Ursula Meier (born 24 June 1971) is a French- Swiss film director and screenwriter.

Career

A native of

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

, the capital of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France, near the Swiss border, Ursula Meier graduated from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

's Institut des Arts de Diffusion nstitute of Visual Artsand served as assistant director to the internationally-renowned Swiss

auteur An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique ...

, Alain Tanner, on his films ''Fourbi'' (''Gear)'' (1996) and ''Jonas et Lila, à demain'' (''Jonas and Lila, 'Till Tomorrow'') (1999). She won her first major film award for the 1998 short, ''Des heures sans sommeil'' (''Sleepless)'', which received the Special Jury Prize at the Festival International du Court-Métrage de

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...

as well as the International Grand Prize at the 1998

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

and a Best Short Fiction Film nomination at the Molodist International Film Festival in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

. In 2002, her film ''Tous à table'' (''Table Manners''), which had already won the Audience Award and the Press Award at the 2001 Clermont-Ferrand Festival, as well as the Best French-Language Short Film award at the 2001

Créteil International Women's Film Festival The Créteil International Women's Film Festival (in French Festival international de films de femmes de Créteil) is an annual event in Créteil, France, founded by Jackie Buet in 1978 to showcase the directing talents of female filmmakers who, ...

, received a Swiss Film Prize nomination for Best Short Film. In 2003, Ursula Meier served as a member of the jury at the

Brest European Short Film Festival The Brest European Short Film Festival ( French: Festival européen du film court de Brest) is a film festival dedicated to short films, happening every year in Brest, in the Brittany region in France. It has been organized by the Côte Ouest As ...

and won the Cinema Prize – Feature Film award at

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

's Avanca Film Festival as well as a nomination for the Swiss Film Prize as best feature film for her

made-for-TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

, ''Strong Shoulders''. In April, with the selection of ''Strong Shoulders'' for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

New Directors/New Films Festival The New Directors/New Films Festival is an annual film festival held in New York City, and organized jointly by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society o ...

at the Museum of Modern Art and Film Society of Lincoln Center, she made the journey to introduce the film and participate in question-and-answer sessions. Six years later, '' Home'' was also selected for New Directors/New Films and, in April 2009, she once again made appearances at the Museum of Modern Art and The Walter Reade Theatre, introducing the New York premiere of the film. The film had premiered at Semaine de la Critique section at

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

in May 2008. Her 2012 film '' L'enfant d'en haut'' premiered in competition at the

62nd Berlin International Film Festival The 62nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2012. British film director Mike Leigh was the President of the Jury. The first five films to be screened in the competition were announced on 19 December 2011. Am ...

, where it won the Special Award - Silver Bear. It has also been selected as the Swiss entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the

85th Academy Awards The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p. ...

, making the January shortlist. In 2013 she was a member of the jury at the

35th Moscow International Film Festival The 35th Moscow International Film Festival took place between 20 and 29 June 2013. '' World War Z'' was selected as the opening film. The Golden George was awarded to the Turkish film ''Particle''. Films in competition The following films were ...

. She took part in the collective film

Bridges of Sarajevo ''Bridges of Sarajevo'' (french: Les Ponts de Sarajevo) is a 2014 anthology film exploring Sarajevo present and past, directed by thirteen different directors. It was shown in the Special Screenings section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Cre ...

, together with twelve other renowned directors. The film premiered within the Special Screenings at Cannes Film Festival in 2014. In 2018, she was the president of the Jury for the

Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des ...

, the award for the best first feature at Cannes Film Festival, and was the Godmother of the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, ...

's signing the SWAN pledge 5050x2020. ''La Ligne (The line)'', her next feature, premiered again in the competition at Berlin Film Festival in 2022.

Filmography (as screenwriter and director)

Feature films

*2000: ''Autour de Pinget'' (''About Pinget)'' (

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

) *2002: ''Strong Shoulders'' (made-for-TV movie), starring Louise Szpindel and Jean-François Stévenin *2008: '' Home'', starring

Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (; born 16 March 1953) is a French actress. Described as "one of the best actresses in the world", she is known for her portrayals of cold and disdainful characters devoid of morality. She is the recipient of sev ...

and

Olivier Gourmet Olivier Gourmet (born 22 July 1963) is a Belgian actor. Gourmet was born in Namur. He won the Best Actor award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival for his role in '' Le Fils'' by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. He also appeared in ''La Promesse ...

*2012: '' L'enfant d'en haut'' (''Sister)'' *2014: ''

'', documentary *2017: ''

Shock Waves – Diary of My Mind ''Shock Waves'' (french: Ondes de choc) is a Swiss television drama anthology series, broadcast by Radio Télévision Suisse in 2018.Thomas Sotinel"TV – « Ondes de choc » : tétralogie sanglante chez les Helvètes" ''Le Monde'', July 20, 2018. ...

'', part of the ''

Shock Waves In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a med ...

'' mini-series *2022: ''The Line (La Ligne)''

Short films

*1994: ''À corps perdu'' (''To the Lost Body)'' (with writer and co-director Cédric Havenith) *1998: ''Des heures sans sommeil'' (''Sleepless)'' *2001: ''Tous à table'' (''Table Manners)'' *2015: ''Kacey Mottet Klein, Naissance d'un acteur (Kacey Mottet Klein, Birth of an actor)'', short film

Awards and nominations (selection)

For ''Kacey Mottet Klein, Naissance d'un acteur (Kacey Mottet Klein, Birth of an actor):'' * Swiss Film Award for best short film *

Cork International Film Festival The Cork International Film Festival, also known as the Cork Film Festival (), is a film festival held annually in Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the i ...

, Grand Prix Award for Short Documentary * Sao Paulo International Short Film Festival, Audience Choice - Top 10 International short film * Plein la Bobine - Festival International de Cinéma Jeunes Publics du Massif du Sancy, Prix du Jury professionnel * Chicago Int. Children's Film Festival, Youth Jury Prize - Live-action Short Film For '' Home'': * Best Director award at the Festival du Film Francophone d' Angoulême * Swiss Film Award for best feature film as well as best screenplay (with Antoine Jaccoud) * César for Best first feature film (nomination) * Best Film at

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Mar del Plata Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata) is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature fes ...

''(nomination)'' * Festival International du Cinéma d'Auteur de Rabat, Best Screenplay (with Antoine Jaccoud) * Festival du film francophone Athens, Grand Prize of the city of Athènes * Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata, ADF Award Best Photographer (

Agnès Godard Agnès Godard (born 28 May 1951) is a French cinematographer. She is most famous for her long-running collaboration with filmmaker Claire Denis. For her work, she has won a César Award. Life and career Godard originally studied journalism, but ...

) * Reykjavik International Film Festival, FIPRESCI Award * Paris, SACD Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques, Prix SACD Nouveau Talent Cinéma * Mostra internacional de films de dones, Prix du public * Flying Broom Women's Film Festival, FIPRESCI Award For '' L'enfant d'en haut (Sister)'': *

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

, Silver Bear - Special Award * Swiss Film Award for best feature film, best screenplay (with Antoine Jaccoud) and best actor ( Kasey Mottet Klein) * César Best male newcomer (Kacey Mottet Klein, Nomination) * Trophées Francophones du Cinéma Dakar, Best feature film * Zurich Film Award * Athens International Film Festival, The Golden Athena Award *

Denver Film Festival The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily at the Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver, Colorado, now the Anna and John J. Sie FilmCenter (Sie FilmCenter). Premiere events are held in the Buell Theatre and Ellie Caulkins Opera House ...

, Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Feature Film * Trento Film Festival, "Luciano Emmer" Critics Award * Ljubljana International Film Festival, Prix FIPRESCI * Fünf Seen Filmfestival, Fünf Seen Filmpreis * Sevilla Festival de Cine Europeo, Jury Award for Best Cinematography (Agnès Godard) * Festival du Film de Cabourg, Best actrice (

Léa Seydoux Léa Hélène Seydoux-Fornier de Clausonne (; born 1 July 1985) is a French actor. Known for her roles in both French cinema and in Hollywood she's received various accolades including the Cannes Film Festival's Trophée Chopard in 2009 as wel ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meier, Ursula 1971 births Living people Swiss film directors Swiss screenwriters Swiss women film directors French women film directors French film directors Film people from Besançon French women screenwriters French screenwriters