Hugo Niebeling facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hugo Niebeling
Hugo Niebeling in December 2014.
Born	(1931-02-02)2 February 1931 Düsseldorf, Germany
Died	9 July 2016(2016-07-09) (aged 85) Hilden, Germany
Occupation	Film director Film producer
Years active	1956 – 2016
Awards	See list of awards in the article.

Hugo Niebeling (born February 2, 1931 – died July 9, 2016) was a German film director and producer. He was known for his amazing work on films about industries and music. Many people think he helped change these types of films in Germany.

His unique style is even said to have influenced the modern music video. His documentary film Alvorada was nominated for an Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) in 1963.

About Hugo Niebeling

His Early Life

Hugo Niebeling was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany. When he was a child, he was sent away to the countryside. This happened during World War II to keep children safe from bombings.

When the war ended, he came home. He found that his parents' music store had been destroyed.

Niebeling became very interested in modern art, classical music, and theatre. He wanted to study acting. But he couldn't afford it. So, he studied business instead. He also took private acting lessons. His hero was a famous actor named Gustaf Gründgens. After acting for a while, Niebeling decided to become a director.

Making Industrial and Experimental Films

In 1957, Niebeling directed his first film, Stählerne Adern. This film was about making steel. It was inspired by another German director, Walter Ruttmann. This film won many awards. It led Niebeling to direct many other popular industrial and experimental films. This happened in the early 1960s.

His films often mixed stylish camera work and editing. They also used experimental music. He often worked with a musician named Oskar Sala. For example, his short film Stahl - Thema mit Variationen was like a poem about making steel. It used only sounds and images. There was no one talking to explain things.

In 1962, Niebeling made the documentary Alvorada - Brazil's Changing Face. This film was nominated for an Oscar. It also won many other awards. His experimental industrial film Petrol was the only film from West Germany shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1965. It became one of the most awarded industrial films in the world.

Niebeling's film Magic Light was about making cameras. It explored ideas about photography and reality. It used many different visual styles. His way of combining music and images in Petrol led him to make his music film Pastorale. Niebeling himself called Alvorada his first music film. The way he edited his early films was often like music. He would edit images to the rhythm of the soundtrack. Sometimes, the camera even moved to the music. Even though he later focused on music films, Niebeling still made experimental industrial films. He made Allegro in 1970 and Der Auftrag der uns Bleibt in 1984.

Beethoven Films

From the late 1960s, Niebeling mostly directed films about music and ballet. Among these, he made three very important films about Beethoven's symphonies. These films were seen as groundbreaking. They showed how visuals could go perfectly with music. Many film techniques he used became popular in later years.

Pastorale

In 1967, Niebeling directed a film about Beethoven's sixth symphony. It was called Pastorale. The Berlin Philharmonic orchestra played the music. Herbert von Karajan was the conductor. In this film, Niebeling used very new ways of editing, camera work, and lighting. He made the images match the music.

This film was very important for how sound and visuals work together. It was filmed in a studio. They used many takes to film the orchestra and instruments from different angles. He used film techniques that were unusual for music films. Sometimes, a camera moved with the music. The lighting changed with the music. Images were layered on top of each other to create a dream-like effect.

Eroica and Seventh Symphony

In 1972, Niebeling filmed two more Beethoven symphonies. These were Beethoven's third symphony Eroica and Beethoven's seventh symphony. The same orchestra and conductor performed them. In these films, the orchestra sat in a way that looked like an ancient Greek theatre.

However, these films were changed a lot without Niebeling's full approval. The conductor, Karajan, wanted them to look more traditional. So, much of Niebeling's experimental style was removed. Niebeling was not involved in editing the versions first released in the 1970s.

In the 2010s, Niebeling was able to release his own versions, called "director's cuts." His director's cut of "Eroica" came out in 2010. It got good reviews. He had kept a black and white copy of his original work. He restored it. He felt the black and white look was better for the film. Niebeling's director's cut of the seventh symphony was called B 7 (Beethoven Seven). It was released on German TV in 2016. It combined music and ballet. Niebeling edited this film based on his original plan. Before this, he made a short film called Apotheosis of Dance in 2015. It was based on the last part of the seventh symphony.

Ninth Symphony

In the 1970s, Niebeling also planned a film about Beethoven's ninth symphony. This film was supposed to mix the orchestra, singers, and dancers. He had a detailed plan for it. But it was never made.

