Matthias Dell

Matthias Dell works as a freelance critic covering film, theatre and media. He studied Comparative Literature and Theatre Studies in Berlin and Paris. From 2000 to 2018, he was an editor and contributor for the weekly newspaper der Freitag. He also writes for Deutschlandradio, Cargo and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS). For Zeit Online, Dell writes a weekly column on the traditional German crime series Tatort and Polizeiruf.

He has published several books on film and media, including „Herrlich inkorrekt” – Die Thiel-Boerne-Tatorte (Verlag Bertz + Fischer, 2012), Über Thomas Heise (Vorwerk 8, 2014, co-authored with Simon Rothöhler), Duisburg Düsterburg – Werner Ružicka im Gespräch (Verbrecher Verlag, 2018, co-authored with Simon Rothöhler), and Peter Hacks auf der Fenne in Groß Machnow (1974–2003), Frankfurter Buntbücher 72 (Verlag für Berlin-Brandenburg, 2023).

Since 2025, he has curated the discourse programme for the Berliner Theatertreffen, Germany’s leading theatre festival. His work takes a distinctly media-oriented approach, incorporating multimedia installations and screenings of selected documentaries.