According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, he died earlier this week.

Achternbusch is best known for his surrealist films, including “Das Gespenst” (The Ghost) and “Der Neger Erwin” (Erwin the Negro).

He also wrote plays, published books and painted hundreds of paintings.

In the 1970s, Achternbusch came into contact with leading members of the New German Cinema movement, including Werner Herzog, Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta.

Above all, he became associated with a love-hate relationship with his native Bavaria. In his 1977 documentary-cum-comedy “Bierkampf” (Beer Fight), he took aim at the southern region’s famous Oktoberfest.