Katharina Mückstein
Mückstein in 2013
Born1982 (age 41–42)[1]
Vienna, Austria[1]
Alma materUniversity of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Occupations
Years active2008–present
RelativesWolfgang Mückstein (brother)

Katharina Mückstein (born 1982) is an Austrian film director, screenwriter and producer.[1][2][3][4] Mückstein wrote and directed the feature films Talea (2013) and L'Animale (2018).[5] She also wrote and produced the documentaries Three Farmers and a Son (2016), for which she won the Austrian Film Award for Best Documentary, and Animals and Other People (2017), and wrote and directed the documentary Feminism WTF (2023)–the third most-watched Austrian film of 2023–for which won the Vienna Women's Prize for Best Director in 2023.

Early life

Mückstein was born in Vienna in 1982 and grew up in Bad Vöslau.[1][6] Her mother, Eva Mückstein, is a psychotherapist and politician of the Green Party of Austria.[6] Her older brother, Wolfgang Mückstein,[7] is a physician and politician who served as Minister of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection in Austria from 19 April 2021 until 8 March 2022.[8]

Mückstein has been interested in feminism and queer philosophy since adolescence and studied gender before going to film school.[3][4] From 2000 to 2004 she studied Philosophy and gender studies.[9]

She studied filmmaking at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna until 2010,[9] where Michael Haneke was one of her teachers.[10][11] Mückstein said that a "sexist climate" contributed to her dropping out of college.[12] "I kept bringing up various incidents at the Vienna Film Academy, but I didn't feel like I was being taken seriously."[12] Mückstein said she received threatening letters from filmmakers just because she was asking for a gender quota.[13]

Career

In 2008, she directed the short film The Reunion Die Vereinigung.[14] In 2010, she founded the work collective and production company La Banda Film together with Flavio Marchetti, Michael Schindegger and Natalie Schwager.[9][15]

In 2013, she directed and wrote the screenplay for her first feature film, Talea,[4] starring Nina Proll and Sophie Stockinger.[16] In 2016, she collaborated again with Sophie Stockinger in a leading role for her second feature film, the coming-of-age drama L'Animale, which premiered at the 2018 Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section.[17] She also produced the 2016 documentary Three Farmers and a Son (Holz Erde Fleisch),[18] for which she won the Austrian Film Award for Best Documentary,[19] and in 2017 she wrote and produced the documentary Animals and Other People (Tiere und andere Menschen).[20] Mückstein hosted the 2017 Austrian Film Award ceremony along with actor Christoph Dostal.[21]

In 2020, Mückstein directed the TV film Blind ermittelt – Zerstörte Träume.[22] She also directed its two sequels released in 2022: Blind ermittelt – Tod im Prater,[23] and Blind ermittelt – Die nackte Kaiserin.[24]

From 22 September to 2 October 2022, Mückstein was a member of the Focus Competition jury of the Zurich Film Festival.[25]

In 2023, Mückstein wrote, directed and produced Feminism WTF, a documentary on feminism and gender equality.[26][27] It won the Audience Award for Most Popular Film at the 2023 Diagonale Festival of Austrian Film,[28] the Best Director award at the Vienna Women's Prize,[29] and became the third most-watched Austrian film of 2023.[30]

Activism

Mückstein is a feminist[31] and political activist for anti-discrimination agendas in the film industry.[32] Since 2011, she has been a board member of the Association FC Gloria - Women Networking Film (FC Gloria – Frauen Vernetzung Film) for the promotion of female filmmakers in Austria.[33][34]

On 18 June 2022, Mückstein initiated a debate by sharing on her Instagram account her experiences with sexism and sexual harassment in the film industry since she was 19, such as when a lighting technician insulted her body every day on a film set and then said that he wanted to fuck her,[13] and when she got the funding approval for her first major film, two established male colleagues tried to intervene with the funding agency so that she wouldn't get the money, since they believed that she only got the funding because she is a woman.[35] She also shared an Instagram story that read: "Tonight a perpetrator will stand on the stage and will be applauded. And there is nothing we can do to counter that. It's devastating. I wish all those affected good nerves. #MeToo didn't even start in Austria".[36][37] No name was given, but the only event of that kind taking place in Austria that night was the premiere of Corsage in Vienna, which led to speculation that Mückstein was referring to someone who worked in that film.[37][38] Mückstein later said that she couldn't name the man due to legal reasons.[37]

