Born in 1964 in East Berlin, Thomas Brussig is a novelist and screenwriter. After a number of odd jobs, he studied sociology and then screenwriting at Babelsberg film school in Potsdam. The film adaptations of his novels Helden wie wir (Heroes Like Us) (1995) and Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee (title shortened to “Sonnenallee” for the movie) (1998), a humorous look back at life in East Germany, were big hits in Germany.