Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala
{{Short description|Austrian filmmaking duo}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Veronika Franz
| image =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1965}}
| birth_place = Vienna, Austria
| occupation = {{hlist|Director|screenwriter|journalist}}
| years_active = 1997–present
| relatives =
| death_date =
| death_place =
}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Severin Fiala
| image =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1985}}
| birth_place = Horn, Austria
| occupation = {{hlist|Director|screenwriter}}
| years_active = 2009–present
| relatives =
| death_date =
| death_place =
}}
Veronika Franz (born 1965) and Severin Fiala (born 1985) are an Austrian filmmaking duo. Franz is a long time partner and Fiala the nephew of filmmaker Ulrich Seidl. Franz, a former film journalist, began her film career co-writing with Seidl. Franz and Fiala began their creative partnership writing and directing Kern (2012), a documentary about the actor Peter Kern. They went on to gain international notice for their feature debut, the German-language psychological horror film Goodnight Mommy (2014), which was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.
Early lives
Veronika Franz was born in 1965 in Vienna, Austria.{{cite web |author=Franz, Veronika; Fiala, Severin |date=10 February 2020 |title=Three Great Things: Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz |url=https://www.talkhouse.com/three-great-things-severin-fiala-and-veronika-franz/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200506090101/https://www.talkhouse.com/three-great-things-severin-fiala-and-veronika-franz/ |archive-date=6 May 2020 |work=Talkhouse}} Prior to establishing a career as a filmmaker, she worked as a film journalist for the German-language newspaper Kurier, beginning in 1997. She subsequently co-wrote several screenplays and since 2003 also co-produced with long time partner filmmaker Ulrich Seidl,{{cite web |last=Sereda |first=Elisabeth |date=5 September 2016 |title=Ulrich Seidl, Austria's Enfant Terrible, Is Back on the Lido |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/ulrich-seidl-austrias-enfant-terrible-back-lido |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200506084500/https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/ulrich-seidl-austrias-enfant-terrible-back-lido |archive-date=6 May 2020 |work=Golden Globes}} including all three features in his Paradise trilogy; she also worked as an assistant director on some projects.{{cite web |last=Chang |first=Kee |date=12 January 2020 |title=A Conversation with Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala |url=http://anthemmagazine.com/a-conversation-with-veronika-franz-severin-fiala/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200506083237/http://anthemmagazine.com/a-conversation-with-veronika-franz-severin-fiala/ |archive-date=6 May 2020 |work=Anthem Magazine}}
Severin Fiala was born in 1985 in Horn, Austria, and formally studied at a film school. Fiala is Seidl's biological nephew,{{cite web |last=Jenkins |first=Mark |date=10 September 2015 |title=A Mom Might Not Be A Mom, And Yes, That's Scary |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/09/10/439162910/a-mom-might-not-be-a-mom-and-yes-thats-scary |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200506093931/https://www.npr.org/2015/09/10/439162910/a-mom-might-not-be-a-mom-and-yes-thats-scary |archive-date=6 May 2020 |publisher=NPR}} and Franz became more closely acquainted with Fiala when she and Seidl hired him to regularly babysit their two sons.{{cite web |last=Giroux |first=Jack |date=14 February 2020 |title=The Lodge' Directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala on Building Atmosphere and Referencing 'Jack Frost' [Interview] |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/veronika-franz-and-severin-fiala-interview/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200506082843/https://www.slashfilm.com/veronika-franz-and-severin-fiala-interview/ |archive-date=6 May 2020 |work=/Film}} Franz and Fiala found they had a mutual love of horror films.
Career
While attending a film festival, Franz met Austrian actor Peter Kern, a controversial actor and filmmaker. Recalling their meeting, Franz said: "[I talked to him] for several days actually. I only talked to him because I felt so sorry for him, but I got to know him. I really thought that he was a very fascinating character and someone should do a movie about him. He used to work with Rainer Werner Fassbinder in the German cinema of the ‘70s. He was kind of erschwerte in that group. I mean, he was crazy. I thought he was really crazy." Franz decided to follow Kern for the next two years, directing and writing a documentary film on him with Fiala. The documentary, titled Kern, was released in 2012.
In 2013, Franz and Fiala began working on their feature debut, Goodnight Mommy, a horror film about two twin boys who suspect their mother, having recently undergone cosmetic surgery, is in fact not their mother. Goodnight Mommy, co-written and co-directed by Franz and Fiala, was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.{{cite web |url=http://kurier.at/kultur/film/oscars-oesterreich-reicht-ich-seh-ich-seh-ein/150.412.911 |title=Oscars: Österreich reicht "Ich seh, ich seh" |work=Kurier |date=2 September 2015 |accessdate=2 September 2015 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412213100/http://kurier.at/kultur/film/oscars-oesterreich-reicht-ich-seh-ich-seh-ein/150.412.911 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://www.filmneweurope.com/news/austria-news/item/111179-austria-selects-goodnight-mommy-as-oscar-bid |title=Austria Selects Goodnight Mommy as Oscar Bid |work=Film New Europe |date=8 September 2015 |accessdate=8 September 2015}}
Franz and Fiala subsequently co-wrote and co-directed a segment in the anthology horror film The Field Guide to Evil (2018), titled Die Trud. In 2019, the duo directed (and co-wrote, with Sergio Casci) their English-language film debut, the psychological horror film The Lodge, which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/2019-sundance-film-festival-competition-program-features-lineup-1203038417/|title=Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2019 Features Lineup|website=Variety|first=Peter|last=Debruge|date=28 November 2018|accessdate=28 November 2018}} before being released in the United States on 7 February 2020.{{cite web|url=http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2019/06/the-lodge-gets-a-release-date-november-15-2019/|title=THE LODGE Gets A Release Date – November 15, 2019|website=We Are Movie Geeks|date=27 June 2019|accessdate=27 June 2019}}{{cite web|work=Deadline Hollywood|url=https://deadline.com/2020/02/the-lodge-neon-cane-river-oscilloscope-oscars-parasite-jojo-rabbit-specialty-box-office-1202854924/|title='The Lodge' Snowballs Solid Opening, 'Cane River' Celebrates Historic Release, Oscar-Nominated Films Enter Final Stretch – Specialty Box Office|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|date=9 February 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200221083001/https://deadline.com/2020/02/the-lodge-neon-cane-river-oscilloscope-oscars-parasite-jojo-rabbit-specialty-box-office-1202854924/|archive-date=21 February 2020}} Their latest collaboration is the drama The Devil's Bath which ran in Competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2024, receiving the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution for Martin Gschlacht's cinematography.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/02/berlin-film-festival-winners-golden-bear-2024-1235836478/|title=Berlin Film Festival 2024 Winners Announced|website=Deadline Hollywood |first=Zac|last=Ntim|date=February 24, 2024|access-date=February 26, 2024}}
In February 2024, they were announced to direct a film adaptation of A Head Full of Ghosts.{{cite news|last=Ramachandran|first=Naman|date=February 15, 2024|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/robert-downey-jr-a-head-full-of-ghosts-berlin-the-devils-bath-directors-1235912257/|title=Robert Downey Jr.-Produced 'A Head Full of Ghosts' Sets Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala as Directors, Fifth Season Financing|work=Variety|access-date=May 18, 2024}}
Filmography
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|1072411|Veronika Franz}}
- {{IMDb name|3868633|Severin Fiala}}
{{Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franz, Veronika, Fiala, Severin}}
Category:Austrian documentary filmmakers
Category:Austrian film directors
Category:Austrian screenwriters
Category:Austrian women film directors
Category:Austrian women screenwriters