Mückstein's Instagram posts inspired several women to share their own experiences with sexual harassment, sexism, racism, homophobia and abuses of power in the Austrian film and theatre community, which Mückstein then shared anonymously on her Instagram account,[39] which generated a lot of debates, media attention and sparked a new wave of the #MeToo Movement in Austria.[40][12][37][41][38] When Corsage's director, Marie Kreutzer, was asked about it, she told Austrian magazine Profil that she learned about the rumors about one of the actors from Corsage "a long time ago", when the project was already underway, but as long as there are only rumors and no court-confirmed evidence, she will never remove or dismiss a staff member from the stage based on rumors, and if there are neither concrete allegations nor a procedure against someone, she would act as a judge if she reacted with consequences.[37] "There were certainly reports about this man, but they only came from people who were neither affected themselves nor had anything to testify directly. One should stick to the facts, because passing on rumors can seriously damage people; I appreciate Katharina Mückstein extremely for her attitude and her commitment to film politics, we are definitely on the same side. But I would definitely have chosen a different path", she said.[37]

Mückstein wrote in reference to the reasons why many of those affected do not want to speak out openly against perpetrators; "What is your feminism worth if it ends on the edge of your comfort zone?".[38] (...) "Yes, they are men with whom we are acquainted or friends, with whom we may have worked great together - that makes everything more difficult than when it happens in Hollywood".[38] Mückstein's proposal to give a speech on the #MeToo debate on the stage of the Austrian Film Awards ceremony at the end of June 2022 was rejected by the Austrian Film Academy,[42][38] which choose to release a statement on the matter on their official website instead.[43]

Six months after starting a debate on abuse and sexual harassment in the Austrian film industry, Mückstein said that her involvement hasn't made her survival in the film industry any easier,[44] and that it pushed her even more to the edge of the film industry, as she noticed that people avoid her and that there are a wide variety of attempts to discredit her.[39]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Screenwriter Producer
2008 The Reunion (Die Vereinigung) Yes Yes No Short film[14]
2013 Talea Yes Yes No Feature film[16]
2018 L'Animale Yes Yes Yes Feature film[17]

Documentaries

Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Screenwriter Producer
2016 Three Farmers and a Son (Holz Erde Fleisch) No No Yes [18]
2017 Animals and Other People (Tiere und andere Menschen) No Yes Yes [20]
2023 Feminism WTF Yes Yes Yes [26]

Television

Year Title Credited as Notes
Director
2020 Blind ermittelt – Zerstörte Träume Yes TV film
2022 Blind ermittelt – Tod im Prater Yes TV film
Blind ermittelt – Die nackte Kaiserin Yes TV film

