Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst (UMDK)

The cameraman and photographer Thomas Benesch completed his education at the College of Photography at the “Graphische” (GLV) and has since been running his own studio, primarily focusing on advertising photography.

He then pursued studies in Image Technology and Camera at the University of Music and Performing Arts – Film Academy Vienna. Since then, he has worked as a cinematographer on a variety of films in Austria, Germany, the USA, Spain, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Norway, Finland, Hungary, Croatia, France, Slovenia, Argentina, Morocco, Belgium, Serbia, the Bahamas, and more. Among others, he worked on “Cuban Smoking” (90 minutes, Austria/Germany, directed by Stephan Wagner), “Liebestod” (90 minutes, Germany, directed by Stephan Wagner), “Schwer verknallt” (90 minutes, Germany, directed by Josh Bröcker), “The Scorpion’s Sting” (90 minutes, Germany/Morocco, directed by Stephan Wagner), “True Viennese” (the “Mundl” feature film, 100 minutes, Austria, directed by K. Ockermüller), “The First Day” (90 minutes, Austria, directed by Andreas Prohaska), “Click Made / Polizeiruf 110” (90 minutes, Germany, directed by Stephan Wagner), “Pawn Sacrifice” (90 minutes, Austria, directed by Wolfgang Murnberger), “Against the Head” – Tatort Berlin (90 minutes, Germany, directed by Stephan Wagner).

Thomas Benesch has received awards such as the German Camera Prize 2014 for “Murder in Eberswalde” and was honored with the GOLD WORLD MEDAL for “The Hagedorn Case” at the New York Film Festival 2014.

Since 2012, he has been a professor of Image Technology and Camera at the Film Academy Vienna.

Wolfgang Thaler was born in 1958 and spent his childhood and youth in a rural village community in Carinthia. He initially studied agricultural sciences and simultaneously worked as a beekeeper. In the early 1980s, he applied to the University of Music and Performing Arts – Film Academy Vienna and completed his studies in cinematography there.

Since 1990, he has worked as a cinematographer on more than 50 television and feature films. Since 1999, he has also worked as a screenwriter and director.

Thaler has won numerous awards. In 1999, he received the Austrian television award Romy for Best Cinematographer. In 2006, he was awarded the Diagonale Prize for Best Cinematography for “Workingman’s Death,” and in 2012, he was honored with the Austrian Film Award for his cinematography in “Whore’s Glory.” The Jordanian feature film “THEEB,” for which Thaler was responsible for the camera work, was nominated for the Oscars in the Foreign Language Film category in 2016.

Since 2008, Wolfgang Thaler has been a professor of Image Technology and Camera at the Film Academy Vienna.

Christine A. Maier was born in 1969 in Graz and studied Image Technology and Camera at the Film Academy Vienna.

Her first feature film was “Nordrand” by Barbara Albert (in competition at the Venice Film Festival) in 1999. Besides Barbara Albert, she has closely collaborated with Amie Siegel, Sabine Derflinger, Ruth Mader, and Jasmila Žbanić. Žbanić’s film “Grbavica” won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2006, and her recent work “Quo Vadis, Aida?” received the European Film Award for Best Film in 2021 and was nominated for the Oscar and BAFTA for Best Foreign Language Film.

Awards: Austrian Film Award for Best Cinematography in 2021 and 2018, German Camera Prize in 2021, Nomination for the Austrian Film Award in 2019, 2020 Art Prize of the Academy of Arts, Berlin in the field of Film and Media.

In 2021, she was admitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Claudia Walkensteiner-Preschl is a Professor and holds a PhD in Media and Film Studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts – Film Academy Vienna. She studied Theater Studies, Psychology, Linguistics, and Musicology from 1979 to 1987 at the University of Vienna. In 1987, she earned her doctorate with a dissertation on “Richard Wagner: Promises of Bliss and Failure. The Idea of the Total Work of Art with a Glance at Peter Brook and Robert Wilson.” In 2010, she obtained her habilitation at the University of Frankfurt with a habilitation thesis on “Laughing Bodies: Comediennes in 1910s Cinema,” which was published as a book in 2008.

