Maren Ade (German: [ˈmaːʁən ˈʔaːdə]; born 12 December 1976) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer. Ade lives in Berlin, teaching screenwriting at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg. Together with Janine Jackowski and Jonas Dornbach, she runs the production company Komplizen Film. She is best known for her film Toni Erdmann, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Early life and education

Ade was born in Karlsruhe, West Germany. As a teenager, she directed her first short films.[1]

In 1998, she began studying film production and media management, and later film direction at the University of Television and Film (HFF) in Munich,[2] which she successfully completed in 2004.[1]

Career

In 2001, Ade co-founded the film production company Komplizen Film together with Janine Jackowski, a fellow graduate from HFF.[2] It was with Komplizen Film that she produced her final student film The Forest for the Trees at HFF in 2003. Among other honors, the film received the Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005. The Forest for the Trees was screened at a large number of international festivals.

In 2009, her second film Everyone Else celebrated its world premiere in the Official Competition section of the Berlin International Film Festival, where it received the Silver Bear for Best Film (Jury Grand Prix) and the Best Actress Silver Bear for Birgit Minichmayr. Everyone Else was released in theatres in over 18 countries.

In 2012, Ade announced she would be writing and directing a film called Toni Erdmann about a man who begins to play pranks on his adult daughter after he finds she has become too serious.[3] The film debuted In Competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, the first German film to debut there in 10 years.[4] The film won the top prize at the European Film Awards (Best European Film), thus making Ade the first woman to direct a movie that won the top prize at those awards.[5]

Ade served on the jury of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, chaired by Pedro Almodóvar.[6] At the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, she presided over the festival’s short film competition jury, as well as the jury for the La Cinef lineup of student films.[7]

Personal life

Ade lives with director Ulrich Köhler and their two children in Berlin.[2][8]

In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Ade signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.[9][10][11]

Filmography

Feature films

Year English Title Original Title Notes
2003 The Forest for the Trees Der Wald vor lauter Bäumen
2009 Everyone Else Alle anderen
2016 Toni Erdmann
TBA The Magic Word In production[12]

Short films

  • 2000: Level 9
  • 2001: Vegas

Only producer

Year English Title Original Title Director(s) Notes
2002 Karma Cowboy Sonja Heiss and Vanessa van Houten Producer
2006 Hotel Very Welcome [de] Sonja Heiss
2011 Sleeping Sickness Schlafkrankheit Ulrich Köhler
2012 Tabu Miguel Gomes Co-producer
The Dead and the Living Die Lebenden Barbara Albert
2013 Tanta Agua Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge
Redemption Miguel Gomes
2014 Love Island Jasmila Žbanić
Superegos Über-Ich und Du Benjamin Heisenberg Producer
2015 Hedi Schneider Is Stuck Hedi Schneider steckt fest Sonja Heiss
Arabian Nights As Mil e uma Noites Miguel Gomes Co-producer
2017 Western Valeska Grisebach Producer
2021 The Story of My Wife A feleségem története Ildikó Enyedi
Spencer Pablo Larraín
2025 Delicious Nele Mueller-Stöfen[13]
Sentimental Value Affeksjonsverdi Joachim Trier Co-producer
2026 The Dreamed Adventure Das Geträumte Abenteuer Valeska Grisebach Producer

Accolades

  • 2005: Special Jury Award, Sundance Film Festival for The Forest for the Trees
  • 2005: Best Feature Film - Grand Prize, IndieLisboa - International Independent Film Festival for The Forest for the Trees
  • 2005: Best Film, nomination for the German Film Award for The Forest for the Trees
  • 2005: Best Feature Film, Cine Jove Valencia Film Festival for The Forest for the Trees
  • 2005: Best Actress: Eva Löbau, Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival for The Forest for the Trees
  • 2009: Silver Bear – Jury Grand Prix, Berlinale, for Everyone Else
  • 2009: Silver Bear– Best Actress for Birgit Minichmayr, Berlinale, for Everyone Else
  • 2010: Nominated for Best Film, Best Direction and Best Female Lead for Birgit Minichmayr, German Film Award for Everyone Else
  • 2010: Best Direction and FIPRESCI Critics' Award, Buenos Aires Festival of Independent Cinema for Everyone Else
  • 2010: Main Prize, International Women's Film Festival Dortmund for Everyone Else
  • 2010: Best Actor for Lars Eidinger, Love Is Folly International Film Festival for Everyone Else
  • 2010: Best Actress for Birgit Minichmayr, Ourense Film Festival for Everyone Else
  • 2014: Berlin Art Prize in the category Film and Media Art
  • 2015: DEFA Foundation Award for Outstanding Performance in German Film for Komplizen Film
  • 2016: Academy Award nomination, Best Foreign Film, for "Toni Erdmann"

References

  1. 1 2 "Maren Ade". filmportal.de. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Manohla Dargis (May 22, 2016), The Director of ‘Toni Erdmann' Savors Her Moment at Cannes New York Times.
  3. ↑ Bell, Nicholas. "Top 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #9. Maren Ade's Toni Erdmann". Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  4. ↑ Richford, Rhonda. "'Money Monster,' 'The BFG,' 'The Nice Guys' Among Cannes 2016 Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (10 December 2016). "Toni Erdmann Sweeps European Film Awards – Full Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  6. ↑ Rachel Donadio (25 April 2017), Will Smith and Jessica Chastain Join Pedro Almodóvar on Cannes Festival Jury New York Times.
  7. ↑ Scott Roxborough (25 April 2025), Cannes: ‘Toni Erdmann’ Director Maren Ade Heads up Short Film Jury The Hollywood Reporter.
  8. ↑ "The Art of the Cringe Factor". @GI_weltweit. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "Gaza : des cinéastes du monde entier demandent un cessez-le-feu immédiat". Libération (in French). 28 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  10. ↑ Newman, Nick (29 December 2023). "Claire Denis, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Christian Petzold, Apichatpong Weerasethakul & More Sign Demand for Ceasefire in Gaza". The Film Stage. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  11. ↑ "Directors of cinema sign petition for immediate ceasefire". The Jerusalem Post. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  12. ↑ Blaney, Martin. "Maren Ade, Maria Schrader films receive key German funding". Screen. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  13. ↑ Vassilis Economou (16 January 2025). "Diverse perspectives and limitless creativity abound in the Berlinale Panorama". Cineuropa. Retrieved 19 January 2025.

Further reading

  • Take 100, The Future of Film: 100 New Directors, Phaidon Verlag, 2010
  • The Berlin School: Films from the Berliner Schule, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2013
  • Wagner, Brigitta B. (2009). "New Paths for German Cinema". Film Quarterly. 62 (4): 69–71. doi:10.1525/fq.2009.62.4.69. JSTOR 10.1525/fq.2009.62.4.69.
  • Abel, Marco (2013). "Maren Ade: Filming between Sincerity and Irony". The Counter-cinema of the Berlin School. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 249–273. ISBN 978-1-57113-438-7.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maren_Ade