Ulrike Ottinger
Encyclopedia
Ulrike Ottinger is a German filmmaker, documentarian photographer and professor at European Graduate School
in Saas-Fee
, Switzerland.
From 1962 to 1968, she worked as a freelance artist in Paris and studied etching with Johnny Friedlaender
among other studies. They participated in several exhibitions.
Ottinger returned to West Germany
in 1969 and, in cooperation with the Film Seminar at the University of Konstanz, founded the film club "Visuell", which she directed until 1972. She also headed a gallery and the associated "galeriepress”, where they edited works by contemporary artists.
During this time she met Tabea Blumenschein and Magdalena Montezuma, both of whom have been cast as lead actresses in her films since 1972. Ottinger developed her own bizarre surrealist film-style, which among other things, was marked by widespread abandonment of a linear plot and instead linger long in individual scenes, which in turn make überstarke and extravagant costumes of the imagination mostly female cast artfully to own collages were designed.
She directed and did stage design for Elfriede Jelinek
's Clara S. at the Württembergisches Staatstheater in Stuttgart
in 1983, and did the same for Jelinek's Begierde und Fahrerlaubnis in Graz in 1986. In 1989, her film Joan of Arc of Mongolia
was entered into the 39th Berlin International Film Festival
.
In 2003, Ottinger was selected for a solo exhibition at the Renaissance Society. Titled South East Passage, the work "is in three chapters - a travelogue of the artist's journey from southeast Poland to the Bulgarian shores of the Black Sea and a portrait of two coastal cities, Odessa and Istanbul". South East Passage was the first of a two-part series of exhibits exploring Eastern European video work.
On the occasion of the 2009 New York premiere of The Korean Wedding Chest
, with Ottinger to be in attendance, The New York Times characterized the director as, "[d]uring the 1980s heyday of the New German Cinema
, having constituted a one-woman avant-garde opposition to the sulky male melodramas of Wenders
, Fassbinder
and Herzog
, her films being long, discursive and wildly inventive."
Ottinger’s films, with their preference for the Far Eastern formal language is visible, turned in the following decades, some unconventional documentaries about life in various Asian regions. Ottinger directed the upcoming Horror-Drama film Die Blutgräfin
, which based on the life of Elisabeth Bathory.
European Graduate School
The European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland is a privately funded graduate school founded by the non-profit European Foundation of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its German name is Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien...
in Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
, Switzerland.
Biography
From 1959 she was a visiting student at the Academy of Arts in Munich and worked as a painter. She is the daughter of the artist-painter Ulrich Ottinger.From 1962 to 1968, she worked as a freelance artist in Paris and studied etching with Johnny Friedlaender
Johnny Friedlaender
Johnny Friedlaender was a leading 20th century artist, whose works have been exhibited in Germany, France, Netherlands, Italy, Japan and the United States. He has been influential upon other notable artists, who were students in his Paris gallery...
among other studies. They participated in several exhibitions.
Film career
In 1966 she wrote her first screenplay, entitled Die Mongolische Doppelschublade.Ottinger returned to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
in 1969 and, in cooperation with the Film Seminar at the University of Konstanz, founded the film club "Visuell", which she directed until 1972. She also headed a gallery and the associated "galeriepress”, where they edited works by contemporary artists.
During this time she met Tabea Blumenschein and Magdalena Montezuma, both of whom have been cast as lead actresses in her films since 1972. Ottinger developed her own bizarre surrealist film-style, which among other things, was marked by widespread abandonment of a linear plot and instead linger long in individual scenes, which in turn make überstarke and extravagant costumes of the imagination mostly female cast artfully to own collages were designed.
She directed and did stage design for Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004 for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that, with extraordinary linguistic zeal, reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power."-...
's Clara S. at the Württembergisches Staatstheater in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
in 1983, and did the same for Jelinek's Begierde und Fahrerlaubnis in Graz in 1986. In 1989, her film Joan of Arc of Mongolia
Joan of Arc of Mongolia
Joan of Arc of Mongolia is a 1989 German drama film directed by Ulrike Ottinger. It was entered into the 39th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Badema* Lydia Billiet* Christoph Eichhorn as Officer's attache* Sevimbike Elibay as 3...
was entered into the 39th Berlin International Film Festival
39th Berlin International Film Festival
The 39th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 10 to 21, 1989.-Jury:* Rolf Liebermann * Leslie Caron* Chen Kaige* Vadim Glowna* Randa Haines* Vladimir Ignatovski* Adrian Kutter* Francisco Rabal...
