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Katja von Garnier

Katja von Garnier

Katja von Garnier was born December 15, 1966, in Wiesbaden, Germany, and is a graduate of Munich's prestigious Academy for Film and Television (HFF).

In 1991, von Garnier was invited, along with 30 other film students from around the world, to present her short film Lautlos (Silent Voice) at the First International Festival of Cinema Students in Tokyo. The film was subsequently sold to IA Entertainment in Los Angeles for international distribution and to Columbia TriStar Germany for theatrical release as well as to the Playboy Channel, France's Canal Plus, and Germany's BR. In addition, it was presented at various festivals, including Filmfest Munich and International Film Festival Edinburgh, among others

Although the production costs for her 1993 student film for HFF, Abgeschminkt (Makin' Up), totaled a mere $50,000, the film became the surprise box-office hit of 1993, remaining in the top 10 box office in Germany for 20 weeks. The film went on to break records by playing in first-run theaters for one year. Abgeschminkt was sold to 27 countries, including the U.S., and garnered von Garnier several awards, including the Honorary Foreign Film Award from the Student Academy Awards, The Bavarian Film Award for Best Young Director, as well as the Ernst Lubitsch Award for Best Comedic Achievement in Germany.

Her next directorial foray was KIX?!, a documentary about the new generation in Germany which she then followed with the highly successful film Bandits, a film which appeared at numerous film festivals, including Toronto, San Francisco, Seattle, San Sebastian, American Cinematheque and Hong Kong, among others. The original soundtrack from the film went gold and became the most successful German soundtrack of all time. Daily Variety lauded von Garnier as one of the ten new leading independent directors in 1998.

Prior to Blood and Chocolate, von Garnier directed the acclaimed film for television, Iron-Jawed Angels, which starred two-time Academy Award' winner Hilary Swank, Frances O'Connor, Anjelica Huston and Vera Farmiga.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2007.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Katja von Garnier Facts

OccupationDirector
BirthdayDecember 15, 1966 (57)
SignSagittarius
BirthplaceWiesbaden, Germany

Selected Filmography

Not available.