Biography:

Eduard Schreiber was born in Obernitz, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) on May 21, 1939. He studied journalism and literature in Leipzig at the Institut für Literarische Publizistik from 1960 to 1964, and then worked as an academic assistant at the institute, where he met the literary scholar Hans Meyer, Romance language scholar Werner Krauss, and author Werner Bräuning.

In 1970, Schreiber joined the DEFA Studio for Documentary Films, where he worked as a scriptwriter and, as of 1972, as a director. He collaborated on various films with director Ulrich Weiss and director of photography Thomas Plenert.  

Many of Schreiber’s films reflect his interest in literature and art, including: Leningrad – Stadt meiner Dichtung, about Russian authors; Hermann Hesse 1877-1977, about the poet and novelist; Radnóti, about the Hungarian Jewish poet Miklós Radnóti; Wissen Sie nicht, wo Herr Kisch ist?, about Egon Erwin Kisch, one of the most outstanding journalists of the twentieth century; and Rausch, Klang, Ekstase – Die Künstlergruppe Brücke 1905-1913, about the group of expressionist artists in Dresden.

Using montage, sound and image, Schreiber has developed his own film language and aesthetic. Often in stark contrast to the heroic tradition of East German documentary filmmaking, Schreiber’s films contain important themes based on his own research into social issues and the daily life of marginal groups. Examples range from his filmic essay about the stationing of missiles in Europe, The Time is Now – Jetzt ist die Zeit, to his poetic short film Östliche Landschaft and his long-term documentary project on Soviet troops pulling out of East Germany, Lange nach der Schlacht.

Since 1991, Eduard Schreiber has worked as a freelance director and author. He is the author of articles on film history and theory, and film and literary criticism, and has also worked as a translator.