Peter Brunner

Peter Brunner (born 1983 in Vienna) is an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and musician. His films have followed characters living at the margins of societ

Peter Brunner
Peter Brunner
Brunner at the Sitges Film Festival in 2021
Born1983 (age 42–43)
Vienna, Austria
EducationFilmakademie Wien
OccupationsFilm director, screenwriter, film editor, musician

Peter Brunner (born 1983 in Vienna) is an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and musician. His films have followed characters living at the margins of society, addressing subjects including mental health, ideology or trauma.[1][2]

His feature films include My Blind Heart (2014), Those Who Fall Have Wings (2015), To the Night (2018), and Luzifer (2021), and Down the Arm of God (2026).[3]

Early career

Peter Brunner was born in Vienna in 1983. He studied film directing at the Filmakademie Wien under Michael Haneke.[2]

Following the production of his debut feature My Blind Heart, Brunner co-founded the independent production collective Cataract Vision to realise low-budget, filmmaker-driven projects outside conventional production structures.[4] The collective produced My Blind Heart (2014) and Those Who Fall Have Wings (2015).[5][4]

Style and filmmaking method

Brunner frequently casts non-professional actors in leading roles and develops his films through extended collaboration with performers, adapting screenplays to their personalities and lived experiences.[6] His screenplays are often based on extensive research, personal accounts and interviews, combining documentary methods with fictional storytelling.[7][8]

His films seek to convey the emotional and psychological states of their characters through visual and sonic expression rather than conventional narrative exposition, frequently exploring the boundaries between realism and abstraction.[9][10][11]

In an interview discussing his approach to filmmaking, Brunner said:

"In my films, social realism is undercut by poetic devices; real people collide with fictional characters. My aim is to translate inner states into pure cinema."

[12]

His first solo feature film My Blind Heart (2014) was filmed in black-and-white over a four-year production schedule.[13][unreliable source] The main character was played by Christos Haas, a blind non-professional actor who has Marfan syndrome in real life.[14] Dennis Harvey of Variety described the film as an "uncompromising" debut with a "distinctive visual style", while noting its challenging narrative and emotional intensity.[15] Clarence Tsui praised the film's camera work and acting performances in The Hollywood Reporter.[16]

Brunner has collaborated repeatedly with Canadian composer Tim Hecker, whose atmospheric and experimental scores have been described as an integral element of the emotional and sensory experience of Luzifer (2021).[17][18] Hecker reunited with Brunner to compose the score for Down the Arm of God (2026), continuing their creative partnership.[19][20]

Festival runs and later projects

My Blind Heart premiered in the Tiger Competition at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and was also screened at the Slamdance Film Festival. At the 2014 Camerimage festival, its cinematographer, Franz Dude, received a nomination for the Golden Frog in the Main Competition.[21] It won the Award for Artistic Bravery at the Durban International Film Festival.[22]

Brunner's second feature film, Those Who Fall Have Wings (2015), premiered in competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it received the Special Jury Prize.[23][24]

In 2018, Brunner directed his first English-language feature, To the Night, starring Caleb Landry Jones. The film premiered in competition at the 53rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.[25]

His 2021 horror drama Luzifer, starring Franz Rogowski and Susanne Jensen and produced by Ulrich Seidl, premiered in competition at the 74th Locarno Film Festival, where Brunner received the Boccalino d'Oro Award for Best Director from the international film critics. The film subsequently premiered in North America at Fantastic Fest, where Rogowski won the award for Best Actor, and at the Sitges Film Festival, where Rogowski received the Best Actor award (ex aequo with Caleb Landry Jones) and Jensen received the Best Actress award (ex aequo with Noomi Rapace).[26][27][28]

In 2026, Brunner completed the feature film Down the Arm of God.[29] The screenplay was co-written with Caleb Landry Jones, and the film was produced by Luc Besson through EuropaCorp.[30] Filmed on location in Texas, it centres on homelessness and housing insecurity.[29] The film was selected for the Official Selection of the 79th Locarno Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Prix du Public UBS.[31][32]

Filmography

  • 2007: Sickness of the Youth (Co-director, actor)
  • 2014: My Blind Heart (Director, writer, editor, producer, composer)
  • 2015: Those Who Fall Have Wings (Director, writer, producer, editor)
  • 2018: To the Night (Director, writer, editor)
  • 2021: Luzifer (Director, writer, editor)
  • 2026: Down the Arm of God (Director, co-writer, editor)

