The producer Günter Rohrbach has shaped German film like no other. He is co-inventor of “Tatort”, made “Das Boot”, worked with Loriot and Fassbinder. A conversation about his most important insights and lessons for the future.
Interview by
Tobias Kniebe and David Steinitz
A snowy winter day in Munich. Günter Rohrbach receives a conversation in his apartment in the Bogenhausen district. He got cakes and made a big pot of black tea. The 93-year-old has shaped German television and cinema like no other. First as head of television play at WDR in Cologne, where he co-invented the “crime scene” and promoted directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders and Klaus Lemke. Then as head of Bavaria-Film in Munich, where he co-produced “The Neverending Story” and was responsible for one of the greatest hits in German film history: “Das Boot”. After Bavaria, Rohrbach worked as a freelance producer and made, among other things, “Racing Pig Rudi Rüssel”, “Aimée and Jaguar” and “The White Massai”.