Awards and nominations

Year Award / Festival Category Work Result Ref.
2009 Thomas-Pluch-Drehbuchpreis Best Screenplay The Reunion Won [45]
2013 Max Ophüls Festival Prize of the Minister President of the State of Saarland Talea Won [46]
Zurich Film Festival Golden Eye - Best German Language Feature Film Nominated [47]
2014 Austrian Film Award Best Director Nominated [48]
Best Screenplay Nominated [48]
2017 Best Documentary Three Farmers and a Son Won [19]
2018 AFI Fest Audience Award - New Auteurs L'Animale Nominated [49]
Berlin International Film Festival Teddy Award - Best Feature Film Nominated [50]
Panorama Audience Award - Fiction Film Nominated [17]
Cinema Jove - Valencia International Film Festival CIMA Award - Best Film Directed by a Woman Won [51]
Best Film Nominated [52]
Jerusalem Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize - International First Film Nominated [53]
Seoul International Women's Film Festival Best Film Won [52]
Mezipatra Queer Film Festival Grand Jury Prize - Feature Film Competition Nominated [54]
Les Arcs Film Festival Best Narrative Feature Nominated [55]
Zurich Film Festival Golden Eye - Best Film in Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Won [56]
2019 Austrian Film Award Best Feature Film Nominated [57]
Palm Springs International Film Festival New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Prize Nominated [58]
2020 Prix Europa TV Fiction Nominated [59][60]
2023 Diagonale Festival of Austrian Film Audience Award for Most Popular Film Feminism WTF Won [61][28]
Munich International Documentary Film Festival VIKTOR DOK.deutsch – German-speaking Competition Nominated [62]
Vienna Women's Prize Best Director Won [29]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Director Katharina Mückstein". Festival Scope Pro. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  2. ↑ "Katharina Mückstein • Director - Interview". Cineuropa. August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  3. 1 2 Schiefer, Karin (November 2017). ""An alliance between reason and sensitivity."". Austrian Films. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Lemercier, Fabien (20 December 2018). "Katharina Mückstein • Director of L'Animale". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  5. ↑ Berger, Laura (15 February 2018). "Berlinale 2018 Women Directors: Meet Katharina Mueckstein — "L'animale"". Women and Hollywood. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  6. 1 2 Stockmann, Gabriela (2 October 2013). "Fulminanter Film-Erfolg für junge Vöslauerin Katharina Mückstein" [Brilliant film success for young Vöslauerin Katharina Mückstein]. meinbezirk.at (in German). Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  7. ↑ "Wolfgang Mückstein: Arzt, Minister - und jetzt Rücktritt" [Wolfgang Mückstein: Doctor, Minister - and now Resignation]. News.at (in German). 3 February 2022. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  8. ↑ "Austrian health minister steps down, exhausted by pandemic". Reuters. 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 "Frauen Arbeit Film: Katharina Mückstein". frauenarbeitfilm.at (in German). Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  10. ↑ "L'ANIMALE | Luxembourg City Film Festival". Luxembourg City Film Festival. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  11. ↑ Hausbichler, Beate (12 September 2013). "Katharina Mückstein: "Die Discoszene mit Nina Proll ist natürlich ein Zitat"". Der Standard (in German). Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 Greuling, Matthias (1 July 2022). ""Schweigekultur muss gebrochen werden"" ["The Culture of Silence Must be Broken"]. Wiener Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  13. 1 2 ""Will fi****" – Katharina Mückstein am Filmset bedrängt" ["I wanna fu****" - Katharina Mückstein harassed on the film set]. Heute.at (in German). 24 June 2022. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  14. 1 2 "The Reunion, Short Film". Crew United. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  15. ↑ Schiefer, Karin (September 2017). ""It was a bit like Noah's Ark."". Austrian Films. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  16. 1 2 "Talea". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 "L'Animale - Panorama Special 2018". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  18. 1 2 "Holz Erde Fleisch | Three Farmers And A Son". Austrian Films. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  19. 1 2 "Die Gewinner des Österreichischen Filmpreises 2017 - Awards" [The winners of the Austrian Film Awards 2017]. Uncut.at (in German). 3 February 2017. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  20. 1 2 "Tiere und andere Menschen | Animals and Other People". Austrian Films. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  21. ↑ "Abend Der Nominierten Österreichischer Filmpreis 2017". Austrian Film Academy (in German). Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  22. ↑ "Blind ermittelt - Zerstörte Träume (ORF)". Crew United. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  23. ↑ "Der Wien-Krimi - Blind ermittelt. Tod im Prater (ARD)". Crew United. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  24. ↑ "Der Wien-Krimi - Blind ermittelt. Die nackte Kaiserin (ARD)". Crew United. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  25. ↑ Dalton, Ben (14 September 2022). "Asghar Farhadi, Christine Vachon, Alexander Nanau to head Zurich 2022 Competition juries". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 16 September 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  26. 1 2 "Feminism WTF". Filmfonds Wien. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  27. ↑ "FISA: Feminism WTF". Filmstandort Austria. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  28. 1 2 "Diagonale-Publikumspreis'23 der Kleinen Zeitung | Beliebtester Film der Diagonale'23: Katharina Mückstein für FEMINISM WTF" [Diagonale Audience Award'23 from the Kleinen Zeitung | Most Popular Film of Diagonale'23: Katharina Mückstein for FEMINISM WTF]. Diagonale (in German). Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  29. 1 2 Fleck, Michaela (7 September 2023). "Frauenpreis für die „radikale" Regie von Katharina Mückstein" [Women's Prize for the “radical” direction by Katharina Mückstein]. Niederösterreichische Nachrichten (in German).
