Ralf Kirsten
Ralf Kirsten (* May 30, 1930 in Leipzig, † January 23, 1998 in Berlin) was one of the most important directors and scriptwriters of the GDR. Known to a wider audience Kirsten was mainly through cooperation with Manfred Krug, for whose films he often wrote the screenplay and directed.
Biography
Kirsten was born the son of a primary school teacher in Leipzig. After graduating from high school and an apprenticeship as an electrician, he began a study of German literature and theater studies at the Humboldt University in Berlin. In 1951, he joined the Theatre Institute in Weimar, and in 1952 to film school FAMU in Prague, where he began studying directing.
His diploma film of 1956 Bear Burgers Schnurre impressed the critics, but he was not given a permanent contract with the DEFA and ended up on the new medium of television. Here he gained experience with all types and genres and worked in the youth television. In 1958 he was given the opportunity as an assistant director for Slatan Dudow confusion of love to be working for DEFA, where he was eventually discontinued in 1960 as director of the DEFA Studios for feature films.
His first Stone Age ballad was still largely neglected by the critics. In 1961 he succeeded with On the sunny side of an acclaimed by the audience film in which Manfred Krug played the lead role. This collaboration proved to be extremely successful, so Kirsten worked with him in four more films.
Besides the large DEFA films Ralf worked in parallel as a director for the television of the GDR. With the reunification and the end of the DEFA his work was no longer in demand. From then on he lectured for directing at the Academy of Film and Television in Potsdam.