Biography and filmography
Biography
- 26 May 1932
- Born in Nobitz (close to Altenburg)
- Attends primary and secondary school in Altenburg until 1945 and takes advanced classes after the end of the war
- 1950
- Abitur, apprenticeship as projectionist for substandard films made for national education, district secretary of the Kulturbund in Altenburg, dramatic adviser and assistant director at the district theatre of Crimmitschau / Glaucha
- 1952
- Directing studies at the film and TV department of the Prague Academy of Fine Arts together with the later DEFA directors Ralf Kirsten and Konrad Petzold
- 1954
- Directorial debut: Wetterfrösche (Rozničky), a short exercise in documentary filmmaking
- 1955 - 1957
- Parallel to his studies, Beyer does internships at the DEFA feature film studios in Potsdam-Babelsberg and works as assistant to the directors Kurt Maetzig, Hans Müller and Kurt Jung-Alsen.
- 1957
- Directing diploma for Zwei Mütter, which is produced in the DEFA studios
caption: Frank Beyer and Françoise Spira during the shooting of "Zwei Mütter" (1957); Photo: DEFA-Neufeld - Beyer shoots two short films for the satirical DEFA series “Das Stacheltier” as a freelance director.
- 1958
- Regular employment at the DEFA feature film studios. Here, he realises five acclaimed feature films during the following years.
- 1966
- Prohibition of his film Spur der Steine. Beyer is dismissed from the DEFA studios and starts working for the Dresden State Theatre.
- 1967 -1969
- Various theatre stagings at Dresden State Theatre (“Altweibersommer” by Gerhard Rentzsch, Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” and Schiller’s “Die Verschwörung des Fiesko zu Genua”) as well as stagings at Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater, Görlitz / Zittau (“Um 9 an der Achterbahn” by Claus Hammel) and Maxim-Gorki-Theater, Berlin (“Der Egoist” by Franz Freitag)
- 1969
- Beyer starts working for GDR television and shoots the multi-part films Rottenknechte (1970, 5 parts) and Die sieben Affären der Dońa Juanita (1973, 4 parts).
- 1975
- With Jakob der Lügner, he returns to the cinema. The film, a co-production with GDR television, becomes his nationally and internationally most successful one and is nominated for an Oscar in the category “Best Foreign Film”.
- 1977
- Beyer signs the petition against Wolf Biermann’s expatriation from the GDR. Manfred Krug, Beyer’s main actor in his film Das Versteck, leaves the GDR in the summer. As a consequence, the film is prohibited. After long disputes, it is publicly screened in 1978.
- 1978
- The TV film Geschlossene Gesellschaft barely escapes prohibition. After several programme reschedules, the film is broadcasted late at night without press announcement. Beyer’s next projects – “Franziska Linkerhand” for GDR television and “Der rote Ballon” for DEFA – are cancelled.
- 1978 - 1980
- Mentor for the newcomer directors Gabriel Denecke and Peter Kahane at the GDR Film and Television College, Potsdam-Babelsberg
- 1980 - 1981
- Beyer gets the permission to realise the TV productions Der König und sein Narr (script: Ulrich Plenzdorf) and Die zweite Haut (based on a book by Klaus Poche) in the FGR.
- 1983
- Working for DEFA again, he shoots Der Aufenthalt (based on a novel by Hermann Kant) and Christoph Meckel’s Bockshorn.
- 1984
- Der Aufenthalt, the GDR’s contribution to the Berlinale, is banned from competition due to Poland’s intervention.
- 1987
- Staging of the cabaret programme “Auf dich kommt es an, nicht auf alle“ at “Leipziger Pfeffermühle“
- 1989 und 1991
- Der Bruch and Der Verdacht are the last films Beyer shoots at the DEFA feature film studios.
- 1991
- Beyer receives the German film award “Filmband in Gold“ for his complete works. During the following years, he directs TV and feature films for, e.g., Allianz, UFA, Nova-Film and WDR.
