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 Oliver Hirschbiegel was born in Germany in 1957. He left school in his teens and worked as a cook on a boat before returning to school to study the arts he is so well-known for today.
Hirschbiegel studied film and photography at University in his hometown of Hamburg. His earlier “experimental” films attracted much praise and, by 1986, he produced his first full-length film for German television called “Das Go!” Hirschbiegel continued to produce movies for television, receiving wide acclaim for his dramas and thrillers. So, it is not surprising that his first feature Das Experiment (2001) explores human nature by placing it into extreme circumstances of intense psychological drama.
Das Experiment was quickly followed by Mein letzter Film (2002), a ninety-minute monologue about a woman trying to restart her life, but Downfall (2004) has so far been Hirschbeigel’s biggest international success. Controversially, Downfall portrays the last twelve days of Adolf Hitler’s life through the eyes of his secretary.
Drama and stress in a claustrophobic setting is typical of a Hirschbiegel film and, as a successful director, he still has not stopped taking risks. The realistic drama that portrays on the screen has attracted the attention of film criticism and psychoanalysis alike.
Hirschbiegel’s next film The Visiting, starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, is expected to be released through Hollywood in December 2006.
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