Masterclass: Dennis Gansel – "Hollywood Calling: Ein Traum mit Nebenwirkungen"

Following the success of his feature film “The Wave,” film director Dennis Gansel saw a long-held dream come true: Hollywood came knocking at his door. After several years of commuting between Berlin and Los Angeles, Gansel then got the chance to shoot a film there – the action thriller “Mechanic: Resurrection” – with stars Jason Statham, Michelle Yeoh, Tommy Lee Jones and Jessica Alba. “But the experience turned out to be quite different from what I expected,” says Dennis Gansel. “In *Hollywood Calling—A Dream with Side Effects*, I tell the story of the craziest journey of my life – full of glamour, panic, the hidden depths of human nature, success, chaos, all in pursuit of a big dream.”

Dennis Gansel was born in Hanover in 1973, studied at the University of Television and Film in Munich, and graduated in 2000 with his thesis film, the RAF political thriller "Das Phantom", which immediately earned him the prestigious Adolf Grimme Prize. He achieved his international breakthrough with “Napola”, which won Best Film at the Viareggio European Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Hampton International Film Festival, and the Bavarian Film Award for Best Director. “The Wave,” a drama about group dynamics and authoritarian structures, was also a worldwide success and is still considered one of the most significant German films of its genre. Other well-known works by him include “We Are the Night” as well as the film adaptations of Michael Ende’s “Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver” and its sequel. In 2025, his anti-war film “The Tiger” was released in theaters and went on to become a worldwide hit on Prime Video. In addition to feature films, Dennis Gansel is also involved in international TV series and streaming productions, such as the Sky series “Das Boot”.

Moderator: Joachim Bürkert


Admission: Free

Location: Internationales Studienzentrum, Max-Weber-Haus, Salon, Ziegelhäuser Landstraße 17, 69120 Heidelberg

Website:www.isz.uni-heidelberg.de/de/hollywood-calling