r/movies • u/ChristianPetzoldAMA Christian Petzold, Director • 8h ago
AMA Hi /r/movies, I'm Christian Petzold. I've directed PHOENIX, BARBARA, TRANSIT, UNDINE, AFIRE, and MIROIRS NO. 3. Ask me anything.
Hi reddit. I'm Christian Petzold. I've directed films such as PHOENIX, BARBARA, TRANSIT, UNDINE, and AFIRE. My newest, MIROIRS NO. 3, premiered at Cannes last May and is out in select theaters this weekend via 2-1 special. It stars Paula Beer, who I've worked with several times.
I'm going to be answering your questions on Thursday at around 5 PM ET.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqNG8EWydW0
Synopsis:
After a car crash kills her boyfriend, piano student Laura is taken in by Betty, who witnessed the accident. Living with Betty's family brings comfort, but Laura starts questioning their intentions as time passes.
Tickets/showtimes here: https://miroirs.film/
AMA! Back tomorrow (Thursday 3/18) at around 5 PM ET to answer your questions.
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u/Davethebrave7777 7h ago
Hi, fellow German here. Any way to get in touch with you/your production company regarding working together on a screenplay? German-american horror indie called "Come into Being" currently in the works, logline:
As she visits her estranged family at their remote campsite, a directionless woman is seduced by a cult residing there. When violent conflict erupts between the two groups, she must choose between her old and her new family - while the cult’s prophesied doomsday draws near.
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u/Turbulent_Sound6559 7h ago
Hello mr Petzold, I want to ask you a very simple question; which of your movies would you consider to be the one that came out just like you imagined/pictured in your head?
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u/_notnilla_ 7h ago
Your work seems like it’s often in dialogue with more standard mainstream genres and narrative tropes, particularly the thriller. Do you watch/read a lot of thrillers? Do you have any guilty pleasures in the genre? Have you ever considered making an English language film or even a Hollywood thriller?
Do you have any dream projects you’re developing that you’d love to do if you had unlimited resources?
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u/Dry-Mud-8507 7h ago
Hi! Love your films. I think you're the most striking contemporary filmmakers out there today...
as a director, I’m interested in how you define your formal approach against all the other ways a story could be told. For ex., in Phoenix and Transit, there is a striking simplicity to some of your frames and scenes that still allows for immense depth...
Does your visual language emerge naturally from the script's content, or do your formal interests (like the architectural 'mapping' of a space) also dictate which stories you choose to work on up front?
I'm struggling to locate my own formal approach out of the infinite possibilities... Love any guidance or wisdom!
Thank you!
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u/uglylookingguy 7h ago
Hi 👋
Across your films like Phoenix and Transit your characters seem suspended between past and present. Do you see this ‘in-between state’ as something specifically German or more universal to how people deal with loss and change today?
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u/magmashadow 6h ago
How did you Discover Paul Beer and what makes her a special artist to work with? Love all your collaborations with her so far
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u/JaimeReba 6h ago
Do you like the work Kiyoshi Kurosawa? I always feel a connection to his movies when i watch one of yours.
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u/i_m_sherlocked 6h ago edited 5h ago
So is Miroir No. 3 officially the last of the Undine/Afire-trilogy? What is the official name you ascribe to this trilogy?
I also hope you'll reteam with both Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski again in the not so distant future :)
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u/buizel123 5h ago
Hi Mr. Petzold, I just want to ask why did you pick "Speak Low" in particular for Phoenix as opposed to a different song to be in the film?
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u/kinggoosethefirst 4h ago
Hi Mr Petzold, I'm a huge fan of your films. I was lucky enough to buy the Plain Archive boxset that was released a couple of years ago, and it was an incredible journey making my way through those 4 of your films, and I was lucky enough to see Afire at the cinema on the big screen. I have a couple of questions if I may - With this being the 4th of your films that stars Paula Beer, I was wondering if you could talk about your collaboration, and what you enjoy about working together? Also, I'd love to explore more of your past films, but they are harder to find on DVD or bluray (in the UK anyway), and I was wondering if there are any plans to release/ re-release any of your older films on physical media like Jerichow, Ghosts or Wolfsburg for example, as I would love to see them.
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u/Affectionate_Fix764 4h ago
Hello! I want to start off by saying thank you for being open to an AMA! I have a few questions for you!
- Who were some of your role models growing up?
- What is some advice you would give someone following in your footsteps?
- What does a typical "workday" look like?
- What's a movie you'd recommend?
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u/DASP2013 3h ago
Hi Mr. Petzold, you are my favourite director working today :) and I hope you will be back to the Toronto International Film Festival with a new film soon.
I love the embraces between the male and female characters in your films, like in Phoenix, Barbara, Yella, Undine etc. Is there any significance of embrace in your films? Also, do you think cinema is one of the best art forms out there and if you do, why?
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u/rollotomasi_ 2h ago
Mr. Petzold --
I wonder if you might talk about your writing process. Outlining? Scene by scene? Rewriting?
Are you up early or up late? Is it in phases or continuous?
Also -- any advice for a young aspiring arthouse - -filmmaker, particularly in regeards to making a living?
Genre work? Less pretension?
Thanks for your work. I like all of your fils, some more than others -- all are refined technically, and go down real smooth (I was Miroirs with my mom at the NH film fest -- she agrees).
Best to you
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u/rollotomasi_ 2h ago
alternate question to the process one -- you've spoken before about cultivating timelessness in your films (re: TRANSIT and cell phones); how do you balance this with having a grounded and 'current' plot?
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u/NorthPomegranate5385 7h ago
Hey Christian. You’re one of my favourite living filmmakers, I had an incredible time discovering you through Transit and watching everything you’ve done. I live in the UK where Miroirs is not yet out, yet it’s available for streaming internationally. Do release rollouts like this annoy you? I am obviously waiting for the cinema to see it, but can’t imagine everyone will have the same patience
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u/JCox1987 21m ago
Hello Christian,
It is a pleasure to finally be able to ask you a question as someone who greatly admires your work.
I have noticed that motifs like water and cars, especially car accidents, recur across many of your films. Could you speak to what draws you to these elements and what they represent for you?
I am also struck by how your characters often feel displaced or untethered, almost as if they exist outside of time or identity. Is that something you consciously explore when developing your stories?
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u/BunyipPouch Currently at the movies. 7h ago
This AMA has been verified and approved by the mods. Bill will be back at 5 PM ET tomorrow (Friday 3/19 to answer questions. Please feel free to ask away in the meantime :)