Tom Tykwer is a German director who has made a number of films that were successful on the international stage, with examples ranging from Run Lola Run to Cloud Atlas. Recently, his name has been showing up because of the announcement that he will be the head of the jury at the Berlin Film Festival, which speaks volumes about how far he has come in his chosen career.
Here are five things that you may or may not have known about Tom Tykwer:
Fascinated by Films as a Child
Tykwer has been fascinated by films and filmmaking since he was a child. For example, he started helping out at a cinema as a child because that would enable him to see more films as well as a wider selection of films than otherwise possible. Furthermore, he started making amateur films at the age of 11, which was how he got started as a filmmaker in his own right.
Didn’t Get into Film School
Unsurprisingly, Tykwer sent applications to a number of film schools situated throughout Europe as soon as he graduated from high school. However, he was not accepted to any one of them, with the result that he soon moved to Berlin where he started working at a cinema. There, he managed to become known to a number of German directors as something of a film buff, which resulted in his friendship with a filmmaker named Rosa von Praunheim.
Got Started as a Short Film-maker
It was Rosa von Praunheim who got Tykwer started as a film-maker by convincing him to make a short film based on his arguments with his girlfriend. The result was a short film called Because, which met with enough of a positive reception at a film festival where it was shown that Tykwer made the choice to continue making short films. He took some personal risks in the form of going into debt when he made his second short film, but that provided him with the valuable expertise and experience that he needed to become someone responsible for making feature films as well.
Made a Short Film with Next-to-No Pre-production
In 2006, Tykwer contributed a 10-minute short film to an anthology called Paris, je t’aime. It is interesting to note that in his case, there was next to no preproduction for his short film, with the result that he has stated that it symbolized an entire life for him. Besides that, it should be mentioned that the short film featured Natalie Portman, who was but one of the numerous well-known actors and actresses who were involved in the anthology.
Close Partnership with Pale 3
With the exception of a single film, Tykwer’s films have used music composed by a trio called Pale 3, who have been collaborating with one another ever since Tykwer’s second feature film, which was called Winter Sleepers. It is interesting to note that while Pale 3 started out in film music, they have since started making original music that has no relationship with films and filmmaking whatsoever. Something that might interest those who have enjoyed the music for Tykwer’s films.
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