revolution!. Additionally, the film Break-Up refers to some events of Menschenliebe.
Break-Up is an independent German experimental feature film comedy directed by Alexander Tuschinski. It received awards at international film-festivals and had its German premiere at Berlin Independent Film Festival 2015. Although it is not part of it, it is connected to Tuschinski's informal Trilogy of Rebellion by one main character and some references in the storyline.
Matthias Kirste, is a German cinematographer.
Timeless is a 2016 German science fiction film directed by Alexander Tuschinski. Besides many German actors, it stars Helmut Berger, Harry Lennix, Rick Shapiro, Angus Macfadyen and Zachi Noy. It had its world premiere at Paris Independent Film Festival on November 27, 2016.
Berlin Independent Film Festival (BIFF) is a film festival with a special emphasis on independent films, which annually takes place in Berlin, Germany. It screens German and international films and awards them in various categories. It screens at the historic Kino Babylon, and offers jury awards in many categories as well as two audience awards.
Sebastian B. is a German actor mainly known for his starring role as "Arnold Richter" in Alexander Tuschinski's Trilogy of Rebellion, consisting of the films Menschenliebe, Break-Up and Timeless.
Gold. is a German experimental short documentary film directed by Alexander Tuschinski. It intercuts abandoned 19th century gold-mining towns in the desert with sequoia trees in a forest. The film had its world premiere at Mykonos Biennale on July 3, 2015, where it was screened in competition and received the Biennale's Golden Pelican Award by Lydia Venieri. It had its German premiere at Berlin Short Film Festival on July 4, 2015, was screened in competition at Braunschweig International Film Festival 2015. and had its US-premiere at Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival in 2016.
Carsten Johannes Marcus Hübner is a German actor. He appeared in more than eighty films since 2003, including Magical Mystery or: The Return of Karl Schmidt and The Good Neighbour. Also known on TV for Transporter, Polizeiruf 110, crime series Post Mortem in 2007/2008.
Friedemann Vogel is a German ballet dancer who performs with the Stuttgart Ballet as a Principal dancer and as a frequent guest artist at major ballet companies around the world including La Scala Theatre Ballet in Milan and the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. He has been awarded several prestigious dance prizes including the Prix de Lausanne (1997), Prix de Luxembourg (1997), Eurocity Competition in Italy, USA International Ballet Competition (1998) and Erik Bruhn Prize (2002). In September 2015, he was awarded the national title Kammertänzer - the highest honor in Germany that can be bestowed on a dancer. In the following year, 2016, he was awarded the "Prix Maya" for "Outstanding Dancer" alongside Aurélie Dupont and Diana Vishneva. In 2019, he was elected "Dancer of the Year" by the prestigious trade journal TANZ, making him the only male dancer worldwide ever to receive this distinction more than once. In 2020, he is honoured with the "Outstanding Performer" Award by the prestigious German Dance Prize for his longstanding and illustrious international career, and as a unique dance interpreter, with his combination of intense emotional portrayals and excellent technique. In 2021, he was selected to give the official International Dance Day message by the International Theatre Institute - the world's largest performing arts organisation, under the patronage of UNESCO. In 2022, Friedemann was appointed jury member of the prestigious Prix de Lausanne, 25 years after he was a prize winner himself.
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Tomas Kurth, also known as vanderkurth, is a German artist. He is active as a painter, sculptor, musician, and designer, among other fields. His works have been presented at numerous exhibitions and in a feature-film portrait.
References
↑ Rudolph, Ken. "2018 Oscar Short Documentary Submissions". letterboxd. Retrieved August 20, 2023. Note: The film, which premiered in 2018, was submitted in that year for the 91st Academy Awards taking place in early 2019.
↑ Rudolph, Ken. "2018 Oscar Short Documentary Submissions". letterboxd. Retrieved August 20, 2023. Note: The film, which premiered in 2018, was submitted in that year for the 91st Academy Awards taking place in early 2019.
↑ Tuschinski, Constantin Ritter von (2021). European Union, State Parties and Political Transformations - Collected Works 1929 - 1942. Books on Demand, Norderstedt. ISBN978-3-7583-3120-6.
↑ "plusinsight: Interview with Alexander Tuschinski (German)". Retrieved June 22, 2015.. Original quote in German: "Um das Beispiel Slam-Poetry vs. klassische Literatur aufzugreifen, und die Analogie zur Sprache darin: Ich werfe „Wörter“, also Einstellungsarten, darin durcheinander, arbeite vielleicht mit mehr Adjektiven, Substantiven etc. als andere, aber jeder „Satz“ muss doch Subjekt, Prädikat, Objekt haben, damit der Rezipient ihn verstehen kann. Aber er sollte nicht nur lehrbuchmäßig formuliert sein, sonst wird es dabei langweilig."
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