Awards and nominations

References

  1. ^ Ritman, Alex (2025-02-13). "Caleb Landry Jones Reunites With Peter Brunner and Luc Besson on Passion Project 'Down the Arm of God' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
  2. ^ a b Cooper, Sarah. "Tiger directors: Peter Brunner, My Blind Heart". Screen Daily.
  3. ^ Ritman, Alex (13 February 2025). "Caleb Landry Jones Reunites With Peter Brunner and Luc Besson on Passion Project 'Down the Arm of God' (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Cataract Vision & European Film Conspiracy". CINEMAnext.
  5. ^ "My Blind Heart". Austrian Films.
  6. ^ "Für Kurt ist die Kamera eine zweischneidige Waffe". Austrian Films.
  7. ^ "He is the last and the first who speaks his language". Austrian Films.
  8. ^ "KVIFF 2018: Caleb Landry Jones and Peter Brunner on To the Night". RogerEbert.com.
  9. ^ "Luzifer – Interview mit Peter Brunner und Franz Rogowski". Filmexplorer.
  10. ^ "Der Filmemacher als Alchemist". Ray Filmmagazin.
  11. ^ "An Extreme, Excessive and Ecstatic Exploration of Feeling". Austrian Films.
  12. ^ "Luzifer". Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion (in German). Retrieved 2026-07-03.
  13. ^ Peter Brunner entry in the IMDb
  14. ^ My Blind Heart page on MUBI
  15. ^ Harvey, Dennis (2014-01-22). "Film Review: 'My Blind Heart'". Variety. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
  16. ^ Tsui, Clarence (2014-01-27). "My Blind Heart (Mein Blindes Herz): Rotterdam Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
  17. ^ "Luzifer: Das Böse ist überall, diesfalls im Zillertal". Die Presse.
  18. ^ "Locarno Review: Franz Rogowski Once Again Captivates in the Devilish Drama 'Luzifer'". The Film Stage.
  19. ^ "Tim Hecker". First Artists Management.
  20. ^ "Down the Arm of God". EuropaCorp.
  21. ^ "Peter Brunner – Director Biography" (PDF). Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  22. ^ "Peter Brunner's MY BLIND HEART wins AWARD FOR ARTISTIC BRAVERY at the DURBAN International Film Festival". www.austrianfilms.com. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
  23. ^ "Those Who Fall Have Wings". Austrian Films.
  24. ^ "KV15 Review of Those Who Fall Have Wings by Peter Brunner". Nisimazine.
  25. ^ "'To the Night' Trailer: Caleb Landry Jones Stars in Michael Haneke Protégé Peter Brunner's New Drama". IndieWire.
  26. ^ "Luzifer Review: A Devilish Mother-and-Son Tale". The New York Times.
  27. ^ "'Lamb' Wins Top Prize at Sitges Film Festival". Variety.
  28. ^ "Fantastic Fest 2021 Winners: 'After Blue' Takes Top Prize". IndieWire.
  29. ^ a b Bowie, Desiree (2026-02-01). "Caleb Landry Jones' 'Down the Arm of God' and the Crisis of Funding Social Impact Films". Danger Bowie. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
  30. ^ "Down the Arm of God". Roosevelt Film Lab. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
  31. ^ Ritman, Alex (2026-07-08). "Locarno Unveils 2026 Lineup Featuring New Films by Peter Brunner, James Gray and Others". Variety. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  32. ^ "Locarno Film Festival Unveils 2026 Lineup". The Film Stage. 2026-07-08. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  33. ^ "Mein blindes Herz". Diagonale – Festival des österreichischen Films (in German). Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  34. ^ "Preise bei Festival vergeben". MeinBezirk (in German). Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  35. ^ "To the Night". Film Movement. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  36. ^ "To the Night". Crew United (in German). Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  37. ^ "Best Director Award für Peter Brunner". FreibeuterFilm. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  38. ^ "To the Night". Crew United (in German). Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  39. ^ "Österreichischer Filmpreis 2020: 47 Nominierungen für ORF-kofinanzierte Filme". ORF (in German). Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  40. ^ "Awards 2022". Austrian Films. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  41. ^ "Awards 2022".

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