Veronika Franz
Born1965 (age 58–59)
Vienna, Austria
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
  • journalist
Years active1997–present
SpouseUlrich Seidl
Severin Fiala
Born1985 (age 38–39)
Horn, Austria
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
Years active2009–present

Veronika Franz (born 1965) and Severin Fiala (born 1985) are an Austrian filmmaking duo. Fiala is the nephew of Franz and her husband, 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.

They subsequently wrote and directed a segment of the anthology horror film The Field Guide to Evil (2018), followed by the English-language psychological horror film The Lodge (2019).

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 with her husband, 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, and Franz his aunt-by-marriage.[4] 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]

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" [11]
2019 The Lodge Yes Yes No Co-written with Sergio Casci [12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Franz, Veronika; Fiala, Severin (10 February 2020). "Three Great Things: Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz". Talkhouse. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ Sereda, Elisabeth (5 September 2016). "Ulrich Seidl, Austria's Enfant Terrible, Is Back on the Lido". Golden Globes. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chang, Kee (12 January 2020). "A Conversation with Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala". Anthem Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (10 September 2015). "A Mom Might Not Be A Mom, And Yes, That's Scary". NPR. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020.
  5. 1 2 Giroux, Jack (14 February 2020). "The Lodge' Directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala on Building Atmosphere and Referencing 'Jack Frost' [Interview]". /Film. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Oscars: Österreich reicht "Ich seh, ich seh"". Kurier. 2 September 2015. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Austria Selects Goodnight Mommy as Oscar Bid". Film New Europe. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  8. ↑ Debruge, Peter (28 November 2018). "Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2019 Features Lineup". Variety. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  9. ↑ "THE LODGE Gets A Release Date – November 15, 2019". We Are Movie Geeks. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  10. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (9 February 2020). "'The Lodge' Snowballs Solid Opening, 'Cane River' Celebrates Historic Release, Oscar-Nominated Films Enter Final Stretch – Specialty Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020.
  11. ↑ "The Field Guide to Evil". Seattle International Film Festival. 2018. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020.
  12. ↑ Harvey, Dennis (2 February 2019). "Sundance Film Review: 'The Lodge'". Variety. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019.
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