Thomas Balzer, born in Stuttgart in 1959, works as a documentary filmmaker, journalist, and video artist. While studying at the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design from 1979 to 1985, he began combining traditional narrative forms with experimental video techniques. An assistant position with Robert Wilson and his theater production “Golden Windows” at the Münchner Kammerspiele led to a lasting focus on working with video technology. In 1984, Balzer realized his first video work for “Das Kleine Fernsehspiel” on ZDF. In “Einsdreissig – Die Arbeit mit der Nachricht” (1987) and “Wüsten” (1989), he critically questioned the way news is conveyed and experimented with narrative forms of presentation. In 1991, he made the documentary “Amadeu Antonio” for the “Das Kleine Fernsehspiel” department of ZDF about one of the first victims of right-wing extremist violence in reunified Germany. From 1992, Balzer created themed evenings and television experiments for the newly founded television channel ARTE. In 1998, he was awarded the German Television Prize, then still called the Telestar, in the category “Best Documentary” for his report “Sprechstunde für Obdachlose” (Consultation Hours for the Homeless). In the following years, his work increasingly focused on Berlin's urban development, including the endless story of the creation of the BER airport (2006–2020) and the redesign of Berlin's Alexanderplatz (since 2020). Balzer is currently revisiting the rise of the new right, as well as the increase in xenophobia and far-right violence. He continues to experiment with different video formats, integrate interactive elements, and explore new narrative forms of expression through the internet, video art, and installations.