Micheal Haneke (born 23 March, 1942 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany) is a filmmaker and writer best known for his bleak and disturbing style.

Biography

Born to an actress mother and director father, Haneke attended the University of Vienna to study philosophy and psychology after failing to achieve success in his early attempts in acting and music. After graduating, he became a film critic before making his debut as a television director in 1973. His feature film debut was 1989's The Seventh Continent , which served to trace out the violent and bold style that would bloom in later years. Haneke's greatest success came in 2001 with his most critically succesful film, The Piano Teacher. The film won the prestigious Grand Prize at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival and also won its stars, Benoit Magimel and Isabelle Huppert, the Best Actor and Actress awards.

Filmography

• 2003 Le Temps du Loup aka The Time of the Wolf (U.S. title)
• 2001 La Pianiste aka The Piano Teacher (U.S. title)
• 2000 aka Code Unknown (U.S. Video title)
• 1997 Funny Games
• 1995 Der Kopf Des Mohren aka The Moor's Head
• 1994 71 Fragmente Einer Chronologie Des Zufalls aka 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance
• 1992 Benny's Video
• 1989 Der 7. Kontinent aka The 7th Continent