Thomas Heise

(1955, Berlin / GDR) attended an Allgemeinbildende Polytechnische Oberschule (general polytechnic secondary school), where he did his apprenticeship as a skilled worker for printing technology. After 18 months of military service, he worked as an assistant director, completed his Abitur (school leaving certificate) at a Volkshochschule (adult education institution) and then attended the GDR Academy for Film and Television before dropping out as a result of operational targeting by the GDR Ministry of State Security (operation codename “School”). Since 1983, he has been a writer and director of film, radio and theatre, while also working as a cinema ticket attendant, ice cream vendor and dishwasher. He was a master student at the Akademie der Künste of the GDR. He is a member of the Berliner Ensemble and the Akademie der Künste, Berlin. He is also a Professor of Art and Film at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and, since May 2018, has been the director of the Film and Media Art Section of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin.