Biography
Karl Heinz Lotz, born November 27, 1946, in Teicha near Halle, started to study physics and mathematics at Pädagogische Hochschule Karl Liebknecht in Potsdam but left university already half a year later. After several temporary jobs, Lotz started to work as a unit manager for the DEFA studio in 1970. Inspired by the film business, he decided to study directing at Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen in Potsdam-Babelsberg and graduated in 1976 with the film "Else, Ella und Emma" (1976). Lotz then worked as an assistant director for several years, for instance for Rainer Simon's film "Das Luftschiff" (1983), but also made his debut as a director with the children's film "Der Dicke und ich" (1980). The film tells the story of nine-year old Florian whose parents want to get divorced, and landed Lotz a contract as a young director in 1981.
In his second film, "Junge Leute in der Stadt" (1985), about life in Berlin during the late 1920s, Lotz portrayed the activities of a young police officer, of a cab driver, of a revue girl, and of an unemployed man during the lapse of one day. In this film, Lotz created an impressive snapshot of the Weimar Republic by interweaving ficitonal events with documentary elements. Two years after "Jungs, wir leben noch"(1986), a film about Rudolph Meffler, a German veteran of the Russian civil war, Lotz finished "Eisenhans" ("Iron Jack"), a film adaptation of a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. Although the children's film about the two rebellious regal children Prince Joachim and Princess Ulrike was received well by critics, it did not become a success at the box office.
The children's film "Rückwärtslaufen kann ich auch" (1990") is still one of Lotz's most outstanding films. The film deals with a controversial topic that had not been touched on in a DEFA film before: With a lot of humour, the film tells the story of spastic Kati who is fighting for normal living conditions at school, in her family, and in her social environment despite her physical handicap.
Lotz also commented upon current affairs, for instance in the West German TV production "Die Mauerbrockenbande" (1989) that portrays the upheaval of Berlin's political situation and the living together of East and West Germans, Poles, and Turks, and its consequences on the lives of a couple of children.
Besides his practical film work, Karl Heinz Lotz also works as a lecturer at several universities, including Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen Babelsberg, Hochschule für Theater und Musik Rostock, and Hochschule für Schauspielkunst "Ernst Busch" Berlin. From 1995 to 1997, Lotz also acted as the festival director of "Filmkunstfest Schwerin".
Karl Heinz Lotz is living with his family in Potsdam.
The contents of this entry were funded with the support of the DEFA-Stiftung.