Ursula Meier
Encyclopedia
Ursula Meier is a French
-Swiss
film director who received the Best Director award at the 2008 Festival du Film Francophone d'Angoulême
[Angoulême French-language Film Festival] for her first theatrical feature, Home
, which won the 2009 Swiss Film Prize for Bester Spielfilm [Best Film] as well as Bestes Drehbuch [Best Screenplay] (shared with Antoine Jaccoud). It also received France's César
nomination for Meilleur Premier Film [Best First Film] and a Best Film nomination at Argentina
's Mar del Plata Film Festival
.
, the capital of the Franche-Comté
region in eastern France, near the Swiss border, Ursula Meier graduated from Belgium
's Institut des Arts de Diffusion [Institute of Visual Arts] and served as assistant director to the internationally-renowned Swiss auteur, Alain Tanner, on his films Fourbi [Gear] (1996) and Jonas et Lila, à demain [Jonas and Lila, 'Till Tomorrow] (1999). She won her first major film award for the 1998 short, Des heures sans sommeil [Sleepless], which received the Special Jury Prize at the Festival International du Court-Métrage de Clermont-Ferrand
[Clermont-Ferrand International Festival of Short Films] as well as the International Grand Prize at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival and a Best Short Fiction Film nomination at the Molodist International Film Festival in Kiev
. In 2002, her film Tous à table [Table Manners], which had already won the Audience Award and the Press Award at the 2001 Clermont-Ferrand Festival, as well as the Best French-Language Short Film award at the 2001 Créteil International Women's Film Festival
, received a Swiss Film Prize nomination for Bester Kurzfilm [Best Short Film].
In 2003, Ursula Meier served as a member of the jury at the Brest
European Short Film Festival and won the Cinema Prize—Feature Film award at Portugal
's Avanca Film Festival as well as Bester Spielfilm [Best Film] Swiss Film Prize nomination for her made-for-TV movie, Strong Shoulders. In April, with the selection of Strong Shoulders for New York City
's New Directors/New Films series at the Museum of Modern Art and Film Society of Lincoln Center, she made the journey to introduce the film and participate in question-and-answer sessions. Six years later, Home
was also selected for New Directors/New Films and, in April 2009, she once again made appearances at the Museum of Modern Art and The Walter Reade Theatre, introducing the New York premiere of the film.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
film director who received the Best Director award at the 2008 Festival du Film Francophone d'Angoulême
Angoulême
-Main sights:In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville, the...
[Angoulême French-language Film Festival] for her first theatrical feature, Home
Home (2008 film)
Home is a 2008 Swiss drama film directed by Ursula Meier and starring Isabelle Huppert. The film was the official Swiss submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards.-Plot:...
, which won the 2009 Swiss Film Prize for Bester Spielfilm [Best Film] as well as Bestes Drehbuch [Best Screenplay] (shared with Antoine Jaccoud). It also received France's César
César Award
The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
nomination for Meilleur Premier Film [Best First Film] and a Best Film nomination at Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
's Mar del Plata Film Festival
Mar del Plata Film Festival
The Mar del Plata International Film Festival is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina...
.
Career
A native of BesançonBesançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
, the capital of the Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
region in eastern France, near the Swiss border, Ursula Meier graduated from Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
's Institut des Arts de Diffusion [Institute of Visual Arts] and served as assistant director to the internationally-renowned Swiss auteur, Alain Tanner, on his films Fourbi [Gear] (1996) and Jonas et Lila, à demain [Jonas and Lila, 'Till Tomorrow] (1999). She won her first major film award for the 1998 short, Des heures sans sommeil [Sleepless], which received the Special Jury Prize at the Festival International du Court-Métrage de Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
[Clermont-Ferrand International Festival of Short Films] as well as the International Grand Prize at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival and a Best Short Fiction Film nomination at the Molodist International Film Festival in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. In 2002, her film Tous à table [Table Manners], which had already won the Audience Award and the Press Award at the 2001 Clermont-Ferrand Festival, as well as the Best French-Language Short Film award at the 2001 Créteil International Women's Film Festival
Créteil International Women's Film Festival
The Créteil International Women's Film Festival is an annual event in Créteil, Paris, France founded by Jackie Buet in 1978 to showcase the directing talents of female filmmakers who, at the time, had difficulty getting their films adequately distributed. The first festival was held in 1979 in Sceaux...
, received a Swiss Film Prize nomination for Bester Kurzfilm [Best Short Film].
In 2003, Ursula Meier served as a member of the jury at the Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
European Short Film Festival and won the Cinema Prize—Feature Film award at Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
's Avanca Film Festival as well as Bester Spielfilm [Best Film] Swiss Film Prize nomination for her made-for-TV movie, Strong Shoulders. In April, with the selection of Strong Shoulders for New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's New Directors/New Films series at the Museum of Modern Art and Film Society of Lincoln Center, she made the journey to introduce the film and participate in question-and-answer sessions. Six years later, Home
Home (2008 film)
Home is a 2008 Swiss drama film directed by Ursula Meier and starring Isabelle Huppert. The film was the official Swiss submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards.-Plot:...
was also selected for New Directors/New Films and, in April 2009, she once again made appearances at the Museum of Modern Art and The Walter Reade Theatre, introducing the New York premiere of the film.
Feature films
- 2000: Autour de PingetRobert PingetRobert Pinget was a major avant-garde French writer, born in Switzerland, who wrote several novels and other prose pieces that drew comparison to Beckett and other major Modernist writers...
[About Pinget] (documentary filmDocumentary filmDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
) - 2002: Strong Shoulders (made-for-TV movie), starring Louise Szpindel and Jean-François Stévenin
- 2008: HomeHome (2008 film)Home is a 2008 Swiss drama film directed by Ursula Meier and starring Isabelle Huppert. The film was the official Swiss submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards.-Plot:...
, starring Isabelle HuppertIsabelle HuppertIsabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert is a French actress who has appeared in over 90 film and television productions since 1971. She has had 14 films in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and won the Best Actress Award twice, for Violette Nozière and La pianiste . She is also the most...
and Olivier GourmetOlivier GourmetOlivier Gourmet is a Belgian actor. He won the Best Actor award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival for his role in Le Fils by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. He also appeared in La Promesse, Rosetta and L'Enfant....
Short films
- 1994: À corps perdu [To the Lost Body] (with writer and co-director Cédric Havenith)
- 1998: Des heures sans sommeil [Sleepless]
- 2001: Tous à table [Table Manners]