Stefan Ruzowitzky facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stefan Ruzowitzky
Stefan Ruzowitzky, 13 April 2008
Born	(1961-12-25) 25 December 1961 (age 63) Vienna, Austria
Occupation	Film director
Years active	1996 – present
Spouse(s)	Birgit Sturm

Stefan Ruzowitzky is a talented film director and screenwriter from Austria. He is known for making many different kinds of movies, including thrillers, horror films, and dramas. One of his most famous movies, The Counterfeiters, even won an Oscar!

Early Life and Learning

Stefan Ruzowitzky was born in Vienna, the capital city of Austria. He went to the University of Vienna to study drama and history. Before making movies, he started directing music videos for bands like ['N Sync]. He also directed many commercials (short ads for TV).

Making Movies

First Films and Awards

In 1996, Stefan Ruzowitzky made his first full-length movie, called Tempo. It was about a group of young people living in Vienna. This movie was a success and won him the Max Ophüls Preis, a special award for new directors.

His next movie, The Inheritors, came out in 1998. This film was set in a countryside area of Austria called Mühlviertel. It won "Best Picture" at two big film festivals: the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Flanders Film Festival. It also won a prize at the International Film Festival in Valladolid, Spain.

Horror and International Projects

In 2000, Ruzowitzky directed a popular German horror film called Anatomy. It starred the actress Franka Potente. He also directed its sequel, Anatomy 2, in 2003, which was also well-liked.

His first movie made with other countries, All the Queen's Men (2001), had famous actors like Matt LeBlanc and Eddie Izzard. However, this movie was not very popular with critics or viewers.

Winning an Oscar

In 2007, Stefan Ruzowitzky's movie The Counterfeiters was shown for the first time at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film was based on the true story of Adolf Burger. He was a Jewish man from Slovakia who survived the Holocaust. He was forced to help with a secret plan called Operation Bernhard, where prisoners had to fake money.

The Counterfeiters was chosen to represent Austrian movies. On February 24, 2008, it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 80th Academy Awards! This was a huge achievement for Ruzowitzky and Austrian cinema.

Exploring History and Thrillers

In 2013, he directed a 90-minute film called Das radikal Böse. This movie was a non-fiction drama. It used real letters and interviews with experts in psychology, military, and history. The film tried to explain why "ordinary" soldiers from the Einsatzgruppen and Wehrmacht took part in the Holocaust. It was based on a book called Ordinary Men. This book suggested that social pressure and fitting in, rather than just hatred, played a role in how the German killing machine worked.

Stefan Ruzowitzky has also directed other exciting films. These include a vampire horror film called The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which is based on Bram Stoker's famous Dracula story. He also directed a psychological thriller called Braincopy.

In 2014, it was announced that Ruzowitzky would direct an action-thriller movie called Patient Zero. This film stars actors Matt Smith and Natalie Dormer.

Filmography

Ruzowitzky with Karl Markovics at the Viennale, Vienna 2009

Awards and Recognition

Stefan Ruzowitzky has received several important awards for his films:

• 1998 - The Inheritors, won the Grand Prix at the 1998 Film Fest Gent.
• 2007 – The Counterfeiters, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
• 2007 - The Counterfeiters, also won the Grand Prix at the 2007 Film Fest Gent.

Directing Opera

In 2010, Stefan Ruzowitzky tried something new: he directed his first opera! An opera is a play where the story is told mostly through singing. He directed Der Freischütz for the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. His movie star, Karl Markovics, who was in The Counterfeiters, even had a non-singing role in the opera.

See also

In Spanish: Stefan Ruzowitzky para niños