Oberösterreich im Jahr 1750: Ein Karpfenteich reflektiert das Grau des Himmels. Ein tiefer, dunkler Wald schluckt das Sonnenlicht. Auf einem Hügel wird eine Hingerichtete zur Schau gestellt. Als Exempel. Als Warnung. Ein Omen? Die tiefreligiöse und hochsensible Agnes betrachtet die tote Frau mit Mitleid. Auch mit Sehnsucht, denn sie fühlt sich fremd in der Welt ihres Mannes Wolf, in die sie gerade eingeheiratet hat. Eine gefühlskalte Welt voller Arbeit, Verrichtungen und Erwartungen. Immer mehr zieht sich Agnes zurück. Immer enger wird ihr inneres Gefängnis, immer erdrückender ihre Melancholie. Eine Gewalttat scheint ihr bald der einzige Ausweg.
Von Franz/Fiala. Falls ihr nicht wisst wer das ist, bitte Ruhe bewahren:
VOD ab jetzt.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.
Career
Veronika Franz was born in 1965 in Vienna, Austria.[1] Prior to establishing a career as a filmmaker, she worked as a film journalist for the German-language newspaper Kurier, beginning in 1997.[1] She subsequently co-wrote several screenplays and since 2003 also co-produced with long time partner filmmaker Ulrich Seidl,[2] including all three features in his Paradise trilogy; she also worked as an assistant director on some projects.[3] Severin Fiala was born in 1985 in Horn, Austria,[1] and formally studied at a film school.[3] Fiala is Seidl's biological nephew,[4] and Franz became more closely acquainted with Fiala when she and Seidl hired him to regularly babysit their two sons.[5] Franz and Fiala found they had a mutual love of horror films.[5]
While attending a film festival, Franz met Austrian actor Peter Kern, a controversial actor and filmmaker.[3] 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."[3] Franz decided to follow Kern for the next two years, directing and writing a documentary film on him with Fiala.[3] 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.[3] 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.[6][7]
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[8] before being released in the United States on 7 February 2020.[9][10] 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.[11]
In February 2024, they were announced to direct a film adaptation of A Head Full of Ghosts.[12]
Filmography
Year Film Directors Writers Producers Notes Ref.
2012 Kern Yes Yes No Documentary film [3]
2014 Goodnight Mommy Yes Yes No German language title: Ich seh, Ich seh [6]
2018 The Field Guide to Evil Yes Yes No Segment: "Die Trud" [13]
2019 The Lodge Yes Yes No Co-written with Sergio Casci [14]
2024 The Devil's Bath Yes Yes No Premiered on 20 February 2024 in Competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival
