# Norbert Busè

Norbert Busè (born 1963) is a German documentary filmmaker, film producer, and director.

## Biography

Norbert Busè grew up in Erbach in the Odenwald forest. He studied philosophy, education, German literature and theology and graduated with a diploma in religious education. Until 1993, he worked as an editor at ZDF television and also presented the ZDF consumer advice programme KONTAKTE. He has been working on film projects since 1991. He has also been involved in media education issues. In 1993, he moved to Berlin, where he made documentaries and a number of experimental short films. His work to date has focused on topics related to culture, especially music. His first film for ZDF, Auf Teufel komm raus, deals with the importance of music in the development of young people, using the New Wave scene as an example. In 2003, Busè began producing contributions to the six-part film project Masterpieces of Humanity together with UNESCO, ZDF and 3sat. The films showed examples of the intangible world cultural heritage in the fields of music and the performing arts. The 90-minute music documentary AVA – The Voice of My Mother, shot in Russia and Berlin, was his first feature-length film about the heritage and possible loss of the folk songs and chants of the Mari people. He produced the Arte Lounge in over thirty episodes, which was the first television show to feature classical musicians in a Berlin club. In 2010, he organized a choir festival in South Africa for the ARTE television channel. The highlight was the first-ever performance of the freedom song Ukuthula by all choirs together. Mari also produced films about musicians such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, Elvis Presley, Sergiu Celibidache and Richard Strauss, which attracted international attention. In addition, he was one of the few people to visualize traditional stage dances from Russia, Bolivia, India, Malaysia and Cuba in their living context for television, in order to awaken a new understanding of dance. In 2009, he took over the management of the non-fiction department of Studio.TV.Film in Berlin. Since 2017, he has been working increasingly on film biographies of famous personalities again. In his works, he often succeeds in particularly bringing out the essence of a personality and empathically bringing it closer to the viewer. Busè lives in Berlin, is married and has three children.
   Norbert Busé, a former editor at the German television channel ZDF and an experienced filmmaker, is extremely knowledgeable about the cultural history of the 20th century, including both popular and high culture. In his extensive film work, he has already portrayed the "greats" such as Stockhausen, John Cage and George Tabori, as well as the stars of the masses: Elvis Presley, the Chinese State Circus or simply the German Democratic Republic.

## Work

Focus points for his work so far have been cultural, with a particular emphasis on music. The first of his films shot for ZDF, Auf Teufel komm raus [Come Hell or High Water], considers the meaning of music in adolescent development, by example of the New Wave scene.
In 2003 Busè began, in co-operation with UNESCO, ZDF and 3sat, the production of the 12-piece film project Meisterwerke der Menschheit [Mankind's Masterpieces]. The films showed the humanity's intangible cultural heritage and the threat under which even music finds itself.
AVA - Die Stimme meiner Mutter [AVA- The Voice of my Mother], a 90-minute music documentary film, was Busè’s first feature-length film about the legacy and potential loss of Russian folk songs. He produced over 30 episodes of the Arte Lounge programme, which at first broadcast classical music from a Berlin club. In 2010 he organised a choral festival in South Africa for the European cultural broadcaster Arte, the culmination of which was a joint performance from all the choirs involved of the freedom song ‘Ukuthula’. Films he produced about musicians such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, Elvis Presley, Sergiu Celibidache and Richard Strauss have also attracted international recognition. Additionally, he has been one of few in the industry to bring to television the traditional stage dance of Russia, Bolivia, India, Malaysia and Cuba, preserving their native environment and thereby awakening a deeper understanding of dance. In 2009 he took over as Head of Factual Programming at Studio TV Film in Berlin.

## Recognition

Norbert Busè has been officially recognised for his work, including internationally. In 1999 he won the audience-choice award in the youth category from the Film Council of Bremen [Filmbüro Bremen] with his first short film, Incubus. In 2004 he was awarded the Media Prize of the German Diabetes Foundation [Deutsche Diabetes-Stiftung] for his documentary on the epidemic of prosperity. In 2011, his production of Arte Lounge was nominated for the Grimme Prize in the entertainment category. In 2011 the four-part series Auf den Spuren von Easy Rider [Tracking Down Easy Rider] was awarded the gold medal for best production in the cultural category at the world's biggest television trade-show, NAB in Las Vegas. In 2014 he was nominated at the International Classical Music Awards for his directing of the film Sergiu Celibidache - Feuerkopf und Philosophy [Sergiu Celibidache: firebrand and philosopher]. In 2015 his production Richard Strauss and his Heroines won the ECHO Classical award for best DVD-production of the year, and at the International Classical Music Awards.

