Margarethe von Trotta

Margarethe von Trotta is a prominent director in the New German Cinema movement; she is also one of Germany's best known and most successful female directors. She began her cinematic career while working in Paris where she participated in several film collectives. After returning to Germany, she studied acting and went on to become a successful, acclaimed screen and television actress in the late '60s and '70s. She made her directorial debut in collaboration with Volker Schloendorff, her husband, with Die Verloren Ehre der Katherina Blum (1975). She then directed her own films, including Das zweite Erwachen der Christa Klages (1978) a film based on the true story of a Munich teacher who robbed a bank to help support her alternative daycare center; it was one of the first films to address the issue of terrorism in West Germany.

~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide