Franz Müller (born 20 October 1965 in

Mosbach Mosbach (; South Franconian: ''Mossbach'') is a town in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the seat of the Neckar-Odenwald district and has a population of approximately 25,000 distributed in six boroughs: Mosbach Town, Lohrbach, ...

) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

film director, screenwriter and producer.

Life and work

Müller first studied early history and

prehistory Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

, then

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

under

Gerhard Richter Gerhard Richter (; born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. Richter has produced Abstract art, abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, photographs and Glass art, glass pieces. He is widely regarded as one of the most important con ...

and

cybernetics Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of circular causal processes such as feedback and recursion, where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent action. It is concerned with ...

at the Düsseldorf Art Academy until 1995. From 1999 Müller completed a post-graduate course at the

Academy of Media Arts Cologne The Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM) is the art and film school of the state of North Rhine Westphalia. It was founded 1989 in Cologne, Germany. Notable artists and filmmakers who studied or taught at the academy include Rosa Barba, VALIE EX ...

under

Michael Lentz Michael Lentz (born 1964) is a German author, musician, and performer of experimental texts and sound poetry. Life Lentz was born in Düren. His father (1927–2014) was city manager () of Düren. Lentz completed his ''Abitur'' at the in 1983 ...

and Wolfgang Becker.Filmfriend: Franz Müller
Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf. (in German). Retrieved 13 December 2024.Franz Müller - Biography

filmportal.de filmportal.de is an online database of information related to German film. It includes extensive information on films and filmmakers as well as articles on film issues. The website was released on occasion of the 54th Berlin International Film ...

. Retrieved 13 December 2024 After his first realized short films in the

1990s File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American jets fly over burning oil fields in the 1991 Gulf War; the Oslo Accords on 13 September 1993; the World ...

, Müller directed the episode "Vater und Sohn" for the

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film or a portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of three or more shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme, premise ...

''Freitagnacht'' (2001), which received the Gold award in the German competition at the Filmschoolfest Munich in 2002. He completed his studies at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne with his first feature film, the satirical ''

Science Fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

'' (later titled ''Kein Science Fiction''), for which he was awarded the prize for the best graduate film at the Babelsberg Media Awards in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

in 2002. ''Science Fiction'' celebrated its

world premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...

in 2003 at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

. Müller's second feature film ''

Wallace Line The Wallace Line or Wallace's Line is a faunal boundary line drawn in 1859 by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace and named by the English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley. It separates the biogeographic realms of Asia and 'Wallacea', a ...

(Die Liebe der Kinder)'' (2009) was released in German cinemas in 2010. The story about a seemingly perfect

patchwork family Patchwork or "pieced work" is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. The larger design is usually based on repeating patterns built up with different fabric shapes (which can be different colors) ...

that gets out of balance won awards at the Schwerin Art of Film Festival and Biberach Film Festival (Biberacher Filmtage). His next feature film '' Worst Case Scenario'' premiered at the 2014 Munich International Film Festival. It tells the story of an former couple whose attempt to shoot a comedy about the European Football Championship in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

threatens to descend into chaos. In 2015 Müller's feature film ''

Happy Hour Happy hour is a marketing term for a time when a venue such as a restaurant or bar offers reduced prices on alcoholic drinks. Discounted menu items like appetizers are often served during happy hour. This is a way for bars and restaurants to ...

'' also celebrated its premiere at the Munich International Film Festival. The comedy about three old school friends whose vacation together in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

does not go as smoothly as planned was awarded a New German Cinema Award in the Production category at the Munich International Film Festival. ''Happy Hour'' was released in German cinemas in spring 2016. In the same year, Müller founded the film production company Mizzi Stock Entertainment in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

together with Eva-Maria Weerts and has been working as a film producer ever since. His company co-produced the documentaries '' Notturno'' and ''

Alice Schwarzer Alice Sophie Schwarzer (born 3 December 1942) is a German journalist and prominent feminist. She is founder and publisher of the German feminist journal '' EMMA''. Beginning in France, she became a forerunner of feminist positions against anti-ab ...

