{{Short description|German-American author and filmmaker}} {{COI |date=February 2026}} {{EngvarB|date=March 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = '''Christoph Silber''' | image = ChristophSilber2014.jpg | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|04|26}} | birth_place = Berlin, Germany | occupation = Author and filmmaker }} '''Christoph Silber''' (born 26 April 1975, in Berlin) often credited as Chris Silber, is a German-American author, filmmaker and performer. Silber works and lives in the United States.
==Early life== Silber spent most of his childhood and youth in Germany. Raised bilingual, he studied in London and Berlin. His mother Christa Schuenke is a philosopher and literary translator; his foster father Maik Hamburger was a Shakespeare scholar and dramaturge.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ddr-im-film.de/index.php/akteur/silber|title=Handbook DDR im Film|date= May 2023}}</ref>
==Career==
In 1995 the Vienna Burgtheater asked him to adapt Puccini's ''Tosca'' for a stage production.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nypl.org/research/research-catalog/bib/hb990075704980203941|title=New York Public Library ''Tosca Vienna Burgtheater'' Entry | date= January 2024}}</ref>
Silber's screenwriting career began in European television in the mid-1990s. Silber worked as a writer of sitcoms as well as crime series. Silber has collaborated on numerous films, including the award-winning ''Good Bye, Lenin!'', ''North Face'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/movies/29north.html|title=New York Times ''North Face'' Review | work=The New York Times | first=Stephen | last=Holden | accessdate=30 April 2010 | date=29 January 2010}}</ref> ''Arranged'' and ''My Last Day Without You'', for which he also co-wrote several songs performed by Nicole Beharie. He also wrote scripts for the Enid Blyton-based ''Hanni & Nanni'' franchise. Several of his contributions to German television like ''Tatort'' "Schwanensee" have broken ratings records.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/gallery132495404/Die-Quoten-Hits-aller-Tatort-Folgen.html|title=Die Welt ''Die Quoten-Hits Aller Tatort-Folgen'' | date= November 2015}}</ref>
Based in Los Angeles since 2012, Silber has been honoured by the Vilcek Foundation as "an immigrant filmmaker...whose creative spirit enlivens and inspires American cinema."<ref>{{cite web|title=Fate Or Just Love|url=http://www.vilcek.org/news/current-news/past-news/fate-or-just-love.html |date=15 October 2011}}</ref>
In 2019, Silber sold a WWII series pilot inspired by his grandfather's story to Hollywood-based Blitz Films. In 2023, ''{{Ill|Sam: A Saxon|de|Sam – Ein Sachse}}'', a mini-series co-created and head-written by Silber, was released by Disney+ worldwide and by Hulu in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://press.hulu.com/shows/sam-a-saxon/|title=hulu Press Release ''Sam - A Saxon'' | date= May 2023}}</ref>
==Personal life==
Silbers former wife Joleita, who inspired his film ''My Last Day Without You'', died from cancer in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beyondblackwhite.com/sad-news-chris-silber-creator-last-day-without-lost-wife/|title=Beyond Black & White ''My Last Day Without You'' Creator loses wife|date=18 November 2013 }}</ref> He reflected on his family's grief journey in his children's book ''The Cloud In Our House (Die Wolke Unterm Dach)'', which was released in Germany in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.360grad-verlag.de/produkt/die-wolke-unterm-dach/|title=Chris Silber ''Die Wolke Unterm Dach''}}</ref>
==Filmography==
