Eckhart Schmidt

Eckhart Schmidt born: October 31, 1938 in Sternberg, Moravia [now Czech Republic]. He is a director, writer, producer, photographer and journalist. Eckhart Schmidt was a film critic at Süddeutsche Zeitung and belonged to a group of young German filmmakers called Neue Münchener Gruppe (NMG). Unlike other contemporary German film associations the NMG was more commercially focused and targeting the young audience. Schmidt's early works often explored the sexual tension and fantasies among young people on the make. In 1978 he created the punk magazine "Die Sau". A lot of cutting-edge musicians wrote for it, like David Byrne, Devo, and Patti Smith. Eckhart Schmidt's commercial breakthrough in the movies was "Der Fan" (1982), which tells the story of a girl obsessed with a pop star. Since the mid 90's he has mostly been making television documentaries. Eckhart Schmidt has directed 22 feature films, 79 documentaries and written 16 books.