Ballet Films

Giselle was Niebeling's first ballet film. It featured famous dancers Carla Fracci and Erik Bruhn. The American Ballet Theatre performed in it. It premiered in 1969 in New York. It was praised for its new visual style. This style made the ballet performance even better. From the early 1970s, Niebeling often worked in New York City. He directed many ballet films with choreographer George Balanchine.

In 1991, Niebeling directed a film in Germany. It showed the story of Christ's suffering. It was based on Bach's Johannespassion. The film used music, words, and dance to create a feeling like old Greek plays. Niebeling had planned this film for 30 years before making it. He thought it was one of his most important works.

Later Years: Looking Back and New Ideas

Looking Back

In 2013, the German Historical Museum showed a collection of Hugo Niebeling's films. He was there for the showings. Films from all parts of his career were shown. In 2015, the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival gave him an "Award of Excellence." This was for his creative ideas in art. Many of Niebeling's films from the 1960s were shown at this festival. Some were shown in the U.S. for the first time.

Restoring Old Films

Since the early 2000s, Niebeling worked to make his older films look new again. He had many of them scanned in high quality from the original film. They were also color corrected and fixed under his guidance. When he passed away, he had already restored all his films from the 1960s. He also restored some later works like Der Auftrag der uns bleibt (1984) and Johannespassion (1991).

Chaconne Project

Until his death, Hugo Niebeling kept working as a director. He planned many new projects. He was very interested in a film about Bach's Chaconne. He had planned it in detail. It would have mixed images of nature and church buildings.

Other Projects

Director Alexander Tuschinski (born 1988) was a friend of Hugo Niebeling. Tuschinski saw Niebeling as his teacher. Tuschinski's editing style is very much like Niebeling's. Niebeling helped edit the films Apotheosis of Dance and "B 7" (Beethoven 7) with him in 2015.

His Artistic Collection

Hugo Niebeling's collection of artistic materials is kept at the Bundesarchiv in Berlin. This collection includes his letters, advertisements, film plans, production notes, awards, and other items.

Industrial Films: List of Films and Awards

• Stählerne Adern, Lebensadern unserer Zeit, 1956

• Won the Bundesfilmpreis (German Film Award) in 1957.

• Frohe Farben, Gute Laune (BASF, 1957)

• Stahl bändigt Atome, Vom Bau des Reaktor-Druckgefäßes Kahl, 1960
• Steel - Variations on a Theme (Stahl - Thema mit Variationen), 1960

• Won the Bundesfilmpreis in 1961.
• Won the Grand Prix at the International Industrial-film-festival, Rouen 1960.
• Won "Best Industrial film of the past 40 years" in 1997.

• Alvorada – Brazil's changing face (Alvorada - Aufbruch in Brasilien), 1962

• Won two Bundesfilmpreis awards in 1963.
• Nominated for an Oscar in 1963.
• Was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1963.
• Selected for the Melbourne International Film Festival 1964.

• Petrol, Carburant, Kraftstoff (Aral AG, 1964/65)

• Won a German Film Award in 1965.
• Was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1965.
• Won Gold-Medal at the International Filmfestival Cork, 1965.
• Won "Best industrial-film-direction" at photokina, 1966.
• Won First prize at the Vancouver Film Festival, 1966.
• Won Grand Prix at the Melbourne International Film Festival 1967.
• Won Gold Award at the Chicago International Film Festival.

• Magic Light (Mit Licht schreiben - Photographein), (Agfa-Gaevert, 1967)

• Won a German Film Award in 1967.
• Won the German Industrial-Film-Award 1968.

• Allegro (Aral AG, 1969/70)

• Won a Short Film Award in Buenos Aires, 1971.

• The Task Still Facing Us (Der Auftrag der uns bleibt), (Bayer AG, 1982/83)

• Won the Wirtschaftsfilmpreis 1984.

• So schließt sich der Kreis, 100 Jahre Berufsgenossenschaft (BG Chemie, 1986)

Music and Ballet Films: List of Films and Awards

• Pastorale (1967)
• Giselle (1969)

• Won Grand Prix, Menton 1971.

• Percussion for six (1971)

• Won Award for directing, Menton 1971.

• Violin concerto (1974)

• Won Bundesfilmpreis in 1974.
• Won Grand Prix, Besançon 1974.

• Duo Concertant

• Won Grand Prix, Besançon 1975.

• Serenade, eine spätromantische Erinnerung

• Won Audience-Award, Besançon 1975.

• Johannespassion „Es wäre gut, dass ein Mensch würde umbracht für das Volk“, (1991)
• Klage der Ariadne (1993)

• Eroica - Director's Cut (2009)

• Apotheosis of Dance (2015)

• "B 7" (Beethoven Seven) (2016)