Ernst Gossner is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

best known for writing and directing the 2007 film ''

South of Pico ''South of Pico'' is a 2007 drama film written and directed by Ernst Gossner set in Los Angeles. Plot In present-day Los Angeles, a chauffeur, a waitress, a doctor and a young boy each deal with life’s daily challenges. They find themselves at ...

'' as well as 2014 film ''

The Silent Mountain ''The Silent Mountain'' is a 2014 Austrian war drama film written by Clemens Aufderklamm and produced and directed by Ernst Gossner set in the Alpine Front of World War I. ''The Silent Mountain'' is a love story set in the Dolomites at the outbrea ...

Background

Gossner grew up in Tirol and had his first stage appearance at the age of 15. After graduating from Business School in 1992, Gossner worked at various jobs before he turned to acting full-time. Within the next seven years Ernst appeared in many plays in Austria, Germany and Italy. He also wrote and directed several stage plays and made his short film debut FLUCHT. The film became an internet phenomenon and in 1999 Ernst was accepted to the Directing Program at the

AFI Conservatory The AFI Conservatory is a private not-for-profit graduate film school in the Hollywood Hills district of Los Angeles. Students (called "Fellows") learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on st ...

in Los Angeles. His AFI thesis film BAR TIME was one of only five AFI alumni films ever released on DVD by the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

Feature films

After graduating from AFI Conservatory Ernst Gossner founded his Los Angeles-based company Vent Productions. His first feature South of Pico (SOP), a character driven drama co-developed with his long-time collaborator Richard Marcus was shot in Los Angeles and premiered at the 2007 American Black Film Festival where it won all three awards it was nominated for. South of Pico went on to win seven international Awards in the U.S., Europe and China and was released in the US and Europe. Ernst Gossner followed up with the documentary Global Warning which he co-created with Robert Narholz. This documentary lead to Ernst's second feature film The Silent Mountain with William Moseley, Eugenia Costantini and

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...

was released in March 2014 and became a box-office-hit in Ernst's native Austria. The film went on to become an international bestseller and sold to more than 60 countries worldwide. Ernst also directed the feature-film segments of 2017 TV-co-production Maria Theresia - Majestät und Mutter (ORF, ARTE, ZDF, Cesky Televise). Watched in total by more than 1,1 Million viewers in Austria. Currently, Ernst Gossner has secured the rights to Fred Mayer's story, the true story of the real Inglorious Bastard. Ernst will turn Fred's story into a TV mini-series. He also finished a documentary on the liberation of the Mauthausen concentration camp 1945 with the title Whom To Tell which premiered at the (Heimatfilmfestival) and garnered the audience award.

Awards

*USA Film Festival **2002 - Special Jury Award, ''Bar Time'' *

American Black Film Festival The American Black Film Festival (originally called the Acalpulco Black Film Festival) is an independent film festival that focuses primarily on black film—works by Black members of the film industry. It is held to recognize achievements of film ...

**2007 - Best Feature, ''South Of Pico'' *

**2007 - Red Star Award for Originality, Innovation and Vision, ''South Of Pico'' *

Pan-African Film Festival Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a non-profit corporation in Los Angeles, California, that states its goal is to promote "cultural understanding among peoples of African descent" through exhibiting art and film. It hosts a film festival and an a ...

**2008 - Best First Feature, ''South Of Pico'' *Drehbuchverband Austria (Writer's Guild) **2008 - Thomas Pluch Screenplay Award, ''South Of Pico'' *Innsbruck Film Festival **2008 - Audience Award, ''South Of Pico'' *Beijing Film Festival **2008 - Best Feature, ''South Of Pico'' * Heimatfilmfestival Freistadt **2020 - Audience Award, ''Whom To Tell''

Filmography

*''Flucht'' (1997) *''Bar Time'' (2002) *''The Point'' (2002) *''Otto+Anna'' (2005) *''

'' (2007) *'' Global Warning'' (2011) *''

'' (2014) *'' Maria Theresia - Majestät und Mutter'' (2017) *'' Whom To Tell'' (2020)

Theater

*"Die Praesidentinnen" Tiroler Landestheater (1998) *"Parzival," Bergfestspiele Seefeld, Austria (2002) *"Elektrika," Winner European Union Grant (2005)

External links

Ernst Gossner official website
* * https://web.archive.org/web/20080921044637/http://boxoffice.com/reviews/2007/10/south-of-pico.php first review calls South of Pico reminiscent of Crash, only better * http://southofpico.com/South_of_Pico/News/Entries/2007/11/7_Director_Ernst_Gossner_on_Independent_Film_Channel_(IFC)_News.html/ Ernst Gossner about his win of the Heineken Red Star Award for Originality, Innovation and Vision * http://www.filmering.at/content/view/3585/559/calls SOUTH OF PICO nothing short of the Masterpiece SHORT CUTS (German!) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gossner, Ernst 1967 births American film directors AFI Conservatory alumni Living people