Horst Königstein

Horst Königstein (born 26 July 1945 in Bremen, Germany – 12 May 2013 in Hamburg) was a German television and theatre director, screenwriter and lyricist. Königstein grew up in Bremen-Gröpelingen as the son of a food merchant couple. He graduated from the gymnasium at the Waller Ring in Bremen and already wrote film reviews as a student and worked as a space instructor. He studied pedagogy and sociology in Bremen and Hamburg and worked as an editor at Radio Bremen and later at the NDR, was a professor at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne and a member of the Bundesverband Regie. He became famous mainly for his collaboration with Heinrich Breloer. For the joint television film Die Manns – A Century Novel he received among other things the Grimme Prize. He also wrote the screenplay for the documentary drama Speer and He together with Heinrich Breloer. At the Thalia Theatre in Hamburg he staged Mein Jahrhundert by Günter Grass and at the Kammerspiele Nächste with Joan, Mr. Peters Connections; at the St. Pauli Theatre Six hours of dance in six weeks. Königstein's works as a television director include the films Jud Süß – a film as a crime, propaganda and Liane. In 2002 he won the Golden Romy for Die Manns together with Heinrich Breloer – A Century Novel In addition, he made a film about the ex-Beatle Ringo Starr and its hometown Liverpool. This was called Ringo and the city at the end of the rainbow and appeared in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1977. Königstein wrote German poems for the British musician Peter Gabriel for two of his untitled solo albums (1980 and 1982), which Gabriel published both in his mother tongue and in German (then under the name Ein deutsches Album and Deutsches Album). Furthermore, he transferred the single title Here Comes The Flood / Now the Flood comes into the German language for Gabriel. This title comes from Peter Gabriel's first record from 1977 and appeared in the German version on the B-side of the single Biko in 1980. In Königstein's film Haus Vaterland (ARD, 1980) Peter Gabriel Now comes to the flood at the piano Königstein wrote further lyrics for Udo Lindenberg, among others.He was also responsible for many television programs and productions of the NDR. In 2010 he finished his full-time job as an editor at the NDR. In his last years he suffered from Parkinson.