Emmerich was born in Stuttgart , West Germany , and grew up in the nearby town of Sindelfingen . As a youth , he traveled extensively throughout Europe and North America on vacations financed by his father , Hans , the wealthy founder of a garden machinery production company . In 1977 , he began attending University of Television and Film Munich with the intention of studying to become a production designer . After watching '' Star Wars '' , he instead decided to enroll in the school 's film director program . Required to create a short film as his final thesis in 1981 , he wrote and directed the full-length feature '' The Noah 's Ark Principle '' , which was screened as the opening film of the 34th Berlin International Film Festival in 1984
34th Berlin International Film Festival
34th Berlin International Film Festival
Roland Emmerich