Biography
Clara Zoë My-Linh von Arnim was born in Munich in 1994 to German-Vietnamese parents. In 2015, she began studying directing at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB), one of Germany’s leading film schools. During her studies, she made several short films, including the narrative short "In den Binsen" ("Rushes," 2020), which was nominated for the German Short Film Award and earned her the Innovation Prize at the Federal Festival of Young Film.
Alongside her work as a director, von Arnim has also written for television. In 2021, she contributed as a writer to the eighth season of the web series "Druck" and the second season of "Echt", both popular coming-of-age formats aimed at young audiences.
After graduating, she joined the writing team of the ten-part coming-of-age series "Feelings" (2023). Together with director Süheyla Schwenk, she also co-directed the series, earning the duo a nomination for the 2023 First Steps Award, which honors outstanding emerging talent in German film. That same year, von Arnim co-directed the critically acclaimed and award-winning television series "Die Zweiflers" alongside Anja Marquardt. The series, which centers on a Jewish family in Frankfurt, received widespread praise. Von Arnim and Marquardt won the German Television Academy Award for Best Directing and were nominated for Best Fiction Directing at the 2024 German Television Awards. Together with the show's core creative team, they also received the prestigious Grimme Award.
Following her work on the miniseries "Marzahn Mon Amour" (2024) and the first season of "Mozart/Mozart" (2025), Clara Zoë My-Linh von Arnim began work on her first feature film in early summer 2026. The project is a tragicomic family story titled "Herkunft" ("Where You Come From"), based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Saša Stanišić, with a theatrical release planned for 2027.