Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; 1 August 1918 – 7 July 2019) was a German film producer and entrepreneur of Polish origin. He produced more than 300 films from 1946.
Artur Brauner | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Brauner attending the Berlinale 2018 | |
| Born | Abraham Brauner 1 August 1918[1] |
| Died | 7 July 2019 (aged 100) Berlin, Germany |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Years active | 1946–2019 |
Life and career edit
He was born the oldest son of a Jewish family in Łódź, Poland. His father was a timber wholesaler. Brauner attended a general education liceum in Łódź, where he took the matura final exam, and then studied at a local polytechnic technical school until the German attack on Poland in September 1939.[3] With his parents and four siblings, he fled to the Soviet Union and survived the Holocaust.[4] Following the war, he and his brother, Wolf Brauner emigrated to Berlin;[5] his parents and three of his siblings emigrated to Israel.[3] Twelve of his relatives were killed at Babi Yar,[6] among forty-nine who died at the hands of the Nazis.[7]
Brauner married Theresa Albert, called Maria, in 1947. They had four children.[3]
As a young man, he saw Fritz Lang's film The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, which affected him greatly, making him interested in film. In September 1946, he founded the Central Cinema Company or CCC Films in the American sector of Berlin. He produced Sag' die Wahrheit, one of the first films produced in Germany after the war, followed by Morituri, which was a commercial failure and threw him into debt. Brauner realised that to produce critically successful films he had to make up their losses by producing critically derided films that were appreciated by the public. He lured back many Germans who had experience in Hollywood such as Robert Siodmak and later Fritz Lang who started a revival of Dr. Mabuse.[8]
In 2009, Yad Vashem received a donation of 21 of Brauner's productions having to do with the Holocaust, including Die Weiße Rose, The Plot to Assassinate Hitler (Der 20. Juli) and Man and Beast (Mensch und Bestie). In 2010, Yad Vashem opened a media center in Brauner's name.[9] Brauner called it the "crowning achievement of my film career".[10]
Brauner was a prominent member of the Jewish community of Berlin and a recipient of the Bundesverdienstkreuz.[11] At the 2003 Berlinale, he was awarded the Berlinale Kamera honouring his lifetime achievement. His many other awards included two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award for his co-production of the film The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Vittorio De Sica. Brauner lived and worked in Berlin.[3] He turned 100 in August 2018.[12]
Brauner died on 7 July 2019 in Berlin.[13]
Selected filmography edit
Brauner produced over 250 movies. Here a list of selected films produced by him:[14]
Publications edit
- Mich gibt's nur einmal (autobiography). Munich, Berlin: Herbig (1976) ISBN 978-3-7766-0775-8
Awards edit
- 1965: Goldene Leinwand for Old Shatterhand[15]
- 1965: Goldene Leinwand for Der Schut[16]
- 1967: Goldene Leinwand for Die Nibelungen[17]
- 1970: Golden Bear for The Garden of the Finzi-Continis[18]
- 1972: Academy Award for The Garden of the Finzi-Continis [2]
- 1983: Deutscher Filmpreis: Filmband in Silber for Die Weiße Rose[18]
- 1990: Deutscher Filmpreis: Filmband in Gold for "long and outstanding work in German cinema" [19]
- 1992: Golden Globe for Europa Europa[20]
- 1993: Bundesverdienstkreuz I. Klasse[20]
- 2000: Goldene Kamera[21]
References edit
- ^ "Film producer and Holocaust survivor Artur Brauner dies". Daily Herald. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ a b "German film producer, Holocaust survivor Artur Brauner, dies at age 100". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Filmportal: Artur Brauner (German)". Retrieved 1 July 2016.
- ^ "Artur Brauner, Producer of Films on Holocaust, Dies at 100". New York Times. 12 July 2019. p. A 21. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ Bock, Hans-Michael; Bergfelder, Tim, eds. (2009). The Concise Cinegraph: Encyclopaedia of German Cinema. New York: Berghahn Books. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-57181-655-9.
- ^ Boston, William: "Burying the Past" Time (1 October 2003). Retrieved 29 February 2012
- ^ Hans Schmid, "Old Atze und der Schatz im Silbersee" Heise Online. (23 August 2008) Retrieved 1 March 2012 (in German)
- ^ Kalat, David: German Trash Cinema: The Story of Artur Brauner in: The Strange Case of Dr. Mabuse: A Study of the Twelve Films and Five Novels. McFarland (2005), pp. 131–142
- ^ "German film producer to receive Yad Vashem honour" Archived January 10, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Deutsche Presse-Agentur (2010). Retrieved 1 March 2012
- ^ "German film producer, Holocaust survivor Artur Brauner, dies at age 100". DW.com. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ Benhabib, Liat; Ash, Mimi (April 2010). "Visual Center Receives Artur Brauner Film Collection" (PDF). www.yadvashem.org. p. 20. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ Rebhandl, Bert. "Zum 100. Geburtstag von Filmproduzent Artur Brauner". Faz.net. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ "Artur Brauner wurde 100 Jahre alt: Film-Legende verstorben". Bild (in German). 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ "Artur Brauner: 100 years old with 250 film productions under his belt". DW.com. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ "Old Shatterhand". Goldene Leinwand. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ "Der Schut" (in German). Goldene Leinwand. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ "Die Nibelungen" (in German). Goldene Leinwand. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ a b Robert C. Reimer; Carol J. Reimer (April 2010). The A to Z of German Cinema. Scarecrow Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-4617-3186-3.
- ^ "Artur Brauner, Holocaust Survivor and German Film Producer, Dies at 100". Hollywood Reporter. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ a b "Artur Brauner: 100 years old with 250 film productions under his belt". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ "Filmlegende Artur Brauner im Alter von 100 Jahren verstorben" (in German). Golden Kamera. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
External links edit
- Biography of Artur Brauner CCC Film. Retrieved 1 March 2012
- Artur Brauner at IMDb
- Brauner at germanfilms.de
- Biography and portrait (in German)
- Ulrich Gutmair, Interview with Brauner die Tageszeitung (10 July 2008). Retrieved 1 March 2012 (in German)
- Artur Brauner Archive at Deutsches Filminstitut, Frankfurt/Main
- Artur Brauner Archive at European Film Gateway