MEDIATHEK

Howard Brookner, a director whose documentary about the writer William Burroughs won critical acclaim at film festivals around the world, died of AIDS Thursday at his home in Manhattan. He was 34 years old. Mr. Brookner began work on ''Burroughs'' at the New York University Film School, which he attended after graduating from Philips Exeter Academy and Columbia College. The documentary was shown at the 1984 New York Film Festival as well as at festivals in West Berlin, Tokyo, Florence and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In its theatrical release, it was shown in 40 cities around the world. His next documentary was the ambitious ''Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars,'' a 90-minute film about the making of Mr. Wilson's international avant-garde opera, ''The Civil Wars,'' parts of which were staged in Tokyo, Rome, Cologne, West Germany, New York City and Los Angeles, with a musical score by David Byrne and Philip Glass. The film was shown in the United States on PBS in 1986. Mr. Brookner recently finished writing, directing and producing his first full-length feature film, ''Bloodhounds of Broadway,'' to be released by Vestron this fall. It is based on four Damon Runyon stories and set in the 1920's, with a cast including Madonna, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Grey, Esai Morales, Rutger Hauer and Randy Quaid. April 29, 1989 , The New York Times (Quelle: http://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/29/obituaries/howard-brookner-34-director.html) egd