Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Florian Maria Georg Christian Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck ([ˈfloː.ʁi.aːn ˈhɛŋ.kl̩ fɔn ˈdɔ.nɐsˌmaʁk]), born on 2 May 1973, is an iconic German film director irrespective of his aristocratic roots. His global reputation mostly comes from the acclaimed movie Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) (2006) which earned him the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Other than this thriller, he helmed the romantic thriller The Tourist (2010) featuring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, and the epic drama Never Look Away (2018). Fluent in English, German, French, Russian and Italian, he also boasts a vast academic background, having studied Russian literature in St. Petersburg, philosophy, politics, and economics at New College, Oxford, and earned a diploma in Film Directing from the University of Television and Film Munich. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Christiane Asschenfeldt and their three children, one of whom is Lara Cosima Henckel von Donnersmarck. He maintains strong German and Austrian roots through his father, Leo-Ferdinand Henckel von Donnersmarck, and mother, Countess Anna Maria von Berg. His career in film began after he won a directing apprenticeship with Richard Attenborough on In Love and War (1996). His debut short film Dobermann won numerous awards, and his films The Tourist and Never Look Away received multiple Golden Globe nominations and Oscar nominations, respectively. In 2022, he was set to direct the psychological thriller Vent for Alcon Entertainment.