Dirk van den Berg

Dirk van den Berg

Dirk van den Berg (born May 10, 1966 in Düsseldorf) is a German film director and producer.

Biography

After a first career as a professional pianist, Dirk moved to Rome, Italy. He studied and graduated as a producer and director at the National Academy of Flm and Drama, and at Rome University in Media Sciences. Connecting music and drama, he first worked as an opera director, then started directing / writing feature films, television and documentaries. At the same time, he participated in a growing number of international films as a line-, associate- and executive producer.

In 2010 he channeled his international experience into establishing OutreMer Film with his partner, seasoned producer Herbert Gehr.

Today, Dirk often works on difficult projects in risky territories, namely the Middle East, Asia and Africa. As a producer, he has a proven track record in international troubleshooting of film projects - also when it comes to diplomatic issues between partners.

Back in 1985, Dirk left Germany shortly after his high school degree and went to Italy. There he began to study history of music and drama at the Sapienza University of Rome. For several years he worked as a drama and opera director with various Italian and European theaters and opera houses. Subsequently, he graduated in producing and directing at the Silvio d’Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts and Film in Rome, where he was one of the last students educated by Italian veteran writer and scholar Andrea Camilleri. Shortly before his graduation, he was offered the chance to shoot his first feature film in Moscow, which he wrote together with Russian novel writer Vladimir Makanin as the first of a series of films about the reality of the dying Soviet Union and the transformation into the Russian Federation. In spite of the film's success, the series was never produced. Van den Berg decided to hurl himself into the real world of filmmaking and began a parallel career as a Line Producer. He took care of many international projects, directed various movies and series episodes and eventually started also to write and produce films.[1]

In 2006, he moved back to Germany and started working for a Munich and London based movie production company. His first film as a producer was the American-German co-production Steel Trap,[2] a thriller directed by Mexican-American newcomer Luis Camara. After he left the company in 2009, he associate produced and in part filmed the feature documentary "Generation 9/11", directed by Scottish-American Academy Award winner Nigel Noble and based on the work of German politician, philanthropist and writer Jürgen Todenhöfer. Between 2010 and 2012, Dirk van den Berg worked as the Creative Producer for LOOKS Film Produktion on "The Great War Diary", a landmark documentary series about World War I that is due in 2014 project trailer here.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

References

  1. ↑ profile on German Ministry of culture and media's website "Dirk van den Berg, film, radio and journalism"
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ European Script Fund

External links