Frederick Baker
Encyclopedia
Frederick Douglas Stephan "Fred" Baker (born 26 January 1965) is an Austria
n-British
filmmaker and film producer
.
He was born in Salzburg
, was brought up in London
, and studied Anthropology
and Archaeology
at St John’s College
, Cambridge
, Tübingen
and Sheffield
Universities, finishing with a Master of Philosophy
.
He divides his time between London
, Berlin
and Vienna
, producing and directing films, as well as writing articles and books. In the book The Art of Projectionism (2007) he defined a projectionist school of filmmaking and media art. In this publication he also presented "ambient film", a surround experience that can be shown in specially developed "ambient cinemas". His first narrative ambient short, Ruhetag, was premiered in Vienna in 2007. Ring Road: A Viennese Odyssey, the first ambient feature film, was premiered at the Biennale in Seville
in 2008.
His interview partners include Yoko Ono
, George H. W. Bush
, Mikhail Gorbachev
, Vaclav Havel
, Shimon Peres
, Helmut Kohl
, John Major
, Michel Rocard
, Tadeusz Mazowiecki
, Amalia Rodrigues
, Cardinal Franz König, Lord Norman Foster, Sir Ernst Gombrich, Simon Wiesenthal
, Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia
, Stalin’s grandson and Vivienne Westwood
.
2009 saw the completion of Frederick Baker's Cambridge PhD research investigating the use of film in presenting the physical remains of World War II and the Cold War in Berlin and Vienna. As a visiting fellow at Cambridge University, Baker has co-directed the Prehistoric Picture Project. with Dr Christopher Chippindale since 2009.
Baker teaches film at the Donau University, Krems and St Pölten University in Austria. He has lectured on film, media and journalism at the Bauhaus University, Weimar, the Universität der Künste in Berlin and Middlesex University in London.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n-British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
filmmaker and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
.
He was born in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, was brought up in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and studied Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and Archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
at St John’s College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
and Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
Universities, finishing with a Master of Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
.
He divides his time between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, producing and directing films, as well as writing articles and books. In the book The Art of Projectionism (2007) he defined a projectionist school of filmmaking and media art. In this publication he also presented "ambient film", a surround experience that can be shown in specially developed "ambient cinemas". His first narrative ambient short, Ruhetag, was premiered in Vienna in 2007. Ring Road: A Viennese Odyssey, the first ambient feature film, was premiered at the Biennale in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
in 2008.
His interview partners include Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
, Vaclav Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
, Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
, Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...
, John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
, Michel Rocard
Michel Rocard
Michel Rocard is a French politician, member of the Socialist Party . He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 1991, during which he created the Revenu minimum d'insertion , a social minimum welfare program for indigents, and led the Matignon Accords regarding the status...
, Tadeusz Mazowiecki
Tadeusz Mazowiecki
Tadeusz Mazowiecki is a Polish author, journalist, philanthropist and Christian-democratic politician, formerly one of the leaders of the Solidarity movement, and the first non-communist prime minister in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II.-Biography:Mazowiecki comes from a Polish...
, Amalia Rodrigues
Amália Rodrigues
Amália da Piedade Rodrigues, GCSE, GCIH, , also known as Amália Rodrigues was a Portuguese singer and actress.She was known as the "Rainha do Fado" and was most influential in popularizing the fado worldwide. She was one of the most important figures in the genre's development, and enjoyed a...
, Cardinal Franz König, Lord Norman Foster, Sir Ernst Gombrich, Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal KBE was an Austrian Holocaust survivor who became famous after World War II for his work as a Nazi hunter....
, Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, Stalin’s grandson and Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood
Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.-Early life:...
.
2009 saw the completion of Frederick Baker's Cambridge PhD research investigating the use of film in presenting the physical remains of World War II and the Cold War in Berlin and Vienna. As a visiting fellow at Cambridge University, Baker has co-directed the Prehistoric Picture Project. with Dr Christopher Chippindale since 2009.
Baker teaches film at the Donau University, Krems and St Pölten University in Austria. He has lectured on film, media and journalism at the Bauhaus University, Weimar, the Universität der Künste in Berlin and Middlesex University in London.