'', among others. In 2023, the movie adaptation of The ''Diaries of Adam and Eve'' (''Die Tagebücher von Adam und Eva''), based on the

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

book of the same name, premiered at the Munich International Film Festival under Müller's direction. In addition to his work as a director, screenwriter and producer, Müller has been involved in cinema programming at '' Filmclub 813'' in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

since 1999. At the

movie theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

''Kino 813 in der BRÜCKE'' in Cologne, he brought out the first complete retrospective of all of

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

' directorial works. He also wrote for various film magazines. To this day, he is one of the

editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of the German film magazine ''Revolver''. He has been a professor of screenwriting at the

since 2023. Müller lives and works in Berlin and Cologne.

Reception

In an issue of the German film magazine

Filmdienst ''Filmdienst'' (also spelled ''Film-Dienst'') is the oldest German-language film magazine, with fortnight A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days" ...

, German film critic Esther Buss focuses on Müller's feature films and sees him as an “exceptional phenomenon in the local cinema landscape”. His films live from “contradictions” and refuse “any appropriation.” The German film critic Ekkehard Knörer sees him as part of the Berlin School, but remarks in an interview with Müller for the German film magazine ''Cargo'': “Franz Müller relates to the Berlin School a little like Luc Moullet to the

Nouvelle Vague The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of i ...

. He belongs to it, but he's too funny and free for any kind of loyalty to the line."

Filmography (selection)

Director / screenwriter

* 2003: ''

'' (feature film), (director, screenwriter) * 2009: ''

'' (''Die Liebe der Kinder'') (feature film), (director, screenwriter) * 2010: ''24h Marrakech'' (

), (director and screenwriter on the episode "Ordinary Seamen") * 2012: ''Leichtmatrosen II'' (

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

), (director, screenwriter) * 2014: '' Worst Case Scenario'' (feature film), (director, screenwriter) * 2015: ''

'' (feature film), (director, screenwriter) * 2023: ''The Diaries of Adam and Eve'' (''Die Tagebücher von Adam und Eva''), (feature film), (director, screenwriter)

Producer

* 2003: ''Science Fiction'' (feature film), (producer) * 2012: ''Leichtmatrosen II'' (short film), (producer) * 2014: ''Worst Case Scenario'' (feature film), (producer) * 2015: ''Happy Hour'' (feature film), (producer) * 2020: '' Notturno'' (co-producer) * 2022: ''Alice Schwarzer'' (documentary), (producer) * 2023: ''The Diaries of Adam and Eve'' (''Die Tagebücher von Adam und Eva''), (feature film), (producer)

Other

* 2003: ''Kein Science Fiction'' (editor) * 2013: ''That's Poland'' (''Das ist Polen''), (short film), (actor)

Awards (selection)

Source:Franz Müller - Awards
In: IMDb.com. Retrieved 13. December 2024 *2009:

Oldenburg International Film Festival The Oldenburg International Film Festival, sometimes called the ''European Sundance'', has covered the international film scene in all aspects since 1994. It is held in Oldenburg (city), Oldenburg, Germany. History Films such as Park Chan-wook� ...

- Nomination for the German Independence Award - Best German Film for ''Wallace Line'' *2009: Oldenburg International Film Festival - Nomination for the German Independence Award - Audience Award for ''Wallace Line'' *2010: Schwerin Art of Film Festival - Prize Flying Ox in the category Best feature for ''Wallace Line'' *2010:

Crossing Europe Crossing Europe is an international film festival in Linz, Austria, that takes place every year in April since 2004. It defines itself as a platform for young European film makers. The focus of the film selection lies on sociopolitical and youth cu ...

- Nomination for the ''Crossing Europe Award – Best Fiction Film'' for ''Wallace Line'' *2013: Hamburg International Short Film Festival - Nomination for the Jury Award in the German Competition for ''Leichtmatrosen II'' *2014: Oldenburg International Film Festival - Nomination for the German Independence Award - Audience Award for ''Worst Case Scenario'' *2015:

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (BNFF), or PÖFF (Pimedate Ööde filmifestival), is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. PÖFF is one of the largest film festivals in Northern Europe. In 2014, it was ...

- Nomination for the Grand Prize for ''Happy Hour'' *2023: Austrian Film Award - Nomination for the Austrian Film Award in the category Best Documentary (Bester Dokumentarfilm) for ''Alice Schwarzer''

References

External links

*
Franz Müller
at

Official site of ''Mizzi Stock Entertainment''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Müller, Franz 1965 births Living people German film directors German film producers German-language film directors