Hamburg mourns the death of filmmaker Hark Bohm

Helge Albers, CEO of MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein: "An icon of Hamburg's film industry has passed away. What Hark Bohm has created for the film industry in the north of Germany and throughout the country cannot be overestimated. A tireless worker who set the course for the German film industry. With the Filmbüro Hamburg, he paved the way for MOIN Film Fund at the end of the 1970s - and thus got the model of regional film funding in Germany rolling. At the same time, he created classics such as 'Nordsee ist Mordsee', which have burned themselves into the collective memory of many film fans. We say 'thank you' for all his achievements for the film industry - and offer our deepest condolences to his family."

On the life and work of Hark Bohm

Born in Hamburg, he has acted in more than 50 films over the past decades, shot award-winning films such as Yasemin and co-wrote the scripts for Amrum, Tschick and Into the fate. Bohm helped to initiate the founding of various film institutions in both northern and southern Germany and further networked the scene. As early as 1971, he founded the Filmverlag der Autoren in Munich together with Wim Wenders and other filmmakers. In 1979, the Hamburg Film Office was founded as a result of his work, from which the Hamburg Film Fund developed over many years.

He also used his expertise to found the "Film" postgraduate programme at the University of Hamburg. Together with opera Director Götz Friedrich, theatre director Jürgen Flimm and University President Peter Fischer-Appelt, he embarked on the ambitious project at the end of the 1980s. The degree programme started in 1993 with Directors and Script - in 1996 it was expanded to include Cinematography and Production and was integrated into the Hamburg Media School (HMS) in 2004. 

You can find more information about Hark Bohm's career in our online magazine.