Christoph Maria Schlingensief (24 October 1960, Oberhausen – 21 August 2010, Berlin) was a German film and theatre director, actor, artist, and author. Starting as an independent underground filmmaker, Schlingensief later began staging productions for theatres and festivals, which often were accompanied by public controversies. In the final years before his death, he also worked for the Bayreuth Festival and several opera houses, establishing himself as a Regietheater artist.