organizers of the festival honored tomas offenmaier for his life's work. >> he is only 43, but already honored for his accomplishments as a theater director. >> it was not my idea. strictly speaking, in italian, the prize is for my career -- not really a lifetime achievement. >> his biggest success was his offbeat version of "hamlet," which premiered three years ago in athens. since then, theaters all over the world have invited the berlin company to perform. >> i think one of the reasons they invite us is because it is a berlin theater, and berlin has incredible attraction all over the world, especially as a city of art. >> he burst onto the scene in the 1990's. he was quickly branded the new infant terrible of german theater. he was credited with revolutionizing the legendary theater, shocking audiences with social realism. he has picked up one of the most prestigious awards in the world of theater, but it is unlikely to be the final act in his career. >> being with the culture scene, the german book price has gone to [unintelligible] for the book "in times of fading life." he tells