German director Wolfgang Becker, aged 70, has passed away. He was best known for his 2003 film Good Bye, Lenin!, a tragicomedy about a son trying to conceal the fall of East Germany from his mother, who has just awakened from a coma.
Born in the Sauerland region, Becker moved to Berlin early in his life and studied at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie. His graduation project, the short film Schmetterlinge, won a Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival.
He contributed scripts to the popular TV crime series Tatort and gained recognition for his first feature film Das Leben ist eine Baustelle. Good Bye, Lenin!
became his most notable success, resonating with audiences in Germany and internationally. Becker played a role in founding the German Film Academy and recently completed his last film, Der Held vom Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse.
He had been seriously ill and passed away yesterday.
Source: NOS