Manfred Kirchheimer

Manfred Alexander Kirchheimer (March 2, 1931 – July 16, 2024) was an American documentary film maker and professor of film at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He previously taught at NYIT. He was born in Saarbrücken, Germany, and his family moved to New York City in 1936 to escape Nazi Germany. After receiving a B.A. from the City College of New York in 1952, he worked primarily as a film editor and he also began making his own films. A major theme in many of his documentaries is urban life. His most notable documentaries include: Stations of the Elevated, We Were So Beloved, Tall: The American Skyscraper and Louis Sullivan, and Art Is... The Permanent Revolution.

Biography Manfred Alexander Kirchheimer was born to a Jewish family in Saarbrücken in 1931. In 1936, his family fled to the United States from Nazi Germany, settling in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York.

In the 1970s, Kirchheimer became a professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City where he taught film production; he was part of the faculty for the next four decades.

Funding According to Kirchheimer, most of the films he has made he paid for himself. His first film Colossus on the River cost about $3,500 to make. Kirchheimer stated in 2010 that he has never made back the money he has spent on his films.

Films

Awards and grants Kirchheimer received a number of awards and grants for his documentary films including awards from: