DocsBarcelona Awards Heino Deckert
I have known Heino Deckert for decades. I have a big respect for his contribution to current documentaries that have traveled the world. He has taken risks being the producer of demanding directors like Victor Kossakovsky and Sergei Loznitza, and he has always fought to bring documentaries to cinemas, to the big screen. He has for years been so-called group leader for the training program Eurodoc, that has developed the skills of many emerging documentary talents. He has always had both feet on the ground, never snobbish and not afraid to go against broadcasters with strong Ego´s. We have very often discussed football and way back we watched a match together after a workshop in Belfast. His team – was it Werder Bremen? – lost, Barcelona won.
It is in Barcelona at the DocsBarcelona Heino Deckert in some days will receive an Honorary Award, so well deserved.
I have picked some facts from the internet about the prize winner:
Heino Deckert is producer and managing director of ma.ja.de. Filmproduktion based in Leipzig and Berlin and holds a share in Blinker Filmproduktion based in Cologne as well as running Deckert Distribution, a distribution company for documentaries
He was born on June 23rd 1959. He has studied law in Berlin and was a student at the German Film and TV Academy Berlin (DFFB). Upon graduating in 1991 he founded the production company ma.ja.de. Filmproduktion.
In 1995 Deckert founded d.net, an informal union of six European colleagues joining forces to exchange ideas and initiatives. Since the establishing of d.net the producers finished more than 30 internationally coproductions together and became a significant player on the international filmmarket. Heino Deckert meanwhile produced more than 70 award-winning documentaries. They have been premiered at renowned international Festivals such as Berlinale, Venice, Rotterdam, Visions du Réel in Nyon, Cinema du Réel in Paris, IDFA Amsterdam and DOK Leipzig. In 2010 the documentary “Rabbit á la Berlin” by Bartek Konopka got nominated for the Academy Awards. In the same year “Close to Heaven” by Titus Faschina had its premiere at the international competition at Doc Leipzig. The following year “Bad Weather” by Giovanni Giommi was screened in the international competitions of Doc Leipzig and IDFA and was nominated for the Joris Ivens Award. In 2011, the new film of Victor Kossakowsky “Vivan Las Antipodas” had its premiere as second opening film of the Venice Film Festival 2011 and was nominated for the European Film Prize. Also in 2012 “Condition” by Thomas Heise had its premiere at Berlinale.
The catalogue of Deckert Distribution includes titles like: Chavez – Inside the Coup, The Three Rooms of Melancholia, Citizen Havel, Recipes for Disaster. In 2005 Heino Deckert founded ma.ja.de. fiction and produced his first fiction film in 2006 with documentary filmmakers Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth. At its world premiere at the 2006 Venice Film Festival “Khadak” was awarded the “Lion of the Future” for the best feature film debut. “Altiplano” the second promising feature film project by the two filmmakers was premiered at the 48. Semaine de la Critique in Cannes 2009. “My Joy” by Sergei Loznitsa was chosen for the Cannes competition and celebrated its premiere in May 2010. Furthermore, the film was in 2010 on the shortlist for the European Film Awards. “My Joy” received major awards at international festivals. He was the chairman of the European Documentary Network (EDN) from 2006-2008.
… and he was the producer of Kossakovsky´s “Architecton” that goes around to cinemas, including Spain, I understand.
At the festival in Barcelona, two of his films will be shown: “Rabbit à la Berlin” by Polish Konopka AND the last film of Thomas Heise, “Heimat ist ein Raum aus Zeit”, let me quote from this site:
“…There is so much to (re)discover, so many cinematic decisions that are far from main-stream documentary storytelling.With the whole overall ambition, to take the viewer through the history of a family, through generations from the beginning of the 20th century till today. What an ambition and what an original and succesful result! Like a written biography it is a film in 5 chapters, indeed a piece of literature in itself as much as it is an aesthetically balanced visual interpretation with the voice of the director reading letters, diaries, presenting documents, and let me not forget the muted tone, never pushy, never overwhelming, but always there in the background together with the eloquent voiceover…”
Thomas Heise passed way in 2024, far too early. His film to be shown at DocsBarcelona is definitely one of the highlights of this year’s edtion.