From 1991 to 1992, Claudia Walkensteiner-Preschl was an assistant professor at the University of Art and Industrial Design in Linz (Master Class for Visual Design). From 1993 to 1998, she was an assistant professor, and from 1999 to 2001, she was a university assistant at the Institute for Cultural Management at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In 2001, she was appointed assistant professor at the Institute for Cultural Management and Cultural Studies at mdw (IKM). From 2006 to 2008, Claudia Walkensteiner-Preschl was the deputy head of the IKM, and from 2007 to 2011, she served as Vice Rector for Teaching and Women’s Advancement at mdw. Since 2010, she has been a co-editor of the book series “Wissen und Geschlecht in Musik.Theater.Film” (Knowledge and Gender in Music, Theater, Film) published by Böhlau Verlag. In 2012, Claudia Walkensteiner-Preschl was appointed as the first University Professor for Media and Film Studies at the Institute for Film and Television of mdw, Film Academy Vienna. From 2013 to 2019, she was the head of the Film Academy Vienna.

Her research focuses on feminist film historiography, media and film theory, and gender studies. She has authored numerous publications and conceptualized various artistic-scientific projects at the intersection of film theory and artistic practice. Claudia Walkensteiner-Preschl has held teaching assignments at various universities, including the University of Vienna, the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, and the Academy of Fine Arts.

Franz Brandstätter completed his studies in the field of MultiMediaTechnology at FH Salzburg in 2005. He began his career in Germany in computer visualization, primarily for the automotive industry, working on projects for BMW, Audi, Lamborghini, and Maserati. The results of his work are now on display at the BMW Museum.

In 2011, his path led him to London, where he worked on projects including “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” (2011) by David Yates and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” (2011) by Rob Marshall. He then served as the Lead Compositing Artist for the film “Hugo” (2011) by Martin Scorsese. His team was awarded the Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 2012 for their work on the film.

In 2012, he returned to Germany and worked as a freelance VFX Supervisor, Compositing Supervisor, and Compositing Artist on numerous films, including “The Avengers” (2012) by Joss Whedon, “Cloud Atlas” (2012) by Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, and Lilly Wachowski, as well as the TV drama “Generation War” (2013) by Philipp Kadelbach.

In 2012, he co-founded the full-service agency Flavor3d with Laura Langhammer (B.A.), focusing on the execution of high-quality CGI projects from concept to finishing.

Starting in mid-2014, Franz Brandstätter returned to his artist desk and was engaged as a Compositing Supervisor for “Who Am I” (2014) by Baran bo Odar. Many more films followed, with roles as an artist or supervisor, including “Point Break” (2015) by Ericson Core, “The Shallows” (2016) by Jaume Collet-Serra, and “Transformers: The Last Knight” (2017) by Michael Bay.

In addition to Hollywood films, he has been involved in numerous domestic films, such as serving as VFX Supervisor for the successful film “Welcome to Germany” (2016) by Simon Verhoeven, “The Pubertier” (2017) by Leander Haußmann, and the Stuttgart episode of “Tatort” titled “Traffic Jam” (2017).

Since 2008, he has been teaching subjects in Color Correction and Film Compositing in the MultiMedia Art program at FH Salzburg, both in the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs. From 2016 to 2019, he taught the subject of Digital Set-Extension in the Digital Art – Compositing program at the Film Academy Vienna. Since October 2019, he has been a Professor for Digital Art – Compositing at the Film Academy Vienna – Institute for Film and Television at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Michael Hudecek was born in 1961 in Vienna and works as a filmmaker, musician, and music and film producer. Since 2010, he has held the position of Professor of Editing at the Film Academy Vienna.

