Jessica Hausner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jessica Hausner
Jessica Hausner at the 66th Venice International Film Festival
Born	(1972-10-06) 6 October 1972 (age 52) Vienna, Austria
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter
Years active	1995–present

Jessica Hausner (born 6 October 1972) is a talented film director and writer from Austria. She also teaches at the Filmacademy Vienna.

Early Life and Family

Jessica Hausner grew up in a creative family. Her father, Rudolf Hausner, was a painter in Vienna. Her sister, Tanja Hausner, designs costumes for movies. Her half-sister, Xenia Hausner, is also a set designer and painter. Jessica studied filmmaking at the Filmacademy Vienna.

A Career in Film

In 1999, Jessica Hausner teamed up with other directors, Barbara Albert and Antonin Svoboda, and cinematographer Martin Gschlacht. Together, they started a film production company called coop99 in Vienna. This company helps make movies.

Early Films and Recognition

Jessica's first films were a short movie called Flora (made in 1995) and her graduation project, Inter-View (made in 1999). Both of these films were shown at different film festivals across Europe.

She became well-known around the world in 2001 with her film Lovely Rita. This movie tells the story of a young girl who feels trapped by her family's rules. It was shown at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, which is a very important film event. At that time, many Austrian movies were comedies. Lovely Rita was different; it was more artistic and made people think. It brought a fresh new style to Austrian cinema. In 2002, Jessica was asked to be a judge at the 24th Moscow International Film Festival.

Exploring Different Genres

In 2004, Jessica Hausner returned to the Cannes Film Festival with her movie Hotel. This film was a psychological thriller, meaning it played with people's minds and feelings. It was inspired by famous directors like David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, and Michael Haneke.

After taking a break and working in Berlin, she released Lourdes in 2009. Many film critics believe this is one of her best movies.

Her 2014 film, Amour Fou, was also chosen to be shown at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

English-Language Debut and Awards

Jessica's next big movie was Little Joe. This was her first film made in English, and it was sold in 20 different countries! The movie was chosen to compete at Cannes, and the lead actress, Emily Beecham, won the Best Actress award for her role in it.

Judging and Mentoring

Jessica Hausner has been a judge at the Cannes Film Festival several times. In 2011, she judged short films. In 2016, she was a judge for a special section called "Un Certain Regard." Then, in 2021, she joined the main jury, which is a very important role.

In 2017, she became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This means she can vote for the Oscars, which are the most famous film awards. In the same year, she was a special guest and mentor at the Sarajevo Film Festival, helping new filmmakers.

Recent Work and Recognition

As of 2023, Jessica Hausner is seen as one of the best directors from Austria. She continues to teach as a professor at the Film Academy Vienna. Her 2023 film, Club Zero, stars Mia Wasikowska. It was chosen to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, which is the top award at Cannes. The 29th Sarajevo Film Festival honored Jessica Hausner by showing many of her feature films.

In December 2023, the music from Club Zero, created by Markus Binder, won the award for best European Soundtrack at the European Film Awards.

In May 2024, Jessica Hausner was chosen to be the head of the jury for the main competition at the 77th Locarno Film Festival in August.

Filmography

Short Films

Feature Films

See also

In Spanish: Jessica Hausner para niños