.
In 2003, Ottinger was selected for a solo exhibition at the Renaissance Society. Titled South East Passage, the work "is in three chapters - a travelogue of the artist's journey from southeast Poland to the Bulgarian shores of the Black Sea and a portrait of two coastal cities, Odessa and Istanbul". South East Passage was the first of a two-part series of exhibits exploring Eastern European video work.
On the occasion of the 2009 New York premiere of The Korean Wedding Chest
The Korean Wedding Chest
The Korean Wedding Chest is a 2009 documentary film about Korean wedding traditions directed by Ulrike Ottinger. The German language film was described as "capturing the collision of ancient tradition and modern culture on the subject of love and marriage in Korea in a film that echoes the beauty,...
, with Ottinger to be in attendance, The New York Times characterized the director as, "[d]uring the 1980s heyday of the New German Cinema
New German Cinema
New German cinema is a period in German cinema which lasted from the late 1960s into the 1980s. It saw the emergence of a new generation of directors...
, having constituted a one-woman avant-garde opposition to the sulky male melodramas of Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
, Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is considered one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...
and Herzog
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
, her films being long, discursive and wildly inventive."
Ottinger’s films, with their preference for the Far Eastern formal language is visible, turned in the following decades, some unconventional documentaries about life in various Asian regions. Ottinger directed the upcoming Horror-Drama film Die Blutgräfin
Die Blutgräfin (film)
Die Blutgräfin is a German-Austrian film about Elizabeth Báthory. The screenplay is by the director of the film Ulrike Ottinger with additional writing by Elfriede Jelinek.-Plot:...
, which based on the life of Elisabeth Bathory.
Filmography
- 2011 – Under Snow
- 2009 – The Korean Wedding Chest
- 2007 – Prater
- 2004 – Zwölf Stühle (Twelve ChairsThe Twelve Chairs (film)The Twelve Chairs is a 1928 satirical novel by Soviet authors Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov. Its screen adaptations include:* Dvanáct křesel, 1933, directed by Martin Fric and Michal Waszynski...
) - 2002 – Südostpassage (Southeast Passage)
- 1997 – Exil Shanghai (Exile Shanghai)
- 1992 – TaigaTaiga (film)Taiga is an eight-hour documentary directed and photographed by Ulrike Ottinger.It focuses on the life and rituals of nomadic peoples in Northern Mongolia, specifically the Darkhad nomads and the Sojon Urinjanghai.-External links:*...
- 1990 – Countdown
- 1989 – Johanna D'Arc of MongoliaJoan of Arc of MongoliaJoan of Arc of Mongolia is a 1989 German drama film directed by Ulrike Ottinger. It was entered into the 39th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Badema* Lydia Billiet* Christoph Eichhorn as Officer's attache* Sevimbike Elibay as 3...
(Joan of Arc of Mongolia) - 1986 – Sieben Frauen – Sieben Todsünden (Seven Women, Seven Sins)
- 1986 – China. Die Künste – der Alltag (China. The Arts – the People)
- 1984 – Dorian Gray im Spiegel der Boulevardpresse (Dorian Gray in the Mirror of the Yellow Press)
- 1981 – Freak OrlandoFreak OrlandoFreak Orlando is a 1981 comedy film directed by Ulrike Ottinger and starring Magdalena Montezuma.-Cast:* Magdalena Montezuma - Orlando, als Pilger, Orlando Zyldopa, Orlando Orlanda, Orlando Capricho...* Delphine Seyrig .....
- 1979 – Bildnis Einer Trinkerin-Aller Jamais Retour (Ticket of No Return)
- 1978 – Madame X – Eine absolute Herrscherin (Madame X: An Absolute Ruler)
- 1975 – Die Betörung der blauen Matrosen (The Enchantment of the Blue Sailors)
- 1975 – Laokoon & Söhne (Laokoon & Sons)
- 1973 – Berlinfieber – Wolf Vostell (Berlinfever – Wolf Vostell)
External links
- Official site
- Ulrike Ottinger. Faculty profile at European Graduate SchoolEuropean Graduate SchoolThe European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland is a privately funded graduate school founded by the non-profit European Foundation of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its German name is Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien...
(Biography, filmography, and videos)