Born in the German town Gelnhausen in Hesse, Dirk Schäfer was trained as a film editor in Munich and later lived and worked in Berlin and Istanbul. He has been directing and producing fiction and non-fiction films since 1989. Schäfer studied at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne and attended a master class at the Andrzej Wajda Film School in Warsaw.
His more than 20 films have been shown at international festivals like Berlin, San Sebastian, New York, Sydney and Leipzig.
Shooting of a new documentary with Sunnyi Melles starting in November 2025 for ZDF/Arte – with U5 Filmproduktion in Frankfurt.
Script CORMORANTS funded by HESSENFILM & MEDIEN
The production of FACE WITHOUT SHADOW goes on. The tribute to INGRID THULIN will have its premiere in 2026, commemorating her 100th birthday.
New SHOWREEL from Dirk Schäfer
Dirk Schäfer´s documentary TRAUGOTT tells the story of a German scholar who became a legend in his adopted home of Turkey: Traugott Fuchs immigrated to Istanbul as a young man at the beginning of Nazi rule, where he achieved fame as a university professor. After he died there at an old age, his estate was brought to safety in an adventurous way and today reveals a treasure trove of documents and works of art that serve as the basis of a unique archive in Istanbul.
TRAUGOTT had its German premiere on 4th June 2024 in Frankfurt at the DFF. Since then it was shown at Filmfestivals in Ayvalik, Nürnberg, Istanbul and Pernik in Bulgaria.
From right to left: Nikola Krivokuca (DOP), Damla Kırkalı (First AD) and Metin Bozkurt (Sound) at the set of BEKAR EVİ in Istanbul.