  30. ↑ "Österreichisches Kino 2000 - 2023" [Austrian Cinema 2000 - 2023]. Film Austria (in German). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  31. ↑ "Katharina Mückstein". links.wien (in German). Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  32. ↑ "Zurich Film Festival > Archive > Programme 2022 > Jury > Focus Competition". Zurich Film Festival. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  33. ↑ Fohringer, Barbara (9 March 2018). ""Kunst muss Fragen aufwerfen« – Katharina Mückstein im Interview zu »L'Animale"" [»Art must raise questions« – Katharina Mückstein in an interview about »L’Animale«]. The Gap (in German). Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  34. ↑ "FC Gloria: Der Verein" [FC Gloria: The Union]. fc-gloria.at (in German). Archived from the original on 29 July 2014.
  35. ↑ Nussmayr, Katrin (22 June 2022). "Regisseurin stößt österreichische MeToo–Debatte an" [Director initiates Austrian MeToo debate]. Die Presse (in German). Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  36. ↑ "Missbrauchsvorwürfe in der österreichischen Filmbranche #MeToo" [Allegations of abuse in the Austrian film industry #MeToo]. Kosmo.at (in German). 5 July 2022. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  37. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Grissemann, Stefan (2 July 2022). "#MeToo in der heimischen Filmbranche: "Diese Schweine stellen"" [#MeToo in the domestic film industry: "These pigs are asking"]. Profil.at (in German). Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  38. 1 2 3 4 5 Jasmina Rauch, Bianca (16 August 2022). "Gatekeeper der Glitzerwelt" [Gatekeeper of the Glitter World]. Analyse & kritik (in German). Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  39. 1 2 "Regisseurin Katharina Mückstein über ein halbes Jahr #metoo in Österreich" [Director Katharina Mückstein about half a year of #metoo in Austria]. FM4 (in German). 10 December 2022. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  40. ↑ Dallinger, Helene; Hausbichler, Beate; and Wielander, Anna (21 June 2022). "Zahllose Berichte zu Sexismus: #MeToo, die deutschsprachige Fortsetzung" [Countless reports on sexism: #MeToo, the German-language sequel]. Der Standard (in German). Archived from the original on 21 December 2022.
  41. ↑ ""#MeToo" erreicht auch Österreich" ["#MeToo" also reaches Austria]. ORF.at (in German). 24 June 2022. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  42. ↑ Stockinger, Xavier (7 July 2022). "Der österreichische Filmpreis im Schatten der MeToo-Debatte" [The Austrian Film Awards in the Shadow of MeToo Debate]. FM4 (in German). Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  43. ↑ "#MeToo | Österreichische Filmakademie". Austrian Film Academy (in German). Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  44. ↑ Priesching, Dors (26 December 2022). "Regisseurin Katharina Mückstein und #MeToo: "Zusammentun und sich gemeinsam zur Wehr setzen"" [Director Katharina Mückstein and #MeToo: "Get together and fight back together"]. Der Standard (in German). Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  45. ↑ "Bundeskanzleramt Kultur und Kunst: Thomas-Pluch-Drehbuchpreis". kunstkultur.bka.gv.at (in German). Archived from the original on 18 March 2017.
  46. ↑ Blaney, Martin (28 January 2013). "Berlin unveils competition jury". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. And Austria scored another success with Katharina Mückstein receiving the Saarland Prime-Minister's Film Prize for her debut Talea.
  47. ↑ "TALEA by Katharina Mückstein | German Language Feature Film / Competition". Zurich Film Festival. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  48. 1 2 "Österreichischer Filmpreis 2014: Alle Nominierungen auf einen Blick" [Austrian Film Awards 2014: All nominations at a glance]. Vienna.at (in German). 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  49. ↑ "AFI Fest Presented by Audi Announces New Auteurs and Independents Lineups". afi.com. 4 October 2018. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  50. ↑ "L'Animale | Teddy Award - The official queer award at the Berlin International Film Festival". teddyaward.tv. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  51. ↑ "'L'animale', de Katharina Mueckstein, Premio CIMA en Cinemajove 2018". CIMA Asociación de mujeres cineastas y medios audiovisuales (in Spanish). 29 June 2018. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  52. 1 2 "L'Animale". Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  53. ↑ "2018 Jerusalem Film Festival | Debuts". Jerusalem Film Festival. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  54. ↑ "L'Animale | International Feature Film Competition". Mezipatra Queer Film Festival. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  55. ↑ Lemercier, Fabien (7 November 2018). "120 European films to be showcased at Les Arcs". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  56. ↑ "L'Animale, Feature Film, 2016-2018". Crew United. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  57. ↑ "Nominierungen 2019 | Österreichische Filmakademie". Österreichische Filmakademie (in German). Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  58. ↑ "30th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Announces Festival Line-Up". Palm Springs International Film Society. 14 December 2018. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  59. ↑ "Acht ORF-Nominierungen beim Prix Europa 2020" [Eight ORF nominations at the Prix Europa 2020]. ORF (in German). 10 September 2020. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  60. ↑ "Prix Europa 2020 - List of Nominations" (PDF). Prix Europa. 10 September 2020. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 September 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  61. ↑ Dirk, Valerie (26 March 2023). "Geld für Kardinal Kino und die Preise der Diagonale". Der Standard (in German).
  62. ↑ "Feminism WTF". dokfest-muenchen.de. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
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