- 1993
- Interview: Zwischentöne: Frank Beyer über Manfred Krug (TV / directed by Ute Geisler)
- Portrait film Frank Beyer – Zwischen den Zeiten (TV / directed by Kurt Barthel)
- 1998
- Just before the beginning of the shooting of the 4-part TV film Jahrestage (after Uwe Johnson’s novel by the same name), Beyer is ousted from the project.
- 2001
- Staging of “Der König und sein Narr“ at Hans-Otto-Theater, Potsdam Beyer’s autobiography “Wenn der Wind sich dreht. Meine Filme, mein Leben“
- 1 October 2006
- Frank Beyer dies in Berlin after a long disease.
is published.
Filmography
- 1954
- Wetterfrösche (original title: “Rozničky”)
Idea, DIR, and SCR: Frank Beyer - 1955
- Die Irren sind unter uns (original title: “Blázni mezi námi”)
Co-directed with Ralf Kirsten and Konrad Petzold - 1955
- Ernst Thälmann – Führer seiner Klasse
Intern
DIR: Kurt Maetzig - 1956
- Zar und Zimmermann
Assistant director
DIR: Hans Müller - 1957
- Schlösser und Katen
Assistant director
DIR: Kurt MaetzigZwei Mütter
Director
SCR: Jo Tiedemann (i.e.: Leonie Ossowski) and Frank Beyer
Fridericus Rex – Part 11
106th / 107th part of the satirical short film series “Das Stacheltier“
DIR and SCR: Frank Beyer
Polonia-Expreß
Co-author and assistant director
DIR: Kurt Jung-Alsen
SCR: Kurt Jung-Alsen and Frank Beyer
Das Gesellschaftsspiel
Subtitle: Eine unglaubliche Geschichte oder?
105th part of the satirical short film series “Das Stacheltier“
DIR and SCR: Frank Beyer - 1959
- Eine alte Liebe
Director
SCR: Werner Reinowski and Frank Beyer - 1960
- Fünf Patronenhülsen
Director
SCR: Walter Gorrish - 1962
- Königskinder
Director
SCR: Edith and Walter Gorrish - 1963
- Nackt unter Wölfen
Director
SCR: Bruno Apitz and Frank Beyer - 1966
- Spur der Steine
Director
SCR: Karl Georg Egel and Frank Beyer - 1971
- Rottenknechte (TV)
DIR and SCR: Frank Beyer - 1972
- Januskopf
Actor
DIR: Kurt Maetzig - 1973
- Die sieben Affären der Dońa Juanita
Director
SCR: Eberhard Panitz and Frank Beyer - 1975
- Jakob der Lügner
DIR and SCR: Frank Beyer - 1977
- Das Versteck
DIR and SCR: Frank Beyer - 1978
- Geschlossene Gesellschaft (TV)
Director
SCR: Frank Beyer and Klaus Poche - 1981
- Der König und sein Narr (TV)
Director
SCR: Ulrich PlenzdorfDie zweite Haut (TV)
Director
SCR: Klaus Poche - 1983
- Der Aufenthalt
Director
SCR: Wolfgang Kohlhaase - 1984
- Bockshorn
DIR and SCR: Frank Beyer - 1989
- Der Bruch
Director
SCR: Wolfgang Kohlhaase - 1991
- Ende der Unschuld (TV)
Director
SCR: Wolfgang Menge - 1992
- Sie und Er (TV)
Director
SCR: Klaus PocheDas große Fest (TV)
Director
SCR: Klaus Poche - 1993
- Das letzte U-Boot (TV)
Director
SCR: Knut Boeser - 1995
- Wenn alle Deutschen schlafen (TV)
Director
SCR: Jurek BeckerNikolaikirche (TV)
Director
SCR: Frank Beyer, Eberhard Görner, Erich Loest - 1996
- Der Hauptmann von Köpenick (TV)
Director
SCR: Wolfgang Kohlhaase - 1998
- Abgehauen (TV)
Director
SCR: Ulrich Plenzdorf
Director
SCR: Hans Oliva and Frank Beyer
Director
