{{short description|German film director and screenwriter|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Frauke Finsterwalder | image = Frauke Finsterwalder, Berlinale 2023.jpg | caption = Finsterwalder in 2023 | image_size = 200px | birth_place = Hamburg, West Germany | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1975|12|15|df=y}} | occupation = Film director and screenwriter | years_active = 2005–present | spouse = {{marriage|Christian Kracht|<!--unknown-->|2010}} | children = 1 }}
'''Frauke Finsterwalder''' ({{IPA|de|ˈfʁaʊkə ˈfɪnstɐvaldɐ|lang}}; born 15 December 1975)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frauke Finsterwalder |url=https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/557543.html |archive-date=17 October 2021 |website=FilmStarts.de |language=German |access-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017023135/https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/557543.html |url-status=live }}</ref> is a German film director and screenwriter. Finsterwalder has directed several shorts and documentaries. Her feature film directorial debut, ''Finsterworld'', was released in 2013. For her second feature film, ''Sisi & I'', released in 2023, she was awarded the Bavarian Film Award for Best Director.
== Early life == Finsterwalder spent part of her early life in the United States before studying literature and history at Humboldt University in Berlin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goethe.de/ins/kr/ko/index.html|title=Goethe-Institut Korea|website=www.goethe.de|access-date=10 January 2021|archive-date=2 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302215916/https://www.goethe.de/ins/kr/ko/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Career== Before beginning her career as a director, Finsterwalder worked as an assistant director at Berlin’s Volksbühne theatre and the ''Maxim Gorki Theatre''. In addition to this, she worked as an editor for the German newspaper ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' before returning to study documentary film direction at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München in Munich. In 2005 Finsterwalder directed her first short film, ''0.003 km''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmportal.de/film/0003-km_b494f8706cbd40519650c6cb1763acbc|title=0.003 km | filmportal.de|website=www.filmportal.de|access-date=10 January 2021|archive-date=25 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925033328/https://www.filmportal.de/film/0003-km_b494f8706cbd40519650c6cb1763acbc|url-status=live}}</ref>
Finsterwalder cites films by directors Wes Anderson, Terrence Malick and Paul Verhoeven amongst influences for her debut feature film.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://de-bug.de/mag/finsterworld/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140516142924/http://de-bug.de/mag/finsterworld/|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 May 2014|title=De:Bug Magazin » Finsterworld|website=de-bug.de}}</ref> She frequently casts Sandra Hüller in her films and frequently works with editor Andreas Menn.
== Documentary films== ===''Weil der Mensch ein Mensch ist''=== After directing her first short, Finsterwalder worked with Stephan Hilpert to direct ''Weil der Mensch ein Mensch ist'' ('Because a man is human'). This film, whose title is derived from the lyrics of the ''United Front Song'' (Das Einheitsfrontlied) by Bertolt Brecht and Hanns Eisler, deals with the inculcation of democracy in young people. It received very positive press upon its release in 2007.
===''Die große Pyramide''=== In 2010, Finsterwalder directed her second documentary film, ''Die große Pyramide'' ('The Great Pyramid').<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1590011/|title=Die große Pyramide|date=21 January 2010|via=IMDb|access-date=30 June 2018|archive-date=10 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210032751/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1590011/|url-status=live}}</ref> This documentary follows the plans of a group of young men, including German writer Ingo Niermann, who set out to build the largest man-made structure in history: a gigantic Great Pyramid Monument that would be built in fields in eastern Germany and would serve as both a tourist attraction and as the final resting place of over a billion people.
== ''Finsterworld'' == Finsterwalder’s first feature-length film ''Finsterworld'', which was co-written by the Swiss writer Christian Kracht, was premiered at the Munich Film Festival in July 2013. The film follows the interwoven stories of twelve central characters played, amongst others, by Sandra Hüller, Jakub Gierszał, Ronald Zehrfeld, Margit Carstensen, Carla Juri, Michael Maertens and Corinna Harfouch.
=== Reception and acclaim === ''Finsterworld'' has been shown in many countries across the world to critical acclaim.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2338864/externalreviews|title=Finsterworld (2013) – IMDb|via=www.imdb.com|access-date=13 April 2014|archive-date=25 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925111307/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2338864/externalreviews|url-status=live}}</ref> It received the Zenith Award for best debut picture at the Montréal World Film Festival and also received the award for Best Feature Film at the Cologne Conference.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cologne-conference.de/en/reception/award-ceremony/tv-spielfilm-award/|title=Cologne Conference 2009: TV Spielfilm Award|date=10 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091210211210/http://www.cologne-conference.de/en/reception/award-ceremony/tv-spielfilm-award/|archive-date=10 December 2009}}</ref> At the 2013 Zurich Film Festival, Finsterwalder received a Golden Eye award for Best German Language Film as well as the Swiss Film Critics’ Award.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/festivals/zurich-winners-include-golden-cage-finsterworld/5062193.article|title=Zurich winners include Golden Cage, Finsterworld|first=Wendy|last=Mitchell|website=Screen Daily|access-date=10 January 2021|archive-date=18 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818233411/https://www.screendaily.com/festivals/zurich-winners-include-golden-cage-finsterworld/5062193.article|url-status=live}}</ref> The film also received the award for Best Picture at the 2014 Vancouver International Women In Film Festival.,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.womeninfilm.ca/Festival_Awards_2014.html|title=Women In Film + Television Vancouver – VIWIFF 2014 Awards|access-date=13 April 2014|archive-date=18 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818233453/https://www.womeninfilm.ca/Festival_Awards_2014.html|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as winning best female-directed narrative at the 2014 Edinburgh International Film Festival. The film received nominations in five categories for the 2014 Deutscher Filmpreis German Academy awards: Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Musical Score. Sandra Hüller received the Lola award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film.
