Frauke Finsterwalder

Frauke Finsterwalder (German: [ˈfʁaʊkə ˈfɪnstɐvaldɐ]; born 15 December 1975)[1] is a German film director and screenwriter. Finsterwalder has directed several shorts and documentaries. Her feature film directorial debut, Finsterworld, was released in 2013. For her second feature film, Sisi & I, released in 2023, she was awarded the Bavarian Film Award for Best Director.

Frauke Finsterwalder
Finsterwalder in 2023
Born (1975-12-15) 15 December 1975
Hamburg, West Germany
Occupation(s)Film director and screenwriter
Years active2005–present
Spouse
​
(before 2010)​
Children1

Early life

Finsterwalder spent part of her early life in the United States before studying literature and history at Humboldt University in Berlin.[2]

Career

Before beginning her career as a director, Finsterwalder worked as an assistant director at Berlin’s Volksbühne theatre and the Maxim Gorki Theatre. In addition to this, she worked as an editor for the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung before returning to study documentary film direction at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München in Munich. In 2005 Finsterwalder directed her first short film, 0.003 km.[3]

Finsterwalder cites films by directors Wes Anderson, Terrence Malick and Paul Verhoeven amongst influences for her debut feature film.[4] She frequently casts Sandra Hüller in her films and frequently works with editor Andreas Menn.

Documentary films

Weil der Mensch ein Mensch ist

After directing her first short, Finsterwalder worked with Stephan Hilpert to direct Weil der Mensch ein Mensch ist ('Because a man is human'). This film, whose title is derived from the lyrics of the United Front Song (Das Einheitsfrontlied) by Bertolt Brecht and Hanns Eisler, deals with the inculcation of democracy in young people. It received very positive press upon its release in 2007.

Die große Pyramide

In 2010, Finsterwalder directed her second documentary film, Die große Pyramide ('The Great Pyramid').[5] This documentary follows the plans of a group of young men, including German writer Ingo Niermann, who set out to build the largest man-made structure in history: a gigantic Great Pyramid Monument that would be built in fields in eastern Germany and would serve as both a tourist attraction and as the final resting place of over a billion people.

Finsterworld

Finsterwalder’s first feature-length film Finsterworld, which was co-written by the Swiss writer Christian Kracht, was premiered at the Munich Film Festival in July 2013. The film follows the interwoven stories of twelve central characters played, amongst others, by Sandra Hüller, Jakub Gierszał, Ronald Zehrfeld, Margit Carstensen, Carla Juri, Michael Maertens and Corinna Harfouch.

Reception and acclaim

Finsterworld has been shown in many countries across the world to critical acclaim.[6] It received the Zenith Award for best debut picture at the Montréal World Film Festival and also received the award for Best Feature Film at the Cologne Conference.[7] At the 2013 Zurich Film Festival, Finsterwalder received a Golden Eye award for Best German Language Film as well as the Swiss Film Critics’ Award.[8] The film also received the award for Best Picture at the 2014 Vancouver International Women In Film Festival.,[9] as well as winning best female-directed narrative at the 2014 Edinburgh International Film Festival. The film received nominations in five categories for the 2014 Deutscher Filmpreis German Academy awards: Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Musical Score. Sandra Hüller received the Lola award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film.

Sisi & I

Finsterwalder's next feature film, Sisi & I, is a retelling of the later years of Empress Elisabeth of Austria from the point of view of her lady-in-waiting, Irma Sztáray. The cast includes Sandra Hüller, who starred in Finsterwalder's previous film, Finsterworld, as well as Susanne Wolff, Tom Rhys Harries, Stefan Kurt, Georg Friedrich, Angela Winkler and Johanna Wokalek. The film premiered at the 73rd Berlin Film Festival on 19 February 2023,[10] and was released in Germany on 30 March 2023.[11]

In June 2023, Finsterwalder was awarded the Bavarian Film Award for Best Director for Sisi & I.[12]

Personal life

Finsterwalder is married to the Swiss writer Christian Kracht,[13] with whom she has a daughter who was born in 2010.[14] The family has been living in Zurich since 2020.[15]

Filmography

Feature films

Documentaries
  • 2007: Because a Man is Human
  • 2010: The Great Pyramid

Short film

Television
  • 2007: Fremde Kinder (TV series, 1 episode)

Awards and nominations
Year Award / Festival Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2023 73rd Berlin Film Festival Panorama Audience Award for Best Feature Film Sisi & I Nominated [10]
Teddy Award - Best LGBT Feature Film Nominated [16]
Bavarian Film Awards Best Director Won [12]

References
  1. "Frauke Finsterwalder". FilmStarts.de (in German). Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  2. "Goethe-Institut Korea". www.goethe.de. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  3. "0.003 km | filmportal.de". www.filmportal.de. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  4. "De:Bug Magazin » Finsterworld". de-bug.de.
  5. "Die große Pyramide". 21 January 2010. Archived from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2018 – via IMDb.
  6. "Finsterworld (2013) – IMDb". Archived from the original on 25 September 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2014 – via www.imdb.com.
  7. "Cologne Conference 2009: TV Spielfilm Award". 10 December 2009. Archived from the original on 10 December 2009.
  8. Mitchell, Wendy. "Zurich winners include Golden Cage, Finsterworld". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  9. "Women In Film + Television Vancouver – VIWIFF 2014 Awards". Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  10. "Berlinale | Programme - Sisi & Ich | Sisi & I". Berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  11. "Sisi & I". DCM Stories. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  12. "Wir gratulieren den Preisträger:innen des Bayerischen Filmpreises 2023!" [Congratulations to the winners of the Bavarian Film Awards 2023!]. Deutsche Filmakademie (in German). 19 June 2023.
  13. Blaney, Martin (5 November 2019). "Match Factory boards fresh take on Austrian Empress 'Sisi'". Screen International. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021.
  14. Titze, Anne-Katrin (25 June 2014). "Fur and loathing in Finsterworld, part 2". Eye For Film.
  15. Mathéus, Pascal (1 July 2020). "Interview: Auf eine Zigarette mit Christian Kracht" [Interview: On a cigarette with Christian Kracht]. Aufklappen.com (in German).
  16. "Teddy Award - Press Kit 2023" (PDF). Teddy Award. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
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