Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala

Last updated

Veronika Franz
Born1965 (age 58–59)
Vienna, Austria
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
  • journalist
Years active1997–present
Severin Fiala
Born1985 (age 38–39)
Horn, Austria
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
Years active2009–present

Veronika Franz (born 1965) and Severin Fiala (born 1985) are an Austrian filmmaking duo. Franz is a long time partner and Fiala the nephew of filmmaker Ulrich Seidl. Franz, a former film journalist, began her film career co-writing with Seidl. Franz and Fiala began their creative partnership writing and directing Kern (2012), a documentary about the actor Peter Kern. They went on to gain international notice for their feature debut, the German-language psychological horror film Goodnight Mommy (2014), which was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.

Contents

Career

Veronika Franz was born in 1965 in Vienna, Austria. [1] Prior to establishing a career as a filmmaker, she worked as a film journalist for the German-language newspaper Kurier , beginning in 1997. [1] She subsequently co-wrote several screenplays and since 2003 also co-produced with long time partner filmmaker Ulrich Seidl, [2] including all three features in his Paradise trilogy; she also worked as an assistant director on some projects. [3] Severin Fiala was born in 1985 in Horn, Austria, [1] and formally studied at a film school. [3] Fiala is Seidl's biological nephew, [4] and Franz became more closely acquainted with Fiala when she and Seidl hired him to regularly babysit their two sons. [5] Franz and Fiala found they had a mutual love of horror films. [5]

While attending a film festival, Franz met Austrian actor Peter Kern, a controversial actor and filmmaker. [3] Recalling their meeting Franz said: "[I talked to him] for several days actually. I only talked to him because I felt so sorry for him, but I got to know him. I really thought that he was a very fascinating character and someone should do a movie about him. He used to work with Rainer Werner Fassbinder in the German cinema of the ‘70s. He was kind of erschwerte in that group. I mean, he was crazy. I thought he was really crazy." [3] Franz decided to follow Kern for the next two years, directing and writing a documentary film on him with Fiala. [3] The documentary, titled Kern, was released in 2012.

In 2013, Franz and Fiala began working on their feature debut, Goodnight Mommy , a horror film about two twin boys who suspect their mother, having recently undergone cosmetic surgery, is in fact not their mother. [3] Goodnight Mommy, co-written and co-directed by Franz and Fiala, was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. [6] [7]

Franz and Fiala subsequently co-wrote and co-directed a segment in the anthology horror film The Field Guide to Evil (2018), titled Die Trud. In 2019, the duo directed (and co-wrote, with Sergio Casci) their English-language film debut, the psychological horror film The Lodge , which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival [8] before being released in the United States on 7 February 2020. [9] [10] Their latest collaboration is the drama The Devil's Bath which ran in Competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2024, receiving the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution for Martin Gschlacht's cinematography. [11]

In February 2024, they were announced to direct a film adaptation of A Head Full of Ghosts . [12]

Filmography

YearFilmDirectorsWritersProducersNotesRef.
2012KernYesYesNoDocumentary film [3]
2014 Goodnight Mommy YesYesNoGerman language title: Ich seh, Ich seh [6]
2018 The Field Guide to Evil YesYesNoSegment: "Die Trud" [13]
2019 The Lodge YesYesNoCo-written with Sergio Casci [14]
2024 The Devil's Bath YesYesNoPremiered on 20 February 2024 in Competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riley Keough</span> American actress (born 1989)

Danielle Riley Keough is an American actress. She made her feature film debut in a supporting part in the musical biopic The Runaways (2010), portraying Marie Currie. Keough subsequently starred in the independent thriller The Good Doctor (2011), before being cast in a minor role in Steven Soderbergh's comedy film Magic Mike (2012). She had her first big-budget release in the action feature Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ira Sachs</span> American filmmaker (born 1965)

Ira Sachs is an American filmmaker. Sachs started his career directing short films such as Vaudeville (1991) and Lady (1993) before making his feature film debut with The Delta (1997). Sachs later won acclaim for his dramatic independent films Forty Shades of Blue (2005), Keep the Lights On (2012), Love Is Strange (2014), Little Men (2016), and Passages (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diagonale</span> Annual film festival held in Graz, Austria

The Diagonale is a film festival that takes place every March in Graz, Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulrich Seidl</span> Austrian film director, screenwriter and film producer (born 1952)

Ulrich Maria Seidl is an Austrian film director, writer and producer. Among other awards, his film Dog Days won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice in 2001.

Fiala is a surname of Czech and Slovak origins, meaning "violet". Notable people with the surname include:

<i>Paradise: Love</i> 2012 drama film directed by Ulrich Seidl

Paradise: Love is a 2012 drama film directed by Ulrich Seidl. It tells the story of a 50-year-old Austrian woman who travels to Kenya as a sex tourist. The project is an Austrian production with co-producers in Germany and France. It is the first installment in Seidl's Paradise trilogy, a project first conceived as one film with three parallel stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C.J. Obasi</span> Nigerian film director, screenwriter and editor

C.J. Obasi is a Nigerian film director, screenwriter and editor.

<i>In the Basement</i> (film) 2014 Austrian film

In the Basement is a 2014 Austrian documentary film directed by Ulrich Seidl about people and their obsessions, and what they do in their basements in their free time. It was part of the Out of Competition section at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterlin Harjo</span> Native American filmmaker

Sterlin Harjo is a Seminole filmmaker. He has directed three feature films, a feature documentary, and the FX comedy drama series Reservation Dogs, all of them set in his home state of Oklahoma and concerned primarily with Native American people and content.

