Ulrich Seidl

Ulrich Maria Seidl (born 24 November 1952 in Vienna) is an Austrian film director, writer and producer. Among other awards, his film Dog Days won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice in 2001.

His 2012 film Paradise: Love competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. The sequel Paradise: Faith won the Special Jury Prize at the 69th Venice International Film Festival. The final part of the trilogy, Paradise: Hope, premiered in competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival. Seidl grew up in a Roman Catholic family. Although at one point he wanted to become a priest, he studied journalism and drama at Vienna University instead. Afterwards, he studied film-making at the Vienna Film Academy where he produced his first short, One-Forty. Two years later he produced his first full-length film, The Ball. His 2001 film Dog Days was shot over three years during the hottest days of summer.He is married to Veronika Franz, an Austrian filmmaker well known for her psychological horror features Goodnight Mommy (2014) and The Lodge (2019), which she both co-directed and co-wrote with their nephew Severin Fiala.

In 2005 Seidl was a member of the jury at the 27th Moscow International Film Festival. He was scheduled to attend the 2014 Jerusalem Film Festival, but cancelled his visit due to the political tension in the region.