Edward Berger

Edward Berger (; born 1970) is a Swiss and Austrian director and screenwriter. He is known for his work in Germany, where he was born and grew up, such as the German films Jack, All My Loving (2019), and All Quiet on the Western Front (2022), as well as his English-language debut Conclave (2024). He also directed several television series including Deutschland 83 (2015) and Patrick Melrose (2018).

All Quiet on the Western Front won Berger an Academy Award for Best International Film, was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, and won three British Academy Film Awards. For Conclave, Berger received his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Director and a BAFTA for Outstanding British Film.

Early life and education Berger was born in 1970 in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, then West Germany. His mother was from Switzerland, and his father, who worked as a logistics manager at Volkswagen, was from Austria. After graduating from the Gymnasium, he attended the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig from 1990 to 1991. He then transferred to the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where he finished his studies in directing in 1994.

He moved to Berlin in 1997. and Austrian citizenship through his parents. He told Die Welt in 2023 that while he is not German by passport, he supports Germany in international football tournaments. He told Die Zeit in 2023: "My father is Austrian, my mother Swiss, so there would be enough reason for me to be a little confused. What I always know is: I am European". He gathered his first work experience at the U.S. independent production company Good Machine, working, among others, on the films of Ang Lee, Todd Haynes, and at the HFF Potsdam.

His first feature film, based on his own screenplay, was Gomez – Kopf oder Zahl ("Gomez – Heads or Tails"), in 1998. In 2012, his film was awarded the Grimme-Preis. and was awarded the 2015 German Film Award in silver for the best feature film, after being nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. It also won Best Director and Best Picture at the German Directors Guild Awards. His feature film All My Loving premiered on 9 February 2019, in the Panorama section of the 2019 Berlinale. The film was nominated in several categories for the preselection of the 2019 German Film Award.

Berger wrote, directed, and produced All Quiet on the Western Front, released in 2022. It was praised by critics internationally, but German reviewers and historians criticised it for its lack of closeness to the book and lack of historical accuracy.

His 2024 film Conclave, a drama set in the Holy See based on a novel by Robert Harris, He described the film compared with All Quiet on the Western Front, as "like [going] from a physical war to an intellectual war. It felt like one of those great political conspiracy thrillers from the 1970s".

Upcoming projects Berger has been slated to direct the next film in the Bourne franchise. However, in October 2024 Berger was vague about his involvement in the film: "It's really not clear whether… I'm doing that film or not. I'm not doing it right now. And I really don't know what I will do in the future".

Berger has signed to direct the science fiction thriller film The Barrier, starring Austin Butler and written by MacMillan Hedges, based on his own short story of the same name. He is also set to direct a film about Evan Gershkovich, with David Weil set to pen the script. Berger is also attached to direct The Riders, starring Brad Pitt and written by David Kajganich, based on the novel of the same name by Tim Winton. He also produced Fatherland (2026), a biopic of Thomas Mann directed by Paweł Pawlikowski.

In February 2026, it was announced that Berger will direct, as will as co-produce, a biopic about Lance Armstrong, starring Austin Butler and written by Zach Baylin.

Personal life Berger is married to German actress and screenwriter Nele Mueller-Stöfen. She has starred in several of Berger's films, as well as collaborating on the script of Jack.

Filmography Film Year Title Director Writer Producer Refs. 2014 Jack

Television TV movie Year Title Director Writer 1992 Strait-Jacket 1993 Sidewalk Hotel 1994 Schrottplatz Träumereien 1995 Wanderbread 1998 Gomez – Kopf oder Zahl 2001 Female 2 Seeks Happy End 2007 Windland 2011 2012

TV series Year Title Director Writer Notes 2001–2002 Schimanski 2 episodes 2004 Bloch Episode "Schwestern" 2005–2006 Unter Verdacht Wrote 2 episodes / directed 1 episode 2006–2013 Tatort 2 episodes 2008 KDD – Kriminaldauerdienst Director of 3 episodes / Writer of 2 episodes 2010 Polizeiruf 110 Episode "Aquarius" 2015 Deutschland 83 5 episodes 2018 The Terror 3 episodes 2018 Patrick Melrose Miniseries 2019 Eden Creator; 6 episodes 2020 Your Honor 3 episodes

Awards and nominations Organizations Year Category Work Result

Best Adapted Screenplay

Best International Feature Film

Best Direction

Best Adapted Screenplay Best Film Not in the English Language

Best Direction

Outstanding British Film

Golden Bear Jack

Best Director

Best Director

Outstanding Director – Feature Film

Outstanding Director for a Limited Series or Movie Patrick Melrose

Best Director - Motion Picture Conclave

Outstanding Individual Achievement Schimanski

2015: Fellowship for Villa Aurora's artist-in-residence program,