In the early 1980s, Michael Hudecek worked at a film production company as a sound and image technician. He soon focused on film editing. From 1985 to 1991, he co-founded the post-production facility Listo Video. As a Senior Editor, he was involved in the editing and post-production of numerous TV films and commercials. He collaborated with Dolezal & Rossacher on music videos for national and international pop stars such as Falco, Queen, Nina Hagen, Gianna Nannini, Tina Turner, and more. Starting in 1992, he increasingly edited documentary and feature films at his own editing studio, OFFLINE – Film Editing, which introduced groundbreaking digital editing systems in Austria.

In 1994, Hudecek received the Golden Kader award for the music film “Das Auge des Taifun” (Directed by Paulus Manker). In 2005, he was honored with the European Film Award for the feature film “Caché” (Directed by Michael Haneke).

In 2001, he co-founded the film and music production company GAMSfilm & music with Christina Zurbrügg. In 2007, their joint film “Bleiben oder Gehen” received the Golden Dragon Award. The film “Halbzeit” was nominated for the “Rose d’Or” award in 2009. Since 2004, he has been a saxophonist and guitarist for Zurbrügg & Band. Recently, he collaborated with Christina Zurbrügg on the CD production “Doodle It” and directed the documentary film “Stimmen Stimmen Gegenstimmen,” which premiered at the Diagonale Film Festival in 2014.

Wolfgang Murnberger was born in 1960 in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. From 1983 to 1990, he studied directing, screenwriting, and editing at the University of Music and Performing Arts – Film Academy Vienna. Since 1991, Murnberger has worked as a freelance writer and director. His graduation film from the Film Academy, “Heaven or Hell,” received recognition at the Austrian Film Days and was showcased at international festivals. For “I Pledge” (1994), Murnberger received the Vienna Film Award, marking his first major national success. The film was selected as Austria’s submission for the Foreign Language Oscar but was not ultimately nominated. Murnberger gained significant attention for his films centered around the relatively unsuccessful detective Simon Brenner (played by Josef Hader). All four films are based on novels by the Austrian bestselling author Wolf Haas. The most recent film in the series, “Life Eternal,” was released in 2015. “The Bone Man” set visitor records in Austrian cinemas and received positive reviews from international critics.

Murnberger has also created successful television films, including the “Brother Trilogy,” “Taxi for a Corpse,” “The Black Lion,” “Life is Live,” “Steirerblut,” “Who’s Afraid of the White Man?,” and “Luis Trenker – The Narrow Ridge of Truth.”

In collaboration with other Austrian filmmakers, Murnberger co-founded the Austrian Film Academy in 2009. He resides and works in Pitten, Austria. Since 2013, he has been a Professor of Directing at the University of Music and Performing Arts – Film Academy Vienna.

Catalina Molina completed her directorial studies under Michael Haneke at the Film Academy Vienna, where she also served as assistant director for his opera production of “Così fan tutte” (2013, Teatro Real Madrid).

She gained international attention with her short films “Talleres Clandestinos” (2010), which was among the nominees for the European Film Award, and “Unser Lied” (2012), which received the Austrian Film Award for Best Short Film in 2013. Her debut feature film is the television movie “Drachenjungfrau” (Epo-Film), which aired as part of the ORF’s Landkrimi series in 2016. In 2018, she directed the Vienna-based episode “Glück allein” of the TV series “Tatort.” She was honored for her second Landkrimi, “Das dunkle Paradies,” with the Best Directing TV-Fiction award at the Romy Awards in 2020. The following year, she received another nomination for Best Directing TV/Stream for the comedy “Das Glück ist ein Vogerl” at the 2021 Romy Industry Awards. Her fifth feature film, the Landkrimi “Flammenmädchen,” had its premiere at the Diagonale Film Festival in June 2021. The film was nominated for the German Television Crime Prize and won the Television Prize for Adult Education.

