Foreign Land

Born in Wels in 1961, grew up in Vienna. Starts writing and directing while still in school. His first film is aired on television in 1978. In 1980 he starts studying screenwriting and directing at the Vienna Film Academy. Two films completed during his studies receive international prizes and are screened at the Stadtkino, an arthouse cinema in Vienna. Spielmann graduates in 1987. Soon afterwards, he writes and directs four cinema and made-for-TV films in succession.

In 1999, after several years of silence, his next feature film The Stranger (Die Fremde) is Austria’s nomination for the Foreign Language Oscar. This is followed by Spiel im Morgengrauen, a made-for-TV movie, and in 2004 the feature Antares.

Antares is shown internationally at more than 30 festivals, and at arthouse theaters in many countries including France, the USA, and Germany. Antares is nominated by Austria to compete for the Foreign Language Oscar. Its explicit sex scenes spark heated debate among Academy members.

Since 2005 Götz Spielmann has also written and directed for the stage.

In 2006 he is awarded the Upper Austrian State Prize for Culture in the category of film. The same year he founds the production company Spielmannfilm.