Ulrike Ottinger

Ulrike Ottinger
Ulrike Ottinger in 2026
Born (1942-06-06) 6 June 1942
Konstanz, Nazi Germany
OccupationsFilm director
Screenwriter
Years active1973 – present

Ulrike Ottinger (born 6 June 1942) is a German filmmaker and photographer.[1]

Early life

Ottinger was borin in Konstanz, Germany.[1] Her mother, Maria Weinberg, was a journalist and her father, Ulrich Ottinger, was a painter.

In 1959, Ottinger began studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and worked as a painter.

From 1962 to 1968, Ottinger worked as a freelance artist in Paris and studied etchingwith Johnny Friedlaender, among other techniques. They participated in several exhibitions.

Career

Ottinger's films have been said to "reject or parody the conventions of art cinema and search for new ways to construct visual pleasure, creating various spectator positions usually neglected or marginalized by cinematic address."[2] Her films include strong elements of stylization and fantasy, as well as ethnographic explorations.[3]

In 1966 she wrote her first screenplay, entitled Die Mongolische Doppelschublade.

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 press, which edited works by contemporary artists.

During this time, she met Tabea Blumenschein and Magdalena Montezuma, both of whom have been lead actors in her films since 1972. Ottinger developed her own surrealist film style which was marked by an abandonment of a linear plot and long scenes lingering on mostly female casts in extravagant costumes.

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.[4] In 1989, her film Joan of Arc of Mongolia was entered into the 39th Berlin International Film Festival.[5]

In 2003, Ottinger was selected for a solo exhibition at the Renaissance Society in Chicago. 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.[6]

On the occasion of the 2009 New York City premiere of The Korean Wedding Chest, The New York Times characterized Ottinger 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."[7]

Ottinger's later work turned to some unconventional documentaries about life in various Asian regions.

Ottinger's horror-drama film The Blood Countess, based on Elizabeth Báthory, a 16th-century Hungarian serial killer, was in development since 2010[8] before entering production in 2025.[9] Directed by Ottinger and co-written with Elfriede Jelinek, the film stars Isabelle Huppert in the title role.

Other activies

Ottinger has also worked as a photographer, lithographer, and painter.[3] Ottinger was previously a faculty member of the European Graduate School. Since 2019 she been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[10]

Personal life

Ottinger has lived in Berlin since 1973. She is a lesbian and has been open about her sexuality for her whole career.[3]

Filmography

  • 1972: Laocoön & Sons (Laokoon & Söhne)
  • 1973: Berlin-Fieber
  • 1975: The Enchantment of the Blue Sailors (Die Betörung der blauen Matrosen)
  • 1976: VOAEX
  • 1978: Madame X: An Absolute Ruler (Madame X: Eine absolute Herrscherin)
  • 1979: Ticket of No Return (Bildnis einer Trinkerin)
  • 1981: Freak Orlando
  • 1984: Dorian Gray in the Mirror of the Yellow Press (Dorian Gray im Spiegel der Boulevardpresse)
  • 1986: China. The Arts – the People (China. Die Künste – der Alltag)
  • 1986: Seven Women – Seven Sins (Sieben Frauen – Sieben Todsünden)
  • 1989: Joan of Arc of Mongolia
  • 1990: Countdown
  • 1992: Taiga
  • 1997: Exile Shanghai (Exil Shanghai)
  • 2002: Southeast Passage (Südostpassage)
  • 2004: Twelve Chairs (Zwölf Stühle )
  • 2007: Prater
  • 2009: Still Moving
  • 2009: The Korean Wedding Chest
  • 2011: Under Snow
  • 2016: Chamisso's Shadow: A Journey to the Bering Sea in Three Chapters
  • 2020: Paris Calligrammes
  • 2026: The Blood Countess (Die Blutgräfin)

Further reading

  • Ottinger, Ulrike (2011). Floating Food. Köln: Walther König. ISBN 978-3-86335-066-6.
  • Blickle, Ursula; Matt, Gerald; David, Catherine, eds. (2005). Ulrike Ottinger: image archives 1970-2005. Nürnberg: Verlag für moderne Kunst. ISBN 978-3-938821-15-2.
  • Rickels, Laurence A. (2008). Ulrike Ottinger: the autobiography of art cinema. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-5330-0.
  • Nusser, Tanja (2002). Von und zu anderen Ufern: Ulrike Ottingers filmische Reiseerzählungen. Literatur, Kultur, Geschlecht. Köln: Böhlau. ISBN 978-3-412-17501-6.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Ulrike Ottinger - Biography". European Graduate School. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29.
  2. ^ Weiss, Andrea (1992). Vampires & violets: lesbians in the cinema. London: J. Cape. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-224-03575-0.
  3. ^ a b c Unterburger, Amy L., ed. (1999). The St. James women filmmakers encyclopedia: women on the other side of the camera. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 319–320. ISBN 978-1-57859-092-6.
  4. ^ "Ulrike Ottinger". Women Make Movies. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28.
  5. ^ "Johanna d'Arc of Mongolia | Johanna d'Arc Of Mongolia". Berlinale. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  6. ^ "Ulrike Ottinger: South East Passage: A Journey to New Blank Spots on the European Map". The Renaissance Society. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  7. ^ Kehr, Dave (2009-10-08). "Undiscovered Countries: The Films of Ulrike Ottinger". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  8. ^ Miska, Brad (2010-06-28). "Tilda Swinton the Latest Elizabeth Bathory in 'The Blood Countess'". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on 2025-08-12.
  9. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (2025-02-04). "Isabelle Huppert Vampire Movie 'The Blood Countess' Boarded by Magnify Ahead of EFM Launch (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
  10. ^ "ACADEMY INVITES 842 TO MEMBERSHIP". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
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