== ''Sisi & I'' == Finsterwalder's next feature film, ''Sisi & I'', is a retelling of the later years of Empress Elisabeth of Austria from the point of view of her lady-in-waiting, Irma Sztáray. The cast includes Sandra Hüller, who starred in Finsterwalder's previous film, ''Finsterworld'', as well as Susanne Wolff, Tom Rhys Harries, Stefan Kurt, Georg Friedrich, Angela Winkler and Johanna Wokalek. The film premiered at the 73rd Berlin Film Festival on 19 February 2023,<ref name="berlinale">{{Cite web |title=Berlinale {{!}} Programme - Sisi & Ich {{!}} Sisi & I |url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/2023/programme/202314470.html |access-date=10 February 2023 |website=Berlinale.de |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210121220/https://www.berlinale.de/en/2023/programme/202314470.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and was released in Germany on 30 March 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sisi & I |url=https://dcmstories.com/en/collection/sisi-and-me/ |access-date=10 February 2023 |website=DCM Stories |archive-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818233414/https://dcmstories.com/en/collection/sisi-and-me/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In June 2023, Finsterwalder was awarded the Bavarian Film Award for Best Director for ''Sisi & I''.<ref name="BFA">{{Cite web |date=19 June 2023 |title=Wir gratulieren den Preisträger:innen des Bayerischen Filmpreises 2023! |trans-title=Congratulations to the winners of the Bavarian Film Awards 2023! |url=https://www.deutsche-filmakademie.de/meldungen/wir-gratulieren-den-preistraegerinnen-des-bayerischen-filmpreises-2023/ |website=Deutsche Filmakademie |language=de}}</ref>
== Personal life== Finsterwalder is married to the Swiss writer Christian Kracht,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blaney |first=Martin |date=5 November 2019 |title=Match Factory boards fresh take on Austrian Empress 'Sisi' |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/match-factory-boards-fresh-take-on-austrian-empress-sisi/5144404.article |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621074654/https://www.screendaily.com/news/match-factory-boards-fresh-take-on-austrian-empress-sisi/5144404.article |archive-date=21 June 2021 |website=Screen International}}</ref> with whom she has a daughter who was born in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Titze |first=Anne-Katrin |date=25 June 2014 |title=Fur and loathing in Finsterworld, part 2 |url=https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/feature/2014-06-25-frauke-finsterwalder-and-christian-kracht-in-conversation-on-finsterworld-feature-story-by-anne-katrin-titze |website=Eye For Film}}</ref> The family has been living in Zurich since 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mathéus |first=Pascal |date=1 July 2020 |title=Interview: Auf eine Zigarette mit Christian Kracht |trans-title=Interview: On a cigarette with Christian Kracht |url=https://aufklappen.com/2020/07/01/auf-eine-zigarette-mit-christian-kracht/ |website=Aufklappen.com |language=German}}</ref>
==Filmography== ===Feature films=== * 2013: ''Finsterworld'' * 2023: ''Sisi & I''
===Documentaries=== * 2007: ''Because a Man is Human'' * 2010: ''The Great Pyramid''
===Short film=== * 2005: ''0.003 km''
===Television=== * 2007: ''Fremde Kinder'' (TV series, 1 episode)
==Awards and nominations== {{expand section|date=July 2023}} {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! Year ! Award / Festival ! Category ! Nominated work ! Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |- | align="center" rowspan="3"|2023 ! scope="row" rowspan="2" |73rd Berlin Film Festival | Panorama Audience Award for Best Feature Film | rowspan="3"|''Sisi & I'' | {{nom}} | <ref name="berlinale"/> |- | Teddy Award - Best LGBT Feature Film | {{nom}} | <ref>{{Cite web |title=Teddy Award - Press Kit 2023 |url=https://www.teddyaward.tv/downloads/files/TEDDY2023/Presse/TEDDYAWARD-presskit2023.pdf |access-date=5 July 2023 |website=Teddy Award |page=21 |archive-date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212162909/https://www.teddyaward.tv/downloads/files/TEDDY2023/Presse/TEDDYAWARD-presskit2023.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> |- ! scope="row"| Bavarian Film Awards | Best Director | {{won}} | <ref name="BFA"/> |- |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|2746964}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes person|frauke_finsterwalder}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Finsterwalder, Frauke}} Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Film people from Hamburg Category:German women film directors Category:German women screenwriters Category:German documentary film directors