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Anja Salomonowitz (born 12 November 1976 in Vienna) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter, known for her hybrid films that blend documentary and fiction to explore political and social themes.
Anja Salomonowitz grew up in a Jewish family in Vienna and was a member of the socialist-Zionist youth organisation Hashomer Hatzair. [1] She studied film in Vienna and Berlin and worked for director Ulrich Seidl during her studies. [2]
Her work combines documentary, fiction, and essayistic forms. Real experiences are artistically transformed through stylisation and alienation, often following a strict colour concept. Salomonowitz’s films are explicitly political and expand the limits of cinematic storytelling. Her films have received international recognition, numerous awards, and are regularly shown at major film festivals including the Berlinale and the Diagonale in Graz.
Her first film, You Will Never Understand This (2003), is a 52-minute documentary in which she confronts her family’s wartime past: her Jewish grandaunt survived a concentration camp, her nanny joined the socialist resistance, and her grandmother “did nothing.” [3]
Her one-minute short film Codename Figaro (2006), made for the Mozart Year, presents an ironic conversation between an Austrian woman and her foreign fiancé, reflecting on Austrian immigration policy and the idea of a “sham marriage.”
In 2006 she completed It Happened Just Before (Kurz davor ist es passiert), a documentary about human trafficking that defies conventional documentary form. The women’s stories are retold by non-actors who are connected to the events in their daily lives. The film premiered at the Berlinale 2007 (Forum) and received the Caligari Film Prize.
Her first feature film, Spanien (Spain, 2012), co-written with author Dimitré Dinev and with music by Max Richter, explores migration and identity through intersecting storylines.
In The 727 Days Without Karamo (2013), she follows binational couples struggling against Austrian immigration law. The film won the Silver Eye Award at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival.
This Movie Is a Gift (2019) is an experimental portrait of artist Daniel Spoerri—a reflection on memory, art, and exchange. The film features her son Oskar (2008–2020), who plays Spoerri as a child. It won the Franz Grabner Prize for Best Documentary at the Diagonale 2021.
Her most recent film, Sleeping with a Tiger (Mit einem Tiger schlafen, 2024), is a creative and introspective portrait of painter Maria Lassnig. The film premiered in the Forum section of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival and won several awards at the Diagonale, including Best Screenplay and Best Artistic Achievement.
Salomonowitz lives in Vienna. She is currently developing a film about Ukrainian activist Inna Shevchenko, founder of the feminist group FEMEN.
She has taught at film and art universities such as the Aalto University in Helsinki and the University of Applied Arts Vienna, serves as a tutor at the Jihlava Documentary Academy, and regularly gives masterclasses on artistic filmmaking. She has also chaired the Austrian Documentary Film Association and the Austrian Directors’ Association.
Salomonowitz has three sons with film director Virgil Widrich; their son Oskar (2008–2020) died in an accident.
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