Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf

Enrique Sánchez Lansch 
Professor of media dramaturgy

enrique.sanchezlansch(at)rsh-duesseldorf.de

Enrique Sánchez Lansch was born in Gijón, northern Spain, and raised in Cologne. He studied music with a focus on singing, as well as Romance languages, philosophy and German studies. He wrote his master's thesis on adaptation of literature into music films.

He began working as an assistant director and later as a director of concert and opera recordings while still studying. After completing his studies, he gained six years of experience as a director and producer of fictional series. He then pursued studies in film and screenwriting at Columbia University and UCLA.
Since 2002, Enrique Sánchez Lansch has primarily worked as a director and writer of documentary films, almost always with a musical connection. His first theatrical feature film, "RHYTHM IS IT!" (2004), about a dance project involving 250 Berlin teenagers, the Berlin Philharmonic, and Sir Simon Rattle, attracted 650,000 viewers in German cinemas.

Some of his other notable documentary films include:

• "THE REICH ORCHESTRA" (2007), a 93-minute cinema documentary about the Berlin Philharmonic during the Nazi era
• "MSTISLAV ROSTROPOVICH – THE MUSICAL CONSCIENCE" (2007), a
  52-minute portrait for Rostropovich's 80th birthday
• "THE PROMISE OF MUSIC" (2008), a 93-minute film about the Venezuelan youth orchestra movement and Gustavo Dudamel
• "PIANO ENCOUNTERS" (2010), a 95-minute theatrical documentary following piano-playing children over four years and their workshops with distinguished piano players such as Emanuel Ax, Katia & Marielle Labéque, Gabriela Montero, and the Tal/Groethuysen duo
• "LET ME COMPOSE FOREVER/SOUND - THE 24 HOURS OF THE DAY" (2010), a 59-minute film about the premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's final cycle
• "IRGENDWO AUF DER WELT – DAGMAR MANZEL DISCOVERS WERNER RICHARD HEYMANN" (2011), a 59 minute portrait of film composer Werner Richard Heymann
• "OVERTURE 1912 – THE GERMAN OPERA BERLIN" (2012), an 89-minute film about the 100 year history of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, featuring Christa Ludwig, René Kollo, Hans Neuenfels, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in his last on-camera interview
• "INSIDE THE UFFIZI" (2020), a 96 minute theatrical documentary about the inner workings of the world famous Florentine museum
• "A SYMPHONY OF NOISE – MATTHEW HERBERT'S REVOLUTION" (2021), a 96 minute theatrical documentary about musician and sound artist Matthew Herbert and his revolution of listening
• "POL POT DANCING" (2023), a 101 minute theatrical documentary about the connection between the leader of the Khmer Rouge and classical Cambodian dance

His films have been screened at numerous festivals worldwide and have received awards such as the German Film Award, the German Documentary Film Award, the Bavarian Film Award, the German Critics' Award, the German Kinogilde Award, the Franz Hofer Prize, Best Documentary Film awards at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and the SEMINCI Festival de Valladolid, and the Diapason d'Or.

In addition to his filmmaking, Enrique Sánchez Lansch has also been involved in music films and concert recordings that directly translate music into visuals, such as "A Celebration for Gershwin" with Herbie Hancock and Gustavo Dudamel, which was nominated for an Emmy.

Apart from teaching activities in Germany and abroad, eg. at the dffb (German Film and Television Academy Berlin), he curated and presented music short films by young talents for the Beethovenfest Bonn from 2006 to 2013. In 2018, he was appointed as a professor of media dramaturgy at the Institute for Music and Media at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf.

Enrique Sánchez Lansch is a member of the German Film Academy and the European Film Academy.