Leicht muss man sein, fliegen muss man können

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In 1953 Herbert Tobias was the first German photographer to work for Vogue in Paris. He was expelled from France in the same year however on account protesting during a raid at a gay venue in the French capital. Success and failure were always Herbert Tobias’ twin companions. Having taken his first photographs as a soldier in the German army, after the war he worked as an actor and fell in love. After coming out in 1950, he escaped arrest by going to Paris where he found refuge at Willy Maywald’s studio. His initial success as a photographer was swiftly followed by his expulsion. Moving to Heidelberg, he competed successfully with 18,000 contestants to win a newspaper photography competition run by the Frankfurter Illustrierte. Tobias was on top again; much in demand as a photographer, his work was shown at exhibitions and he was also the subject of articles. But Tobias was not just a fashion photographer; his nude photography, his portraits and his documentary images would have graced any collection of contemporary art had art photography been more acknowledged and marketable at the time. Today, his portraits of Hildegard Knef, Andreas Baader, Klaus Kinski or Amanda Lear are now considered classics in the art of portrait photography. Sadly, Herbert Tobias was not to experience this late recognition of his work. Finding it increasingly hard to submit himself to the rigorous discipline of fashion photography on a daily basis, he withdrew from photography, preferring to work in film and appear as an actor. Herbert Tobias died in 1981 as a result of an Aids-related infection. His grave in Altonaer cemetery in Hamburg was later turned into a memorial – albeit not until 2007. This filmilluminates the life and work of this artist in all its breadth and diversity.

details

  • Runtime

    82 min
  • Country

    Germany
  • Year of Presentation

    2011
  • Year of Production

    2010
  • Director

    Annette Frick
  • Cast

  • Production Company

    Annette Frick
  • Berlinale Section

    Panorama
  • Berlinale Category

    Documentary Film

Biography Annette Frick

Born in Bonn in 1957, she has lived in Berlin for 14 years. Together with avant-garde filmmaker Wilhelm Hein she founded the artistic space CasaBaubou in her studio in Wedding. She is currently working on a number of photography projects.