Norbert Busè


Norbert Busè, born 1963, is a German documentary filmmaker, film producer, and director.

Biography

Norbert Busè was raised in Erbach im Odenwald, Germany. Until 1993 he worked as an editor at the German public-service broadcaster ZDF and also appeared on air as the presenter of the consumer-advice programme KONTAKTE. Since 1991 he has been working on film projects and questions of media education. In 1993, he moved to Berlin and directed documentary films alongside his own experimental short films.

Work

Focus points for his work so far have been cultural, with a particular emphasis on music. The first of his films shot for ZDF, Auf Teufel komm raus , considers the meaning of music in adolescent development, by example of the New Wave scene.
In 2003 Busè began, in co-operation with UNESCO, ZDF and 3sat, the production of the 12-piece film project Meisterwerke der Menschheit . The films showed the humanity's intangible cultural heritage and the threat under which even music finds itself.
, a 90-minute music documentary film, was Busè’s first feature-length film about the legacy and potential loss of Russian folk songs. He produced over 30 episodes of the Arte Lounge programme, which at first broadcast classical music from a Berlin club. In 2010 he organised a choral festival in South Africa for the European cultural broadcaster Arte, the culmination of which was a joint performance from all the choirs involved of the freedom song ‘Ukuthula’. Films he produced about musicians such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, Elvis Presley, Sergiu Celibidache and Richard Strauss have also attracted international recognition. Additionally, he has been one of few in the industry to bring to television the traditional stage dance of Russia, Bolivia, India, Malaysia and Cuba, preserving their native environment and thereby awakening a deeper understanding of dance. In 2009 he took over as Head of Factual Programming at in Berlin.

Recognition

Norbert Busè has been officially recognised for his work, including internationally. In 1999 he won the audience-choice award in the youth category from the Film Council of Bremen with his first short film, Incubus. In 2004 he was awarded the Media Prize of the German Diabetes Foundation for his documentary on the epidemic of prosperity. In 2011, his production of Arte Lounge was nominated for the Grimme Prize in the entertainment category. In 2011 the four-part series Auf den Spuren von Easy Rider was awarded the gold medal for best production in the cultural category at the world's biggest television trade-show, NAB in Las Vegas. In 2014 he was nominated at the International Classical Music Awards for his directing of the film Sergiu Celibidache - Feuerkopf und Philosophy . In 2015 his production Richard Strauss and his Heroines won the ECHO Classical award for best DVD-production of the year, and at the International Classical Music Awards.
"The former ZDF editor and experienced filmmaker Norbert Busé knows all about the cultural history of the 20th century - which expressly includes popular culture as well as the fine arts. In his extensive film oeuvre he has already portrayed the "greats" such as Stockhausen, John Cage or George Tabori, as well as the stars of the masses: Elvis Presley, the Chinese State Circus or simply the Moving Republic of Germany."

Filmography

1990: Vor was habt Ihr eigentlich Angst?
1992: Auf Teufel komm raus
1993: Dünne Haut
1993: Asche im Wind
1994: Ich habe die Hölle gesehen
1995: Zwischen Knast und Kindergarten
1996: Der Zauberer
1998: Schmerz muss sein
1998: Das Lied der Stille
1999: Shivas Töchter
2000: Der Auftrag
2000: Der Spieler
2001: Der Choreograph Mats Ek
2002: Nullen + Einsen
2002: Diamanten in Kinderhand
2003: Tänze aus der verbotenen Stadt ,
2003: Heinrich der König
2004: Wohin gehen wir, wenn wir sterben?
2005: Salsa!
2005 and 2009: Meisterwerke der Menschheit, 12 episodes
2005: Waisenkinder – Wenn Eltern zu früh sterben
2005: Diabetes – Die Wohlstandsepidemie
2006: AVA - Die Stimme meiner Mutter
2008: Mary Wigman – Die Seele des Tanzes
2008: Ich kann Dich nicht riechen
2009: Karlheinz Stockhausen - Musik für eine bessere Welt
2009: I am not alone
2009: Die ideale Schule, wie Migration gelingt
2009: :de:Ingo Metzmacher – Ein deutscher Dirigent|Ingo Metzmacher – Ein deutscher Dirigent
2010: :de:Elvis in Las Vegas|Elvis in Las Vegas,
2010: :de:Südafrika singt – Cape Festival der Stimmen|Südafrika singt – Cape Festival der Stimmen
2011: :de:Auf den Spuren von Easy Rider|Auf den Spuren von Easy Rider , 4 episodes,
2011: :de:Comedy Mission|Comedy Mission, 4 episodes
2012: :de:Sergiu Celibidache – Feuerkopf und Philosoph|Sergiu Celibidache – Feuerkopf und Philosoph
2012: :de:Im Bett mit Paula|Im Bett mit Paula ,,
2012: :de:John Cage – Alles ist möglich|John Cage – Alles ist möglich ,
2013: :de:Der Chinesische Staatszirkus: Mei Li|Der Chinesische Staatszirkus: Mei Li, Dokumentation
2014: :de:Richard Strauss und seine Heldinnen|Richard Strauss und seine Heldinnen , Produzent
2014: :de:Der Spielmacher – George Tabori in Amerika|Der Spielmacher – George Tabori
2014: :de:Bewegte Republik Deutschland|Bewegte Republik Deutschland Siebzig Jahre Kulturgeschichte ,, producer
2015: Von Dada bis Gaga, 100 Jahre Performance Kunst ,
2017: Heinrich Böll, Ansichten eines Anarchisten, Dokumentation
2018: Kubas langer Schatten der Erinnerung, Dokumentation
2019: upcoming places, Dokumentation, Israel

Short films

1998:
2003: Sibirien , freely adapted from the theatre piece Sibirien by Felix Mitterer
2004: Das ist die Sehnsucht , based on the poem of the same name by Rainer Maria Rilke
2006: Dichter unbekannt – Heinrich Heine
2007: Welcome home

Television programs

2010: :de:NeoMusic by night|NeoMusic by night, film series,
2010-2013: '':de:On Tape'|On Tape',,
2011: ' ,,
2011–2013: '
2009–2015: ', classical music, 30 episodes
2012–2018: ',

Publications

2008 Matthias Film DVD Wohin gehen wir, wenn wir sterben?
2010 naxos video library Great voices of South Africa
2012 Arthaus DVD Sergiu Celibidache Firebrand and Philosopher
2014 Arthaus DVD Richard Strauss and his Heroines
2014 Arthaus DVD Mary Wigman: The soul of dance
2015 Filmsortiement Die ideale Schule - Wie Integration gelingt