Molina was nominated for the third consecutive year in 2022 for Best Directing in the TV/Stream category at the Romy Industry Awards.

Danny Krausz was born in Vienna in 1958 and co-founded Dor Film in Vienna with Milan Dor in 1988. In 1998, Dor Film West in Munich and in 2007, Dor Köln were established. Krausz has independently and co-produced more than 120 films in the areas of feature films, TV films and series, as well as documentaries. Four of his feature films are among the top 5 Austrian films between 2009 and 2019 (Source: Austrian Film Institute).

Among the recent cinema successes are co-productions such as “3 Days in Quiberon” by Emily Atef, “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe” by Maria Schrader, and “The Bloom of Yesterday” by Chris Kraus. Audience hits in Austria and Germany include adaptations of Wolf Haas’ “Brenner” novels, all directed by Wolfgang Murnberger; the “Witch Lilli” series directed by Oscar winner Stefan Ruzowitzky, Harald Sicheritz, and Wolfgang Groos; Harald Sicheritz also directed “Hinterholz 8,” the most successful Austrian film of the last 25 years, and is a highlight in Krausz’s production career.

Further co-productions that achieved international success include “The Harmonists” by Joseph Vilsmaier, “Želary” by Ondrej Trojan (Oscar nomination in 2004), and “Desert Flower” by Sherry Horman, an adaptation of Waris Dirie’s bestseller.

Among the awards for his producing work are the Producer’s Award from the Saarbrücken Film Festival (1996), the Romy for Best Cinema Producer in 1999, several TV Romys, the Innovative Cinema Awards from Diagonale in Graz in 2002, 2009, and 2010. He received the German Federal Film Award in Gold for “The Harmonists,” 8 Lola nominations for “The Bloom of Yesterday,” and twice the Austrian Film Academy Award for “Your Beauty Is Worth Nothing” by Hüseyin Tabak and “The Unintentional Kidnapping of Mrs. Elfriede Ott” by Andreas Prohaska.

Krausz is the President of the Austrian Producers’ Association VAM and serves as the President of the international producers’ training program EAVE. He is also a member of the European, German, and Austrian Film Academies. As the Federal Chairman of the Film and Music Association, he will end his 15-year term in 2020. Since mid-2019, he has been the Head of the Film Academy Vienna – Institute for Film and Television at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw).

Danny Krausz lives with his family in Vienna.

Götz Spielmann was born in 1961 in Wels and grew up in Vienna. Even during his time at the gymnasium, he wrote plays, short stories, and poems. In 1979, he began his studies in philosophy and psychology at the University of Vienna. He studied screenwriting under Harald Zusanek and directing under Axel Corti at the University of Music and Performing Arts/Film Academy Vienna. After completing his studies, Spielmann worked as an assistant to Axel Corti and as an actor at the Theater an der Josefstadt. Following a several-month stay in New York, he created four films for cinema and television between 1990 and 1994. From 1994 to 1998, he mainly worked as a screenwriter and began teaching, including guest professorships and seminars in Munich, Potsdam-Babelsberg, Ludwigsburg, Hamburg, Graz, and Milan.

In 2000, he returned to filmmaking with the drama “Die Fremde” (The Stranger) and the television film “Spiel im Morgengrauen” (Game at Dawn). With his feature film “Antares,” he established himself internationally as one of the most important Austrian auteurs in 2004. In 2006, he made his debut as a playwright with the play “Imperium” (Empire) (directed by Gerhard Willert, Landestheater Linz) and received the Upper Austrian State Cultural Award in the film category. Spielmann won numerous international awards with his feature film “Revanche,” including at the Berlinale, Palm Springs, Motovun, and Monterrey, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009. In the same year, he also received the Honorary Award for Film Art. In 2013, his feature film “Oktober November” premiered at the VIENNALE film festival.

Since 2011, Götz Spielmann has been leading the Screenwriting Class at the Film Academy Vienna.