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Christian Frei (born 1959 in Schönenwerd, Solothurn) is a Swiss filmmaker and film producer. He is mostly known for his films ''War Photographer'' (2001), ''The Giant Buddhas'' (2005) and ''Space Tourists'' (2009). Since 2006, Christian Frei has been an associate lecturer on Reflection Competence at the renowned University of St. Gallen. From 2006 to 2009 he was president of the “Documentary Film Commission” for the film section of the Swiss Ministry of Culture. Since August 2010 he is president of the Swiss Film Academy. ==Career== From the very start of his career, Christian Frei established a reputation as an exacting documentarist, with a perfect grasp of his subjects. He follows his protagonists closely, always in search of authentic moments〔"The only thing that matters is a quest for authentic moments, trying to make myself invisible.” Christian Frei quoted in: Norbert Creutz: Director’s Portrait Christian Frei, ed. by SwissFilms May 2006, http://www.swissfilms.ch/de/film_search/filmdetails/-/id_person/855106512, S. 1.2.〕 and always keeping the whole picture in mind. His films are considered to be humanistic and universal, as much as subtle and insistent.〔Peter-Matthias Gaede: Editorial. In: The Tectonics of Humanity. GEO Edition Documentaries Christian Frei Colletion, ed. by Warner Home Video Switzerland 2007, p. 4.〕 "What makes these films so extraordinary? They are authentic moments that endure. Christian Frei takes us along a perimeter that both divides and unites individuals and cultures: the tectonics of humanity."〔Kulturzeit quoted in: Peter-Matthias Gaede: Editorial. In: The Tectonics of Humanity. GEO Edition Documentaries Christian Frei Colletion, ed. by Warner Home Video Switzerland 2007, p. 3.〕 Christian Frei studied television at the Department of Journalism and Communications of the University of Fribourg. In 1981, he directed his first documentary short film, ''Die Stellvertreterin''. After co-directing ''Fortfahren'' with Ivo Kummer in 1984, he became an independent filmmaker and producer. He made another short film, ''Der Radwechsel''. Then he moved on to feature-length documentaries with ''Ricardo, Miriam y Fidel'' (1997). With this striking portrait of a Cuban father and his daughter, torn between faith in the revolutionary ideas and the desire to emigrate to the United States, Christian Frei takes a critical look at Cuban society. Carefully avoiding taking sides, he leaves it up to the spectator to form his own opinion.〔Norbert Creutz: Director’s Portrait Christian Frei, ed. by SwissFilms May 2006, http://www.swissfilms.ch/de/film_search/filmdetails/-/id_person/855106512, S. 1.4.〕 ''War Photographer'' marks a turning point in his career as director in 2001. Due to the Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary and numerous prizes worldwide he had the international break through. For this feature-length documentary, Christian Frei spent two years accompanying war photographer James Nachtwey to different war zones around the world. The film shows his protagonist to be a shy and reserved man, far from the hothead image associated with his profession. Frei intelligently plays with the role of the spectator, confronting him with the ambivalence of war photography and the role of the media. The documentary appeals to the spectators’ sense for compassion and thematically approaches the theme of war itself.〔Edward Guthmann in San Francisco Chronicle: "(...) this film is an act of spiritual faith -- an eloquent, deeply felt meditation on the nature of compassion." (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/12/06/DD164809.DTL), 06.12.2002.〕 Still popular with audiences and critics today, the film has become a classic.〔Position 20 of the list "The 50 Most Important Documentaries + 2 Movies" of the Internet Movie Database, see http://www.imdb.com/list/5KUv79voWYc.〕 With ''The Giant Buddhas'', Christian Frei once again deals with a subject of strong political and global interest: The film revolves around the destruction of the two giant Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan’s remote Bamiyan Valley. It is an essay "on faith and fanaticism, tolerance and terrorism, identity and ignorance, the ephemeral and our feeble attempts to preserve it".〔Norbert Creutz: Director’s Portrait Christian Frei, ed. by SwissFilms May 2006, http://www.swissfilms.ch/de/film_search/filmdetails/-/id_person/855106512, S. 1.7.〕 The film turned out to be a documentary that filled a necessary gap of knowledge far from the everyday media war reportage.〔"The Giant Buddhas is a stirring example of the power of cinema to enlighten as it defies the boundaries of culture and time." David Courier, http://history.sundance.org/films/3633.〕 At the Sundance Film Festival in 2010 Christian Frei won the “World Cinema Directing Award” for his latest film ''Space Tourists'' (2009). The documentary juxtaposes the journeys of the extremely rich tourists traveling with the astronauts into space with the poor Kazakh metal collectors risking their lives in search for rocket waste fallen down into the planes once the space shuttle has left. As a result, the film turns out to be a humorous and poetic declaration of love for planet earth. Critics acclaimed this film for its breathtaking imagery and richness of insights, having strengthened Frei’s reputation as one of today’s most original and innovative directors.〔http://programm.ard.de/TV/arte/space-tourists/eid_287246171200781?list=now〕 Currently, Christian Frei is working on a new project titled ''Sleepless in New York''. The documentary will look at the agony and dynamics of romantic rejection. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Christian Frei」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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