After decades of working in the documentary field and diving into the dusty archives of commercial film producers, I was drawn to the big screen at the beginning of the new millennium. At Heimatfilm, I was able to accompany the genesis of exciting films by outstanding European directors such as Lars von Trier and Margarethe von Trotta in the areas of research, editing and development. Shortly before retirement, I am now getting back into the starting blocks and have ambitions to become Germany's oldest up-and-coming screenwriter. After reading, editing and critiquing thousands of project proposals and hundreds of other people's scripts, I'm starting to fabricate my own works. Hopefully, I'll be smart enough to learn how to take on good material and avoid less compelling projects. If not, I trust that one learns more and better from one's own mistakes than from others'.