Autobiographical Remarks

On December 22, 1933, I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A., as a first son. I spent my childhood in Washington, D.C. My education went on in the usual way: Elementary school, middle school and high school, which I completed with an examination corresponding to the German Abitur.

In 1961 I was granted a scholarship to the University of Göttingen. In the fall of the same year I enrolled at the Faculty of Philosophy and studied German language and literature. In addition to German language and literature studies, an interest in theater developed. My membership in the dramaturgy department of the Department of German Philology extended beyond 6 semesters, where I was allowed to work as a performer, director, assistant director, set designer, sound engineer and stage manager. These amateur acting activities opened the door to the great theater for me. In the period between Nov. 64 – Feb. 65 I played simultaneously on all public stages in Göttingen: the dramaturgical department of the University of Göttingen, Deutsches Theater Göttingen and Junges Theater Göttingen.

In autumn 1964 I changed my field of study. I began to study medicine. One year later I gave up studying completely. I went to Denmark in the winter of 1965 to earn my trip to the States financially. I worked in Denmark in a small metalworking factory. During this time my interest in film grew. I applied to the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin and was accepted in spring 1966 after the entrance examination.

Skip Norman wrote these remarks in German. The document is part of his personal file at Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB); Source: Deutsche Kinemathek. dffb-Archiv. File: N12697_dffb NORMAN, Skip. Image: Deutsche Kinemathek. dffb-Archiv.

[Suggested citation: Skip Norman, “Autobiographical Remarks,” Rosa Mercedes 03/A (January 2021), www.harun-farocki-institut.org/en/2021/01/28/autobiographical-remarks/]

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