David Wnendt, born in 1977 in Gelsenkirchen, grew up as the son of a diplomat in Islamabad, Miami, Brussels and the German town Meckenheim. He made his first forays into the world of theatre and film production working in a variety of jobs, such as lighting technician, editor and production assistant. After graduating in business administration and journalism from Berlin Free University and completing a one-year film course at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, he was accepted at the renowned Film and Television University "Konrad Wolf" in Potsdam-Babelsberg in 2004. While still a student on the university's directing programme, he won an award at the International Short Film Festival interfilm Berlin in 2006 for his short film California Dreams. Wnendt's first medium-length feature film Small Lights starring Rosalie Thomass was broadcast on Arte in 2008.
Wnendt's powerful final degree film, Combat Girls, which he both wrote and directed, was met with great acclaim: the drama, depicting the right-wing scene in eastern Germany, won three German film awards shortly after its cinema release in 2012: the German Film Award in Bronze for Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actress for Alina Levshin. He also received the Bavarian Film Award for Best Young Director, the Young German Cinema Award, the Prix Genève-Europe for Best Screenplay and the First Steps Award for Best Full-Length Feature Film.
Match Factory
