Christian Petzold (born September 14, 1960; Hilden) is a German filmmaker, best known for directing the films Barbara, Jerichow, and Phoenix. He is credited to the Berlin School and has received numerous prizes and awards. Petzold writes his own scenarios, often collaborating with Harun Farocki. As his former teacher at dffb, Farocki was a major influence on Petzold, who, along with Angela Schanelec and Thomas Arslan, is generally considered to be part of the Berlin School. While the Berlin Sch ...