Maren Ade

Maren Ade (b. 1976, Karlsruhe, Germany) studied production and communications from 1998 and later direction at the University of Television and Film Munich. In 2001 she founded the production company Komplizen Film with Janine Jackowski, which oversaw the making of her graduate feature The Forest for the Trees (2003), awarded a Special Jury Prize at Sundance in 2005.

As producer she worked on the successful Hotel Very Welcome (2006 – Variety Critics' Choice at KVIFF 2007) by Sonja Heiss. She not only directed, but also wrote and produced her second feature Everyone Else (2009 – KVIFF, Horizons), which won Berlin's Silver Bear – Jury Grand Prix ex aequo, plus a Silver Bear for Birgit Minichmayr as Best Actress. Her third film Toni Erdmann competed in the main competition at Cannes this year and took away the FIPRESCI Prize.

MFF Karlovy Vary