Jan Schmidt-Garre

Jan Schmidt-Garre (born June 18, 1962 in Munich), German film director and producer.

Biography

Jan Schmidt-Garre studied philosophy at the Hochschule für Philosophie der Jesuiten in Munich from 1982 to 1986 (M. A. with a semiotic thesis on Wagner's “Ring of the Nibelung”). He also studied feature film direction at Munich's Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film from 1984 to 1988.

During this time he worked as a trainee and assistant director for, among others, Rudolf Noelte, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, David Esrig, Joachim Herz and Harry Kupfer (at the Salzburg Festival, the Bayreuth Festival, the Metropolitan Opera in New York and at the Dresden Opera).

He studied conducting and musical theory with Sergiu Celibidache in Mainz, Munich and Paris.

In 1988 he founded PARS MEDIA, a production company whose films have received international acclaim for its documentary and feature films focusing on music and the arts. PARS MEDIA productions have been awarded numerous prizes worldwide, among them the main prizes at the film festivals in Chicago, Paris, Monte Carlo, Columbus/Ohio, Munich and Prague as well as a nomination for the German Film Award. PARS MEDIA films have been broadcast in over thirty countries, many have been distributed theatrically and appeared on Laser Disc, VHS and DVD.

Schmidt-Garre lectures on directing and aesthetics at (among others) the HFF in Munich and the Academy for Theater and Film in Burghausen. He is married to art dealer Philomene Magers. They have two children and live in Berlin.

Filmography (selected)

*"Aida's Brothers & Sisters"Music film, 1999, 90 Min

*"Belcanto - The Tenors of the 78 Era"Music documentary series, 1996, 390 Min. Prizes at the Columbus International Film Festival and at “Classique en images”

On DVD with TDK

*"Bound"Dance film with Saburo Teshigawara, based on a short story by Ilse Aichinger, 2002, 45 Min

On DVD with Arthaus Musik

*"Bruckner’s Decision"Feature film, 1995, 80 Min

*"Celibidache – You Don't Do Anything, You Just Let It Evolve"Documentary film, 1992, 100 Min. Nominated for the German Film Award, won the Silver Medal at the Chicago International Film Festival

*"Furtwängler’s Love"Film Essay, 2004, 70 Min. Awarded at "Golden Prague"On DVD with Arthaus Musik

*"Legato – The World of the Piano"Music documentary and concert series, 2006-08, 720 Min

On DVD with Euroarts

*"Measure – Color - Light"Art documentary, 1992, 45 Min

*"No More Wunderkind – Sergei Nakariakov"Music Documentary, 2004, 60 Min

*"Opera Fanatic"Opera road movie, 1998, 90 Min. Prizes at the Munich International Documentary Festival and at “Golden Prague” (Czech Crystal)

On DVD with Arthaus Musik

*"Sophia – Biography of a Violin Concerto"Music Documentary with Sofia Gubaidulina and Anne-Sophie Mutter, 2008, 60Min. Nominated for the Prix Italia

*"This not that - The Artist John Baldessari"Art Documentary, 2005, 90 Min.

Articles & essays

* [http://parsmedia.com/main/content.php?id=theory-belcanto_idea Bel Canto - an Idea Comes of Age]
* [http://parsmedia.com/main/content.php?id=theory-celi_jsg Celibidache's Presence of Mind]
* [http://parsmedia.com/main/content.php?id=theory-jsg_arte Documents and Artefacts]
* [http://parsmedia.com/main/content.php?id=theory-jsg_interview Interview: My Life in Music]

External links

* [http://parsmedia.com/index.php?id=home PARS MEDIA]
* [http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=PARSMEDIA&p=r Film clips]
* [http://www.arthaus-musik.com/templates/tyCatalogueOverview.php?PHPSESSID=3171cacbdaa913f73db9a68587f0a964&search=schmidt-garre DVDs with Arthaus]