Goethe Interview with Nina Hoss and Christian Petzold

Published on 17 Sep 2014-Text courtesy of: Goethe-Institut Toronto
Oscar nominated director Petzold & actor Hoss in conversation.
Presented by the Goethe-Institut Toronto.

Christian Petzold is back at TIFF, after his 2012 success with “Barbara” and “Yella” in 2007. In his TIFF14 world premiere of “Phoenix”, he reunites top actors Nina Hoss and Ronald Zehrfeld in another story of a fiercely determined woman — and the deeply divided society to which she belongs — caught between a tragic past and an uncertain future. A disfigured concentration-camp survivor (Hoss) searches ravaged post-war Berlin for the husband (Zehrfeld) who might have betrayed her to the Nazis.

Moderated by Cologne film expert Nikolaj Nikitin.

Co-writer Harun Farocki to Petzold after “Barbara”: “With Nina and Ronald you have a romantic couple that is so intense and powerful – now you can tackle a difficult topic like ‘Phoenix’.”– Kritiken.de

Christian Petzold was born in Hilden, Germany, in 1960 and has lived in Berlin since 1981. He studied German Language and Literature before studying film at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb) from 1988-94, during which time he was assistant director to late Harun Farocki and Hartmut Bitomsky. He has taken part in the Berlinale’s Competition program three times, with “Ghosts”, “Yella” and “Barbara”. The latter was Germany’s Oscar entry 2013.

Nina Hoss was born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1975. Since acting school she has been equally present on the stage as in cinema. “Phoenix”‘s Nelly is her sixth lead role for Christian Petzold.
Her acting was twice honored with the Adolf Grimme Award and she won the Silver Bear at the Berlinale 2007 for her role in Petzold’s “Yella” .