Christoph Schlingensief

Born 1960 in Oberhausen.

Christoph Schlingensief is a director for film, theater and opera, a radio drama author and a performance artist. He studied German studies, philosophy and art history in Munich. Schlingensief’s career as a film artist started in the beginning of the 1980s when he was working as an assistant with Werner Nekes. During that time he produced his first short films as well as his first feature length film »Tunguska – Die Kisten sind da« (Tunguska – The boxes are here, 1984).

For »Deutschlandtrilogie« (Germany Trilogy), consisting of the films »100 Jahre Adolf Hitler – Die letzten Stunden im Führerbunker« (100 years of Adolf Hitler – The last hours in the Führerbunker), »Das deutsche Kettensägenmassaker« (The German Chainsaw Massacre) and »Terror 2000 – Intensivstation Deutschland« (Terror 2000 – Intensive Care Unit Germany), Schlingensief became known to a larger audience. In 1993 he had his debut as a theater director at the Volksbühne Berlin, and, among others, realized »100 Jahre CDU – Spiel ohne Grenzen« (100 Years of the CDU – Game Without Frontiers); »Kühnen ’94«, »Rocky Dutschke ’68« and »Schlacht um Europa« (Battle for Europe).

Other productions (selection): »Kunst & Gemüse, A. Hipler« (Art & Vegetables, A. Hipler; Berlin Volksbühne, 2004), »Attabambi – Pornoland« (Schauspielhaus Zurich, 2004), »Bambiland« (Burgtheater Vienna, 2003), »Atta Atta« (Berlin Volksbühne, 2002) and »Hamlet«, together with neonazis planning to exit from the scene (Schauspielhaus Zurich, 2001).

Since 1997 Schlingensief has been realizing numerous actionistic projects, among others, the participation at the 50th Venice Biennal with his project »Church of Fear (COF)«; the container project »Bitte liebt Österreich« (Please Love Austria, 2000), which deals with asylum policies; the founding of the political party »Chance 2000« as part of the elections to the German Bundestag in 1998; »Passion Impossible – 7 Tage Notruf für Deutschland« (Passion Impossible – 7 Days Emergency Call for Germany, 1997) and »Mein Filz, mein Fett, mein Hase« (My Felt, My Fat, My Rabbit) documenta X, 1997).

Between 1997 and 2002 Schlingensief also worked for television and presented the media-critical programs »Talk 2000«, »U 3000« and »Freakstars 3000«. In 2004 he directed his first opera at the Bayreuth Festival, Wagner’s »Parsifal«. As part of the Wagner Festival in Manaus/Brazil in 2007 Schlingensief realized »The Flying Dutchman«. In the same year he directed the ghost train opera »Trem Fantasma« in Sao Paolo.

Most recent projects were »Der König wohnt in mir« (The King Lives Inside Me; videos and photographies from Nepal; Kunstraum Innsbruck); the opera »Szenen aus dem Leben der heiligen Johanna« (Scenes From the Live of Saint Joan, Deutsche Oper Berlin); and the installation »Abendmahl« (Last Supper), as part of the exhibition »Traces du Sacré« at the Centre Pompidou, Paris (all in 2008).