South Africa

Oliver Schmitz (born 1960) is a South African film director and screenwriter. His film Mapantsula was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. His 2010 film Life, Above All (Le Secret de Chanda) was selected as the South African entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards. It made the shortlist of nominations announced in January 2011. Growing up in Cape Town, Schmitz comes from a fine art and music background. With others, from 1981-1983 he ran a cult nightclub (Scratch), that successfully beat Apartheid segregation laws and nurtured a generation of creative and militant youth. Schmitz has made several films, four of which have screened in official selection in Cannes - one being the Parisian omnibus film Paris je t'aime (Place des fetes). Shepherds and Butchers, with Steve Coogan and Andrea Riseborough premiered at the Berlinale 2016, where it won an audience award and Best Directing at the South African Film and Television Awards.

Filmography

The Twilight Zone (1987)
Mapantsula (1988)
The People’s Poet (1988)
Fruits of Defiance (1990)
Hlangani: A Short History of COSATU (1991)
Getting There (1993)
Dark City (1993)
Nelson Mandela Inauguration (1994)
Rhythm and Rights (1995)
Joburg Stories (1997)
The Story (1999)
Hijack Stories (2000)
Das Beste Stück (2002)
Prinzessin macht blau (2004)
Was Sie schon immer über Singles wissen wollten (2005)
Plötzlich berühmt (2005)
Paris, je t’aime – Place des Fêtes (2006)
Allein unter Töchtern (2007)
Fleisch (2008)
Die Trickser (2009)
Allein unter Schülern (2009)
Life, Above All / Le Secret de Chanda (2010)
Allein unter Müttern (2011)
Willkommen im Krieg (2012)
Allein unter Nachbarn (2012)
Willkommen im Club (2013)
Bella Dilemma - Drei sind einer zu viel (2013)
Allein unter Ärzten (2014)
Alle unter eine Tanne (2014)
Shepherds and Butchers (2016)