<i>Goodnight Mommy</i> 2014 film directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala

Goodnight Mommy is a 2014 Austrian psychological horror film, written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. The film stars Susanne Wuest and twin actors Elias and Lukas Schwarz, and follows the complex relationship between twin boys and their newly-returned-from-the-hospital mother in a large isolated house. The boys begin to question the woman's identity, believing that she isn't the same person as the one who went to surgery, and therefore wondering if she is their real mother.

<i>A Head Full of Ghosts</i> 2015 horror novel by Paul G. Tremblay

A Head Full of Ghosts is a 2015 horror novel by American writer Paul Tremblay. The plot involves an Massachusetts family under financial and emotional strain while their fourteen-year-old daughter, Marjorie Barrett, exhibits signs of severe mental illness. The Barretts come to believe she is possessed by a demon, and her behavior is publicized when the family stars in a reality TV show. Marjorie's younger sister, Merry Barrett, relays the experiences of her childhood fifteen years later. Themes include elements of Catholic exorcism and reality television exploitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susanne Wuest</span> Austrian actress (born 1979)

Susanne Elisabeth Wuest is an Austrian actress.

<i>The Lodge</i> (film) 2019 film directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz

The Lodge is a 2019 psychological horror film directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, written by Franz, Fiala, and Sergio Casci, and starring Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell, Lia McHugh, Alicia Silverstone, and Richard Armitage. Its plot follows a soon-to-be stepmother who, alone with her fiancé's two children, becomes stranded at their rural lodge during Christmas. There, she and the children experience a number of unexplained events that seem to be connected to her past.

The 2019 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 24 to February 3, 2019. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 28, 2018.

<i>The Field Guide to Evil</i> 2018 film

The Field Guide To Evil is a 2018 anthology horror film produced by Legion M. Eight film makers from different countries bring stories or folk tales from their country to the anthology.

Luzifer is a 2021 Austrian supernatural horror drama film written and directed by Peter Brunner. Starring Susanne Jensen and Franz Rogowski, the film centers on a man who lives in a secluded alpine hut with his mother and his pet eagle, their relative peace and faith shattered as strange and increasingly sinister supernatural occurrences begin to unfold around them.

<i>Rimini</i> (film) 2022 film

Rimini is a 2022 drama film directed by Ulrich Seidl. It depicts Richie Bravo, a once-famous Austrian pop singer who has settled in Italy, as well as his estranged daughter and his retired father. Hans-Michael Rehberg plays the father, in his last film role. The film is the first in a diptych; the other film, Sparta, is about Richie's brother, Ewald. Rimini premiered at the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival.

<i>Sparta</i> (film) 2022 film

Sparta is a 2022 drama film directed by Ulrich Seidl. It depicts an Austrian man named Ewald who is a non-offending pedophile and teaches judo to boys in Romania. The film is the second in a diptych; the other film, Rimini, centres on Ewald's brother.

<i>Goodnight Mommy</i> (2022 film) 2022 film by Matt Sobel

Goodnight Mommy is a 2022 American psychological horror film directed by Matt Sobel and written by Kyle Warren. It is a remake of the 2014 Austrian film of the same name, The film stars Naomi Watts, Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti, Crystal Lucas-Perry, Jeremy Bobb, and Peter Hermann. It follows twin brothers who suspect their mother was switched with an impostor.

<i>The Devils Bath</i> 2024 film by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala

The Devil's Bath is a 2024 horror drama film written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, and starring Anja Plaschg. An international co-production between Austria and Germany, the film tells the story of Agnes, a young married woman, who does not feel at home in her husband's world.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Franz, Veronika; Fiala, Severin (10 February 2020). "Three Great Things: Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz". Talkhouse. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ Sereda, Elisabeth (5 September 2016). "Ulrich Seidl, Austria's Enfant Terrible, Is Back on the Lido". Golden Globes . Archived from the original on 6 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chang, Kee (12 January 2020). "A Conversation with Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala". Anthem Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (10 September 2015). "A Mom Might Not Be A Mom, And Yes, That's Scary". NPR. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020.
  5. 1 2 Giroux, Jack (14 February 2020). "The Lodge' Directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala on Building Atmosphere and Referencing 'Jack Frost' [Interview]". /Film . Archived from the original on 6 May 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Oscars: Österreich reicht "Ich seh, ich seh"". Kurier. 2 September 2015. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Austria Selects Goodnight Mommy as Oscar Bid". Film New Europe. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  8. ↑ Debruge, Peter (28 November 2018). "Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2019 Features Lineup". Variety . Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  9. ↑ "THE LODGE Gets A Release Date – November 15, 2019". We Are Movie Geeks. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  10. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (9 February 2020). "'The Lodge' Snowballs Solid Opening, 'Cane River' Celebrates Historic Release, Oscar-Nominated Films Enter Final Stretch – Specialty Box Office". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on 21 February 2020.
  11. ↑ Ntim, Zac (24 February 2024). "Berlin Film Festival 2024 Winners Announced". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  12. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (15 February 2024). "Robert Downey Jr.-Produced 'A Head Full of Ghosts' Sets Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala as Directors, Fifth Season Financing". Variety. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  13. ↑ "The Field Guide to Evil". Seattle International Film Festival . 2018. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020.
  14. ↑ Harvey, Dennis (2 February 2019). "Sundance Film Review: 'The Lodge'". Variety . Archived from the original on 27 December 2019.
  15. ↑ Ntim, Zac (22 January 2024). "Berlin Reveals 2024 Competition Lineup: Rooney Mara, Mati Diop, Isabelle Huppert, Abderrahmane Sissako Movies Among Selection". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.