Filmography
- Goodbye to Berlin's Big Brother (BBC Late Show) (1994)
- Correspondent - 12 reports from Central Europe (BBC Current Affairs) (1995-2000)
- Killing Time - the 48 hour week (BBC Assignment) (1995)
- Right to Reply - Bloody Bosnia (Channel 4) (1995)
- Eric Hobsbawm - The Stories My Country Told Me (BBC Arena) (1996)
- Austrian-Jewish Cultural Festival (ORF Culture) (1996)
- Shopping for King Arthur (ORF Culture) (1996)
- Women Priests in England (ORF) (1996)
- The First Silent Night (BBC Music) (1997)
- Die erste Stille Nacht (Media Europa/ORF) (1997)
- Re-cycling Churches in England (ORF Religion) (1997)
- Fado: Religion und Music in Portugal (ORF Religion) (1997)
- The German Giant - Helmut Kohl (BBC Correspondent Special) (1998)
- Viennese Jews on the Thames (Austrian Cultural Institute, London) (1998)
- Big Brother - The Stasi - East Germany's Secret Police (BBC Correspondent Special) (1999)
- Magic Lantern: Vaclav Havel & Revolution (BBC Correspondent Special) (1999)
- Stille Nacht - Ein Lied geht um die Welt (Media Europa/ORF) (1999)
- Stalin- der Rote Gott (ORF/ Rainer Moritz Arts) (1999)
- Rebuilding the Reichstag (BBC Omnibus) (1999)
- The Haider Show (BBC Correspondent) (2000)
- Stalin: Red God (BBC Arena) (2000)
- The Kabbala Oratorio (ORF - Bayern Alpha) (2002)
- Deutschland Deutschland: Sigmund Nissels musikalische Reise (ORF/3SAT) (2002)
- Imagine IMAGINE (BBC Arena/ORF) (2003)
- Creme Bavaroise: obazt is Gerhard Polt & die Biermöslblosn (Media Europa) (2003)
- Shadowing the Third Man (with Silverapples Media for BBC/ORF) (2004)
- Anziehendes Österreich - Modische Inszenierungen von Kopf bis Fuss (With Sandra Fasolt) (2005)
- Testing Mozart (BBC/ ORF/ Arte/ Euroarts) (2006)
- Romy Schneider- Eine Frau in drei Noten (ORF/ARTE) (2008)
- Kultur des Widerstands (ORF/ Filmbäckerei) (2010)
- Widerstand in Haiderland (Filmbäckerei/Polyfilm) (2010)
Awards
- 2008: Homosexuell und dennoch Christ (ORF, Kreuz & Quer): Leopold Ungar Preis. Fredrick Baker wurde gemeinsam mit Sandra Fasolt für den Beitrag "Homosexuell und dennoch Christ" (ORF, Kreuz & Quer) mit dem Anerkennungspreis in der Kategorie TV ausgezeichnet. Der Bericht kratze massiv an Vorurteilen und stelle festgefahrene Haltungen der Kirche in Frage, so die Begründung der Jury -> Caritas Wien
- 2007: Shadowing the Third Man: Finalist, Hollywood Film Festival and Belgrade International Film Festival; Finalist, URTI International Film Festival, Monte Carlo.
- 2006: Shadowing the Third Man won 1st Overall Prize for best documentary at the Festival di Palazzo Venezia_Arte 2006 in Rome.
- 2005: Shadowing the Third Man was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. Imagine IMAGINE was awarded the World Gold Medal for feature documentaries in the category Film and Video at the New York Festivals 2005. Deutschland, Deutschland was awarded the Silver Remi at the Worldfest in the Houston International film festival.
- 2004: Stalin: Red God won a Bronze Remi at the Worldfest Houston - category History and Archaeology films. Imagine IMAGINE was awarded a Golden Prague award (Special Mention) in the documentary category at the 41st Golden Prague International Film Festival in the documentary category. Jury statement:"Through an iconic song, this film paints a colourful portrait of a global generation."
- 2003: Deutschland, Deutschland was selected as a finalist in the Hollywood Film Festival and showcased at the Arclight Theater on Sunset Boulevard. It also made the finals of the PRIX EUROPA in Berlin, as one of the top ten in Europe in the multi-cultural documentary category - "Iris". The film was shortlisted for the Golden Prague Music documentary award in Prague. It was selected for the Academia festival in Olomouc and the Hradec Kralovy in the Czech Republic, and for the Golden Chest award in Bulgaria.
- 2002: Rebuilding the Reichstag won the Architectural Education award at 26th Festival International du Film d'Art et Pedagogique (FIFAP) Paris. Stalin: Red God was awarded the Golden Gate Award in the category History film at the 45th San Francisco International Film festival 2002. It was also a Finalist at the Banff film festival, the New York TV festival 2002.
- 2001: Stalin: Red God was jointly awarded the prize for best documentary at the 36th International Academia film festival in Olomouc, Czech Republic. It made the finals of the UNESCO festival in Paris, Maremma Doc, in Italy, and DocumentArt festival in Germany, Mediawave in Hungary, Palic in Yugoslavia & Booz,Allen Hamilton Award, Diagonale, Graz, Austria.
- 2001: The Correspondent series 2000 (including The Haider Show, Dr. Gross and Lojze Wieser) was awarded the prize for best TV Programme by the Royal Television society in London.
- 2001: The Haider Show was nominated for the Diagonale Documentary Prize, Graz.
- 2000: Rebuilding the Reichstag: Grand Prix at Techfilm 2000 - the 38th International Arts and Technology Film Festival, Czech Republic.
- 1997: The Stories My Country Told Me: “Gold Hugo” – the top award in the category Social/ Political Documentary, INTERCOM film festival, Chicago. Also selected for and shown at the Jewish Film Festival, Vienna 1998.