Silke Fischer studied visual communication with a focus on film at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg. After graduating, she co-founded the filmmaking collective Abbildungszentrum and, together with Jan Peters and Peter Ott, co-edited the video magazine Der Renegat. During this period, she produced several documentary and short f iction films, including Buy 1 Get 1 Free (D 1997) and Putzen in Paris (D 1998), while also working on commercials and corporate films under the label Sisi Voss with Stefanie Wirth.
In 2001, she designed the production design for Bungalow, the debut feature by Ulrich Köhler. She subsequently worked on numerous international arthouse productions, collaborating with directors such as Ulrich Köhler, Stefan Krohmer, Maren Ade, Cate Shortland, Emily Atef, and Maria Schrader. Her credits include Lore (D/AUS 2012, dir. Cate Shortland), Toni Erdmann (D/A 2016, dir. Maren Ade), 3 Days in Quiberon (D/A/F 2018, dir. Emily Atef), In My Room (D/I 2018, dir. Ulrich Köhler), and the Netflix series Unorthodox (D 2020, dir. Maria Schrader).
Fischer’s production design evolves through close observation of real places and situations. Architecture and everyday spaces are approached as carriers of social and aesthetic meaning. In collaboration with directors and cinematographers, her work remains a process of searching for environments that feel familiar while staying open to subtle shifts, humor, and the unexpected.
She lives and works in Hamburg and has taught production design at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) since 2018.
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> The presentation at ZFICTION.26 | GOLD MADE OF STRAW: A Conversation about ‘Invisible‘ Production Design
