Frauke Finsterwalder (born 15 December 1975) is a German film director and screenwriter. Finsterwalder has directed several shorts and documentaries and is the director of the 2013 feature film ''

Finsterworld ''Finsterworld'' is a 2013 German motion picture drama directed by Frauke Finsterwalder and co-written by Finsterwalder and Christian Kracht, starring Margit Carstensen, Sandra Hüller, Corinna Harfouch, Christoph Bach, Carla Juri, and Jaku ...

''. Her second feature film, ''

Sisi & I ''Sisi & I'' (german: Sisi & Ich) is a 2023 historical black comedy film written and directed by Frauke Finsterwalder and co-written by Christian Kracht, starring Susanne Wolff as Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Sandra Hüller as Countess Ir ...

'', will be released in 2023.

Early life

Finsterwalder spent part of her early life in the United States before studying literature and history at

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiati ...

in Berlin.

Career

Before beginning her career as a director, Finsterwalder worked as an assistant director at Berlin’s

Volksbühne The Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") is a theater in Berlin. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Rosa Luxemburg Square) in what was the GDR's capital. It has been called Berlin's most iconic theatre. About The Vol ...

theatre and the ''

Maxim Gorki Theatre The Maxim Gorki Theatre (german: Maxim Gorki Theater) is a theatre in Berlin- Mitte named after the Soviet writer, Maxim Gorky. In 2012, the Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit named Şermin Langhoff as the artist director of the theatre. History I ...

''. 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''. Finsterwalder cites films by directors

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by ...

Terrence Malick Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. His films include '' Days of Heaven'' (1978), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenp ...

and

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

amongst influences for her debut feature film. She frequently casts

Sandra Hüller Sandra Hüller (; born 30 April 1978) is a German actress. She gained critical praise for her portrait of Anneliese Michel in Hans-Christian Schmid's drama ''Requiem'' (2006), and is best known internationally for her starring role in Maren Ad ...

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 Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was an Austrian composer (his father was Austrian, and Eisler fought in a Hungarian regiment in World War I). He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artisti ...

, 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'). 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 ''

'', which was co-written by the Swiss writer

Christian Kracht Christian Kracht (; born 29 December 1966) is a Swiss author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages. Personal life Kracht was born in Saanen in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. He attended Schule Schloss Salem in Baden-Wür ...

, was premiered at the

Munich Film Festival Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

in July 2013. The film follows the interwoven stories of twelve central characters played, amongst others, by

, Jakub Gierszał,

Ronald Zehrfeld Ronald Zehrfeld (born 15 January 1977) is a German actor. His movie roles include '' Barbara'' (2012), ''Inbetween Worlds'' (2014), and ''Phoenix'' (2014). Career Zehrfeld made his film debut in 2005 with a lead role in Dominik Graf's ''The R ...

Margit Carstensen Margit Carstensen (born 29 February 1940) is a German theatre and film actress, best known outside Germany for roles in the works of film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Theater career Carstensen, the daughter of a physician, was born and rai ...

Carla Juri Carla Juri (born 2 January 1985) is a Swiss actress. Her acting credits include ''180°'', ''Wetlands'', ''Finsterworld'' and ''Blade Runner 2049''. Early life and education Juri was raised in Ambrì, a village in the Italian-speaking Canton ...

, Michael Maertens and

Corinna Harfouch Corinna Harfouch (; née Meffert; 16 October 1954) is a German actress. Life and work Harfouch was born in Suhl, East Germany, the daughter of the teacher Wolfgang Meffert and his wife Marianne (née Kleber). She worked as a nurse and stud ...

Reception and acclaim

''Finsterworld'' has been shown in many countries across the world to critical acclaim. It received the Zenith Award for best debut picture at the

Montréal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...

and also received the award for Best Feature Film at the

Cologne Conference The Film Festival Cologne (formerly: Cologne Conference) is an international Film and Television Festival that takes place annually in Cologne, Germany. With about 10.000 visitors, the Film Festival Cologne is considered as the best attended festi ...

. At the 2013

Zurich Film Festival Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, secon ...

, Finsterwalder received a Golden Eye award for Best German Language Film as well as the Swiss Film Critics’ Award. The film also received the award for Best Picture at the 2014 Vancouver International Women In Film Festival., as well as winning best female-directed narrative at the 2014

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

. 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.

received th
Lola
award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film.

''Sisi & I''

Finsterwalder's next feature film, ''

'', is a retelling of the later years of

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898. Elisabeth was ...

from the point of view of her lady-in-waiting,

Irma Sztáray Countess Irma Sztáray de Sztára et Nagymihály (10 July 1863 – 3 September 1940) was a Hungarian courtier and memoirist.Beatrix Meyer: Kaiserin Elisabeth und ihr Ungarn, Allitera, München 2019, ISBN 978-3962331306 She was the last lady-in- ...

. The cast includes

, who starred in Finsterwalder's previous film, ''Finsterworld'', as well as

Susanne Wolff Susanne Wolff (born 1 May 1973) is a German actress. Her credits include the television series ''Morgen hör ich auf'' and the films '' Styx'' and '' Das Fremde in mir''. Wolff was born in Bielefeld. She studied at the Hochschule für Musik, Th ...

Tom Rhys Harries Tom Rhys Harries (born 8 October 1992) is a Welsh actor, best known for his roles as Manchester DJ Axel Collins in the Netflix series '' White Lines'' (2020) and Eddie Walker in the Apple TV+ series '' Suspicion'' (2022). Harries has also acted ...

, Stefan Kurt, Georg Friedrich,

Angela Winkler Angela Winkler (born 22 January 1944) is a German actress. Life and career Born in Templin, Winkler trained to be a medical technologist in Stuttgart. Interested in theater, she went to Munich, where she took acting classes with Ernst Fritz F ...

and Johanna Wokalek. The film is scheduled to be released in Germany on 16 March 2023.

Personal life

Finsterwalder is married to the Swiss writer Christian Kracht.

Filmography

Feature films

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

: ''

'' *

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

: ''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finsterwalder, Frauke 1975 births Living people Film people from Hamburg German women film directors