Overview
- Friends shared news of his death on social media, and local reports said he died in Hamburg’s Marienkrankenhaus.
- Sempel called his work “music‑psycho‑documentaries,” associative films that follow the mood and mind of artists rather than a linear biography.
- His 1988 breakout, Dandy, tracked Blixa Bargeld of Einstürzende Neubauten and featured Campino, Nick Cave, and Nina Hagen, drawing about 100,000 arthouse viewers.
- Later highlights included Just Visiting This Planet on Japanese dancer Kazuo Ohno, three portraits of avant‑garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas, and the recent Artistas, a fall release profiling 42 women artists.
- A fixture of Hamburg’s scene who tirelessly promoted his screenings, he inspired tributes after his death, with Nick Cave praising his curiosity and warmth in a message to taz.