Benjamin Heisenberg (born 9 June 1974 in Tübingen) is an internationally active director, author, and visual artist. He holds both German and Swiss citizenship and lives and works in Lucerne and Berlin. His work moves fluidly between cinema, visual art, literature, and teaching and is marked by a sustained engagement with social, political, and aesthetic questions.
Heisenberg first studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, where he received his diploma in 1999. At the same time, he worked as an assistant at the chair of art history. From 1997 onward, he studied film directing at the University of Television and Film Munich, graduating in 2005. During this period, he co-founded the internationally renowned film magazine Revolver, which he continues to co-edit and which has become an important forum for contemporary film theory and practice.
Heisenberg gained international recognition with his feature film debut Schläfer / Sleeper (2005), which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival and received numerous awards, including the First Steps Awardand the Max Ophüls Prize. This was followed by Der Räuber / The Robber (2010), which screened in competition at the Berlinale and was honored with the Bavarian Film Award as well as several international prizes. He continued his cinematic work with Über-Ich und Du / Superegos (2014), which premiered in the Berlinale Panorama Special section. In addition to his feature films, Heisenberg has realized more than forty short films and art videos, shown worldwide at festivals and exhibitions. Most recently, his family film Der Prank – April, April / Prank received several awards, among them at the Zurich Film Festival.
Alongside his film work, Heisenberg has long been active as a visual artist. His works—videos, installations, sculptures, and conceptual projects—have been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions across Europe and the United States, including at Haus der Kunst Munich, ZKM Karlsruhe, ICA London, the Videonale Bonn, and MoMA New York. Recent solo exhibitions have taken place in Berlin, Graz, Salzburg, and Paris. A special position within his oeuvre is occupied by the permanent public art project Brienner 45 at the NS Documentation Center Munich, realized together with Emanuel Heisenberg and Elisophie Eulenburg.
Benjamin Heisenberg has received wide national and international recognition. Among his most important honors are the Austrian Film Award (including awards for directing, acting, and sound design), the Grand Prize for Best Film at the Dublin International Film Festival, the Bavarian Film Award for Best New Director, and the Max Ophüls Prize including the SR/ZDF Screenplay Award. Further distinctions include the German Young Film Award – First Steps Award, the Grand Prize of the Schwerin Film Festival, the Best Feature Film Award at the Festival du Cinéma Politique in Barcelona, the E.ON Culture Award Bavaria, and the Young Talent Award of the DEFA Foundation, as well as the Grand Prize (Maverick Award) at the Calgary International Film Festival, the Grand Prize for Best Feature Film at the Zagreb International Film Festival, the Best Screenplay Award at the Festival Internacional de Cine de Gijón, the Best Director Award at the Palic International Film Festival, the Bloggers’ Special Prize at Festival Paris Cinéma, and the Culture Prize of the City of Würzburg. Most recently, Der Prank received, among other honors, the Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the Zurich Film Festival.
In addition to his artistic practice, Heisenberg is deeply engaged in teaching. He has taught at various film and art schools in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and has held, among other positions, a professorship in directing at the Zurich University of the Arts. He is also active as an author and published the novel Lukusch with C.H. Beck in 2022. His writing is in close dialogue with his work in film and the visual arts.