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All Pictures (2)Biography
Benjamin Schindler was born in 1983 in Dresden (then GDR). In 2005, he founded the artist collective "shortfilmlivemusic", which organizes film concerts on contemporary topics, and went on to study at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne from 2006 to 2012. In 2010 Schindler, still a student, began to develop virtual stage sets as well as video and light installations for choreographers, musicians and operas. In the same year, he founded the artist collective "zeitgebilde" for film and media art, whose declared aim is to produce "sophisticated artistic, transmedial documentary and feature film forms" that deal with "socially relevant issues".
During his studies, Schindler also made several short films. His essayistic short film "Costa del Sol" (2010), about an African migrant who encounters the remains of European civilization on a foreign coast, was shown at the short film festival in Clermont-Ferrand (France) and at the International Human Rights Film Festival in Nuremberg. The 31-minute documentary film essay "Playhouse of A." (2013) addressed the changing American culture, its myth and its loss of significance in the world. The film was screened in the competition of the Oberhausen Short Film Festival 2014, among others. Schindler also received a scholarship from the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony in 2014.
In 2017, Benjamin Schindler realized his first feature-length documentary "Playland USA". The film essay, which thematically follows up "Playhouse of A.", reflects and questions the American self-image, also in the light of American settlement history and against the background of US popular culture. "Playland USA" celebrated its premiere in January 2019 at the Max Ophüls Prize film festival and had its theatrical release in September of the same year.
In addition to his film and media projects, Schindler offers film workshops as a lecturer at various educational institutions.