## Filmography

1990: Vor was habt Ihr eigentlich Angst? [What are you really afraid of?]
1992: Auf Teufel komm raus [Come Hell or High Water]
1993: Dünne Haut [Thin Skinned]
1993: Asche im Wind [Ashes in the Wind]
1994: Ich habe die Hölle gesehen [I Have Seen Hell]
1995: Zwischen Knast und Kindergarten [Between Prison and Preschool]
1996: Der Zauberer [The Sorcerers]
1998: Schmerz muss sein [Pain Is Unavoidable]
1998: Das Lied der Stille [The Song of Silence]
1999: Shivas Töchter (Tanz-Dokumentation) [Shiva's Daughters: a dance documentary]
2000: Der Auftrag [The Assignment]
2000: Der Spieler [The Player]
2001: Der Choreograph Mats Ek [Mats Ek: Choreographer]
2002: Nullen + Einsen [Zeroes + Ones]
2002: Diamanten in Kinderhand [Diamonds in the Hand of a Child]
2003: Tänze aus der verbotenen Stadt [Dances from the Forbidden City], (in co-operation with Christof Debler)
2003: Heinrich der König [King Heinrich]
2004: Wohin gehen wir, wenn wir sterben? [Where do we go when we die?]
2005: Salsa!
2005 and 2009: Meisterwerke der Menschheit[Mankind's Masterpieces], 12 episodes (producer)
2005: Waisenkinder – Wenn Eltern zu früh sterben [Orphans: when parents die too soon]
2005: Diabetes – Die Wohlstandsepidemie [Diabetes: The Epidemic of Prosperity]
2006: AVA - Die Stimme meiner Mutter [AVA - The Voice of my Mother]
2008: Mary Wigman – Die Seele des Tanzes [Mary Wigman: The Soul of Dance] (in co-operation with Christof Debler)
2008: Ich kann Dich nicht riechen [I Can't Smell You] (in co-operation with Kathrin Sonderegger)
2009: Karlheinz Stockhausen - Musik für eine bessere Welt [Karlheinz Stockhausen - Music for a Better World] (in co-operation with Thomas von Steinaecker)
2009: I am not alone (producer)
2009: Die ideale Schule, wie Migration gelingt [The Ideal School, or, How Migration Succeeds] (in co-operation with Kathrin Sonderegger)
2009: Ingo Metzmacher – Ein deutscher Dirigent [Ingo Metzmacher: a German conductor] (producer)
2010: Elvis in Las Vegas, (producer)
2010: Südafrika singt – Cape Festival der Stimmen [South Africa Sings: the Cape Festival of Voices
2010: Reise zu Tolstoi [Journey to Tolstoy] (producer)
2011: Auf den Spuren von Easy Rider [Tracking Down Easy Rider], 4 episodes, (producer)
2011: Comedy Mission, 4 episodes (producer)
2012: Sergiu Celibidache – Feuerkopf und Philosoph [Sergiu Celibidache: firebrand and philosopher]
2012: Im Bett mit Paula [In Bed with Paula], (6 episodes), (producer)
2012: John Cage – Alles ist möglich [John Cage: anything is possible], (producer)
2013: Der Chinesische Staatszirkus: Mei Li, Dokumentation [The Chinese State Circus: Mei Li, a documentary]
2014: Richard Strauss und seine Heldinnen [Richard Strauss and his Heroines], Produzent
2014: Der Spielmacher – George Tabori [The Playmaker: George Tabori]
2014: Bewegte Republik Deutschland Siebzig Jahre Kulturgeschichte [The Festive Republic of Germany: 70 years of cultural history], (4 episodes), producer
2015: Von Dada bis Gaga, 100 Jahre Performance Kunst [From Dada to Gaga: 100 years of performance art], (3 episodes)
2017: Heinrich Böll, Ansichten eines Anarchisten, Dokumentation
2018: Kubas langer Schatten der Erinnerung, Dokumentation
2019: upcoming places, Dokumentation, Israel
2019: Effi Briest oder die Elastizität des Herzens, Deutschland, Dokumentation
2020: Berlin baut ein Schloss, Deutschland, Dokumentation
2021: theater.macher.innen, Deutschland, Dokumentation, Produzent
2021: Heinrich Mann der unbekannte Rebell, Dokumentation
2021: Enrico Caruso – Die ewige Stimme, Dokumentation, Deutschland
2022: Mienenräumerinnen – Wettlauf gegen die Zeit, Dokumentation, Produzent
2022: Lakota – Lakota Leben in Nordamerika
2024: Punk Girls – Die weibliche Geschichte des britischen Punk, Dokumentation, Produzent
2024 Jesus goes to Hollywood

### Short films

1998: Incubus
2003: Sibirien [Siberia], freely adapted from the theatre piece Sibirien by Felix Mitterer
2004: Das ist die Sehnsucht [This is Yearning], based on the poem of the same name by Rainer Maria Rilke
2006: Dichter unbekannt – Heinrich Heine [Poet Unknown: Heinrich Heine]
2007: Welcome home

### Television programs

2010: NeoMusic by night, film series, (director, producer)
2010-2013: On Tape, (27 episodes), (producer)
2011: Die Show des Scheiterns [The Failure Files], (8 episodes), (Produzent)
2011–2013: ZDF Kultur Poetry Slam [ZDF Culture: Poetry Slam] (producer)
2009–2015: Arte Lounge, classical music, 30 episodes (producer)
2012–2018: Pufpaffs Happy Hour (50 episodes), (producer)

## Publications

2008 Matthias Film DVD Wohin gehen wir, wenn wir sterben? [Where Do We Go When We Die?]
2010 naxos video library Great voices of South Africa
2012 Arthaus DVD Sergiu Celibidache Firebrand and Philosopher
2014 Arthaus DVD Richard Strauss and his Heroines
2014 Arthaus DVD Mary Wigman: The soul of dance
2015 Filmsortiement Die ideale Schule - Wie Integration gelingt[The Ideal School: How Integration Succeeds]