===Theatrical=== * 2022: Cloud In The Attic (writer, story) * 2017: I'm Off Then (writer) * 2015: The Trapp Family – A Life Of Music (writer) * 2015: Azure (short; director, producer) * 2013: {{Ill|Banklady|de|Banklady (Film)}} (writer) * 2013: {{ill|Hanni & Nanni 3|de}} (writer) * 2012: {{ill|Hanni & Nanni 2|de}} (writer) * 2011: My Last Day Without You (writer, producer) * 2010: {{Ill|Devil's Kickers|de|Teufelskicker}} (writer) * 2010: The Albanian (writer) * 2010: Young Goethe in Love (script consultant) * 2008: ''{{ill|My Mother's Tears|de|Die Tränen meiner Mutter}}'' (writer) * 2008: ''North Face'' (writer) * 2007: ''Arranged'' (script consultant) * 2007: Mrs. Ratcliffe's Revolution (script consultant) * 2006: Ice Wind (short; writer, director, actor) * 2004: ''The Ring Thing'' (writer, producer) * 2003: ''Good Bye, Lenin!'' (collaborator on screenplay) * 2001: Julietta (writer) * 2001: Brooklyn Bridge (short; writer)
===Television=== * 2024: Perfect Match (writer) * 2023: The Gifted Family (writer) * 2023: {{Ill|Sam: A Saxon|de|Sam – Ein Sachse}} (miniseries, co-creator & head writer) * 2022: 5 Hours - The Miracle of Cape Town (writer) * 2019: Walpurgis Night (miniseries, creator & writer) * 2017: Balaton Residence (miniseries, co-creator & writer) * 2016: Rivals Forever (miniseries, co-creator & writer) * 2015: The New Girl (writer) * 2014: Dresden Homicide (crime series; creator & head writer) * 2012: A Day for a Miracle (writer) * 2011: Girl on the Ocean Floor (writer) * 2010: Love Is Just a Word (writer) * 2006-today: Tatort (crime series; writer & head writer) * 2006–2010: Der Kriminalist (crime series; writer & head writer) * 2004: My Best Years (series; head writer) * 2000: Trivial Pursuit (writer)
==Awards and nominations== {{BLP unreferenced section|date=August 2024}}
===Wins=== * 2024 Grimme Award: Best TV Series ''{{Ill|Sam: A Saxon|de|Sam – Ein Sachse}}'' * 2023 Clio Awards: Best Historic TV Series ''{{Ill|Sam: A Saxon|de|Sam – Ein Sachse}}'' * 2022 Hamburg Film Festival: Best TV Film ''The Miracle of Cape Town'' * 2016 Munich Film Festival: Best TV Film or Miniseries ''Rivals Forever'' * 2016 Romy Award: Best TV Film ''Berlin One'' * 2013 International Emmy: Best TV Film or Miniseries ''A Day for a Miracle'' * 2012 Romy Award: Best Screenplay ''A Day for a Miracle'' * 2012 Black Reel Awards: Best Independent Film ''My Last Day Without You'' * 2012 Golden Sparrow Award: Best Children's Film ''Hanni & Nanni 2'' * 2011 Brooklyn Film Festival: Best Producer ''My Last Day Without You'' * 2011 Max Ophüls Award: Best Film ''The Albanian'' * 2011 Hawaii International Film Festival: AIFP honoree, sponsored by the Vilcek Foundation * 2009 German Film Critics Award: Best Screenplay ''North Face'' * 2009 Grimme Award: Audience Award ''Tatort: Auf der Sonnenseite'' * 2007 Brooklyn Film Festival: Best Film ''Arranged'' * 2001 Brooklyn Film Festival: Best Film ''Julietta''
===Nominations=== * 2016 Civis media prize: Best TV Film ''The New Girl'' * 2013 Grimme Award: Best TV Film ''A Day for a Miracle'' * 2013 Montblanc Screenplay Award: ''Banklady'' * 2012 Black Reel Awards: Best Original Song ''My Last Day Without You'' * 2009 Golden Camera: Best TV Film ''Tatort: Auf der Sonnenseite''
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=1557910|name= Christoph Silber}} * [http://www.chrissilber.com] Personal Blog
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Silber, Christoph}} Category:Living people Category:German emigrants to the United States Category:German male screenwriters Category:German television writers Category:German male television writers Category:Mass media people from Berlin Category:German male actors Category:American male actors Category:German male stage actors Category:German male television actors Category:American male screenwriters Category:American mass media people Category:German filmmakers Category:21st-century German writers Category:21st-century American male writers Category:Writers from Berlin Category:Male actors from Berlin Category:1975 births Category:21st-century German male writers