Christoph Silber

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Christoph Silber
Silber NYC 2017.jpg

Christoph Silber (often credited as Chris Silber or Chris Martin Silber), born April 26, 1971 in Berlin, is a German-English film producer, screenwriter and director based in Los Angeles. Rated among "Europe's hottest new screenwriters" by Screen International, he frequently collaborates on projects in the United States.

Early life[]

Silber spent most of his childhood and youth in Germany. Raised bilingual, he studied in London and Berlin. His mother is a philosopher and award-winning literary translator, his foster father was a well-known Shakespeare scholar and dramaturge. Writing runs in Silber's family, with several journalists and published authors in his bloodline.

Career[]

Silber worked as an actor, translator and journalist prior to his professional writing career. Taking advantage of his bilingual upbringing, he translated film-related books and screenplays for German book publishers, including Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. The book became a best-seller and led to Silber's first assignment as a playwright. In 1995 the acclaimed Vienna Burgtheater asked him to adapt Puccini's Tosca for a stage production. This led to further theatre work and connections in the film industry.

Silber's screenwriting career began in European television in the mid 1990s. A genre traveller, Silber worked as a head writer of sitcoms as well as crime series. Silber has collaborated on numerous films, including the award-winning Good Bye, Lenin!, North Face,[1] Arranged and My Last Day Without You, for which he also co-wrote several songs performed by Nicole Beharie. He also established himself on the family entertainment market with his feature film scripts for the highly successful Enid Blyton-based Hanni & Nanni franchise. Several of his contributions to German television have broken ratings records.

Based in Los Angeles since 2012, Silber has been honored by the Vilcek Foundation as "an immigrant filmmaker...whose creative spirit enlivens and inspires American cinema."[2]

In 2019, Silber sold a WWII series pilot inspired by his grandfather's story to Hollywood-based Blitz Films. In 2021, Disney+ announced Sam - A Saxon, a mini series co-created by Silber, as their first German original production with him attached as a head writer.

Personal life[]

In 2000 Silber married Joleita Reed, whom he had met during a business trip to New York in the previous year. The story of their chance encounter inspired his film My Last Day Without You. Reed died from cancer in 2013.[3] Silber's desire to share his family's grief journey led him to write the children's book There's A Cloud In The House (Die Wolke Unterm Dach), which will be released in the US and Germany in 2022. A film inspired by the story will be released by Warner Bros. in Germany the same year.

Filmography[]

Theatrical[]

  • 2022: Cloud In The Attic (writer, story)
  • 2017: I'm Off Then (writer)
  • 2015: The Trapp Family – A Life Of Music (writer)
  • 2015: Azure (short; director, producer)
  • 2013: Banklady (writer)
  • 2013: Hanni & Nanni 3 (writer)
  • 2012: Hanni & Nanni 2 (writer)
  • 2011: My Last Day Without You (writer, producer)
  • 2010: Devil's Kickers (writer)
  • 2010: The Albanian (writer)
  • 2010: Young Goethe in Love (script consultant)
  • 2008: (writer)
  • 2008: North Face (writer)
  • 2007: Arranged (script consultant)
  • 2007: Mrs. Ratcliffe's Revolution (script consultant)
  • 2006: Ice Wind (short; writer, director, actor)
  • 2004: (writer, producer)
  • 2003: Good Bye, Lenin! (collaborator on screenplay)
  • 2001: Julietta (writer)
  • 2001: Brooklyn Bridge (short; writer)

Television[]

  • 2022: Sam - A Saxon (miniseries, co-creator & head writer)
  • 2021: Perfect Match (writer)
  • 2018: Walpurgis Night (miniseries, creator & writer)
  • 2017: Balaton Residence (miniseries, co-creator & writer)
  • 2016: Rivals Forever (miniseries, co-creator & writer)
  • 2015: The New Girl (writer)
  • 2014: Dresden Homicide (crime series; creator & head writer)
  • 2012: A Day for a Miracle (writer)
  • 2011: Girl on the Ocean Floor (writer)
  • 2010: Love Is Just A Word (writer)
  • 2006-today: Tatort (crime series; writer & head writer)
  • 2006–2010: Der Kriminalist (crime series; writer & head writer)
  • 2004: My Best Years (series; head writer)
  • 2000: Trivial Pursuit (writer)

Awards and nominations[]

Wins[]

  • 2016 Munich Film Festival: Best TV Film or Miniseries Rivals Forever
  • 2016 Romy Award: Best TV Film Berlin One
  • 2013 International Emmy: Best TV Film or Miniseries A Day for a Miracle
  • 2012 Romy Award: Best Screenplay A Day for a Miracle
  • 2012 Black Reel Awards: Best Independent Film My Last Day Without You
  • 2012 Golden Sparrow Award: Best Children's Film Hanni & Nanni 2
  • 2011 Brooklyn Film Festival: Best Producer My Last Day Without You
  • 2011 Max Ophüls Award: Best Film The Albanian
  • 2011 Hawaii International Film Festival: AIFP honoree, sponsored by the Vilcek Foundation
  • 2009 German Film Critics Award: Best Screenplay North Face
  • 2009 Grimme Award: Audience Award Tatort: Auf der Sonnenseite
  • 2007 Brooklyn Film Festival: Best Film Arranged
  • 2001 Brooklyn Film Festival: Best Film Julietta

Nominations[]

  • 2016 Civis media prize: Best TV Film The New Girl
  • 2013 Grimme Award: Best TV Film A Day for a Miracle
  • 2013 Montblanc Screenplay Award: Banklady
  • 2012 Black Reel Awards: Best Original Song My Last Day Without You
  • 2009 Golden Camera: Best TV Film Tatort: Auf der Sonnenseite

References[]

  1. ^ Holden, Stephen (29 January 2010). "New York Times North Face Review". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  2. ^ "Fate Or Just Love". 15 October 2011.
  3. ^ "Beyond Black & White My Last Day Without You Creator loses wife".

External links[]

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