Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, The Lives of Others

As the writer-director behind one of the most sensational feature film debuts in years, the grandiloquently-named six-foot-nine Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck really is a German giant in every sense. His emotionally compelling psychological thriller, The Lives of Others, has already won a raft of awards in Europe and given him an international career. Brad Pitt and everyone else in Hollywood is calling. His film, the 2006 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, revolves around two men and one woman in late Communist East Germany. The Stasi agent Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe) spies on the country's leading playwright, Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), and his girlfriend, actress Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). He finds, because of the man's ideals, because of a piece of classical music, and because he sees how horribly unjust his spy mission really is, that his life must change - his spying, his life and the lives of others will see remarkable changes. Busy von Donnersmarck, 33, spoke with Beyond the Subtitles in the back of a limo as he shuttled from one interview to another.

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