Biography
Marie Kreutzer was born in Graz, Austria, in 1977. She graduated from the AHS Modellschule, an alternative school with an artistic focus. In 1997 she began studying at the Vienna Film Academy in the department of writing and dramaturgy with Walter Wippersberg. She already achieved success with her first short film "Cappy Leit" (2000): It was shown at the Diagonale in Graz and won First Prize in the Youth Film Competition at the Oberhausen Short Film Festival. Kreutzer graduated in 2005 with a thesis on "Dramaturgy of Short Fiction Film".
For the screenplay for the feature film "Das Fräulein" (CH/DE 2006) she was awarded the Swiss Film Prize together with Andrea Štaka and Barbara Albert. From 2003 to 2012, Kreutzer was part of the creative and directing team of the Austrian public broadcaster, ORF, programme "Sendung ohne Namen".
Marie Kreutzer made her directorial feature film debut with the family and milieu study "Die Vaterlosen" ("The Fatherless", AT 2011). The film premiered in the Panorama section at the Berlinale 2011. At the Diagonale in Graz, "Die Vaterlosen" won three prizes, including the Grand Prize of the Province of Styria. At the Bolzano Film Festival it won the Best Feature Film award, and at the Five Lakes Festival it won the Newcomer Award. At the Austrian Film Award, Kreutzer was nominated for Best Screenplay.
For her next film, the tragicomic character study "Gruber geht" ("Gruber Is Leaving", AT 2015) based on the novel by Doris Knecht, Kreutzer received nominations for the Austrian Film Award in the categories Best Director and Best Screenplay. Her third feature film, the bitingly satirical bobo milieu study "Was hat uns bloß so ruiniert" ("We Used to Be Cool", AT 2016), received mixed reviews. Better received was "Die Notlüge" AT 2017), her contribution to the television drama series "Stadtkomödie": the comedy about the tangles of a patchwork family was nominated for the Thomas Pluch Screenplay Award (Pia Hierzegger) and won the award for Best Television Film at the Biberach Film Festival.
The drama "Der Boden unter den Füßen" ("The Ground Beneath My Feet", AT 2019), about a professionally successful woman who takes care of her schizophrenic and suicidal sister alongside her career, was a great success. The film celebrated its world premiere in competition at the Berlinale; at the Filmkunstfest Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Kreutzer won the NDR Director's Prize, and lead actress Valerie Pachner won the Young Actor Award. Pachner went on to win several other awards for her performance. At the Austrian Film Awards, "Der Boden unter den Füßen" was nominated in seven categories (including Best Film and Best Director), of which Pia Hierzegger won the award for Best Supporting Female Role.
In March 2021, Marie Kreutzer began shooting her next film: "Corsage" tells the story of the legendary Empress Elisabeth 'Sisi' of Austria during the later years of her life. In the leading role, Kreutzer cast Vicky Krieps, who had already played a leading role in "Was hat uns bloß so ruiniert".
At the end of 2021, Kreutzer's crime drama "Vier" ("Four") aired as part of the TV series "Landkrimi", an ORF anthology series of standalone crime films set in Austria's various regions. The episode received highly positive reviews and won an award at the 2022 Baden-Baden Television Film Festival, among other honors.
In May 2022, "Corsage" had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, where Vicky Krieps received the award for Best Performance. At the 2023 Austrian Film Award, "Corsage" won in four categories, including Best Actress (Krieps).
Kreutzer then wrote and directed "Acht" ("Eight," 2025), a sequel to the crime drama "Vier". At the 2026 Diagonale festival in Graz, Austria's showcase for national film, she received a nomination for the Thomas Pluch Screenplay Award; at the 2026 German Television Crime Award, she won the top prize.
In May 2026, Kreutzer's next feature film, the psychological drama "Gentle Monster" (AT/DE/FR 2026), starring Léa Seydoux and Jella Haase, premiered in competition at Cannes. Its German theatrical release followed in September of the same year.