Born in Horn, Austria, in 1985, Severin Fiala studied directing and screenwriting at the Film Academy Vienna. Veronika Franz was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1965. Originally a film journalist for the Viennese daily newspaper Kurier, since 1997 she has accompanied director Ulrich Seidl as an artistic collaborator. The internationally award-winning documentary Kern, which premiered at Festival del film Locarno, marked both Franz’s debut as a director and the first film she made with Severin Fiala. It was followed by the pair’s first joint fiction feature, Goodnight Mommy (2014), which had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival. Franz and Fiala’s latest film, The Lodge, a horror film starring Riley Keough and Jaeden Martell, premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and is in theaters through Neon from February 7.
