Films by Sabine Lidl

Germany 2026, 110 min
by Sabine Lidl

Young, curious and full of drive, Siri Hustvedt leaves the wide, quiet landscapes of Minnesota and plunges into the pulsating life of New York City. In search of the protagonist for her first novel, she embarks on a journey that not only shapes her as a writer but leads her to become one of the most compelling voices in contemporary American literature. The film opens a perspective that reaches far beyond Siri Hustvedt herself, discovering women who courageously and independently realise their artistic visions. As Siri Hustvedt and her husband Paul Auster reflect on language, identity and the power of words, life intervenes: Paul Auster becomes seriously ill. In Siri Hustvedt – Dance Around the Self, director Sabine Lidl portrays Siri Hustvedt’s distinctive way of living and thinking, weaving her writing together with the major themes of life: love and farewell. Source of Synopsis

Germany 2021, 52 min
by Sabine Lidl

The documentary PAUL AUSTER – WHAT IF? focuses on the political as well as the poetic side of the writer Paul Auster and shows how the artist fights for his lost dream of a democratically led America. Through his eyes, we look at 70 years of American history. Director Sabine Lidl meets the author for a very personal conversation at his home in Brooklyn, New York and Auster gives insights into his childhood and family history. The film combines passages from his recent novel 4321 with Auster's own biography, thus creating an exciting dialogue between the author and his fictional character.

Germany 2021, 60 min
by Sabine Lidl

For five decades she charmed us on TV and cinema with her warmth, her wit and her eroticism. She'd admired French cinema in her early twenties, and aspired to be like Jeanne Moreau in Jules et Jim, her favourite film. However, such female parts were unavailable in German cinema of the time. She had to wait until well into her 50s, before being allowed to show her full potential in Oskar Roehler's No Place To Go, the role of her life. With her unfailing, positive energy she also combatted cancer, filming uninterrupted until the very end. Her death has shocked many, and it has raised questions.

Germany 2016, 53 min
by Sabine Lidl

Who is the woman behind the famous actress and author? THE MANY FACES OF EMMA THOMPSON explores the incredible versatility of actress, comedian, screenwriter and author Emma Thompson. From her university days at Cambridge with comedy friends Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry to first TV shows in the 1980s, from her film collaborations with first husband Kenneth Brannagh to winning Oscars for acting as well as screen writing, not to forget her political activism - the list of Emma Thompson's talents and projects seems endless. It is held together by a personality that very much sets her own rules. Interviews with close friends and colleagues like fellow actress Imelda Staunton and award-winning screenwriter James Schamus paint a very personal picture of the exceptional artist.

Germany 2012, 62 min
by Sabine Lidl

In a very intimate portrait director Sabine Lidl shows the life and the work of New York photographer Nan Goldin. She is travelling with Nan from Paris to Berlin where she is meeting old friends, all parts of important times of her life. We become testimonies of a very sensitive personnage, which always combined her work with her lifetime experiences.

Germany 2011, 43 min
by Sabine Lidl, Irene Höfer

Henry Huebchen was not easily convinced to let himself be portrayed on film. Although he is one of the most enigmatic and prominent actors in Germany today, he does not like to show himself ‘unmade-up’ to a camera. Born in West Berlin shortly after the war, he grew up in the newly founded GDR, became two-time East German ‘board sailing’ champion (surfing), his studies in physics cut short, and his first success being in the Oscar nominated film JACOB THE LIAR - Huebchen’s life is characterized by extremes. Under the direction of Heiner Mueller and Benno Besson, he became one of the most celebrated stars of stage in the East German theater Volksbuehne Ost. After the fall of the Wall, the duo Huebchen / Castorf became the mouthpiece of a theater generation. He and Castorf, now a director, are, together, breathing new life into German theater. Henry Huebchen finds it difficult to show what he truly thinks in front of the camera: “My job is to not show myself,” he comments on acting. It is the surprising glimpse into the soul of a show-off that makes this portrait so worth watching.