Born in Meuselbach in Thuringia on 13.10.1934. He studied cinematography at the German College of Film Art in Babelsberg from 1954-59, and in 1960 joined the DEFA Studio for Feature Films where he was an influential proponent of modern poetical realism. He began directing in 1970; his films "The House on the River" (1986), "Fallada – The Last Chapter" (1988) and "The Tango Player" (1991) all screened in Competition at the Berlinale. He made his last theatrical feature in 1997 and was subsequently an active figure at the film school HFF.

Source: 61. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)