Ruth Beckermann (born 1952) is an Austrian filmmaker and writer, who lives and works in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Her films have been shown at prestigious festivals, and ''Paper Bridge'' and ''East of War'' won several major awards.

Early life and education

Ruth Beckermann was born in Vienna, Austria in 1952. Her parents were Jewish survivors of

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Beckermann studied journalism and art history in

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, and received her

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1977. In

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

she studied photography at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

. During her studies, she contributed as a journalist to several Austrian and Swiss magazines.

Career

Her first film was made in cooperation with Josef Aichholzer and Franz Grafl of the ''Videogroup Arena'' in 1977. Shot on video and

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, ...

film, ''Arena Besetzt'' (''Arena Squatted'') documented the occupation of the old Viennese slaughterhouse

Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

. The following year, Beckermann founded the film distribution company ''Filmladen'' along with Aichholzer and Grafl, where she continued working until 1985. In 1978 and 1981, filmed shot two documentaries, ''Suddenly A Strike'' and ''The Steelhammer Out there on The Grass'' on the topics of labour and strike. In 1983, Beckermann released ''Return to Vienna'', which documents the journeys and experiences of Franz West, a Jewish Social Democrat living in Vienna during the First and Second World Wars. The film is the first of a trilogy, in which Beckermann deals with Jewish narratives of loss, memory and identity. Following this film, ''Paper Bridge'' (1987) depicts a journey leading from Vienna to Romania, where Beckermann visits the Bukovina region, the birthplace of her father during a time when this region was still under

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

rule. In ''Towards Jerusalem'' Beckermann travels between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem while exploring the Zionist utopia of a Jewish homeland. These films - ''Return to Vienna'', ''Paper Bridge'' and ''Towards Jerusalem'' use different forms of travel as both content and formal organising principle. In 1996, ''East of War'' was made during the so-called

Wehrmachtsausstellung The ''Wehrmacht'' exhibition () was a series of two exhibitions focusing on the war crimes of the ''Wehrmacht'' (the regular German armed forces) during World War II. The exhibitions were instrumental in furthering the understanding of the myth ...

. In front of the out-of-focus-photographs, former soldiers of the German Wehrmacht talk about their experiences beyond the "normal" war. A film which not only pushes forward the destruction of the "good-Wehrmacht" myth, but also takes a close look at the process of constructing history in post-World War II Austria. In her 1999 film, ''A Fleeting Passage to The Orient'', she follows the traces of

Elisabeth of Bavaria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austria on 24 April 1854 until h ...

. In 2001, ''homemad(e)'' depicts how the political turn in 2000 was reflected in a Viennese coffee house. Five years later, she followed four 12-year-olds on their journey to

Bar Mitzva A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

. was shown in festivals in Paris' ( Cinema du Reel,), Vienna (

Viennale The Vienna International Film Festival, or Viennale, is a film festival taking place every October since 1960 in Vienna, Austria. The average number of visitors is about 75,000. Traditional cinema venues are ''Gartenbaukino'', ''Urania'', ''Met ...

06) in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and became a success with audiences. In 2011, ''American Passages'', premiered in the competition at the

Cinéma du Réel Cinéma du réel (Lit. "Cinema of the Real") is an international documentary annual film festival held in Paris, France, since 1978. It is organised by the Bibliothèque publique d'information (BPI), and screenings take place at the Pompidou Cen ...

. Most of her films have premiered at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

or the

. A DVD collection of her films was released in 2007.

Other activities

Beckermann is a founding member of the Austrian Documentary and Filmmakers Society. She has authored several books. She taught at the

University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (, ), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality, Salzburg (federal state), Salzburg State, ...

, the University of Illinois, and at the

University of Applied Arts Vienna The University of Applied Arts Vienna (, or informally just ''Die Angewandte'') is an arts university and institution of higher education in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It has had university status since 1970. History The predecessor of the ...

Recognition

Beckermann's films ''Paper Bridge'' and ''East of War'' won several major awards. In addition, she has been awarded the following prizes: * 2000: Manès Sperber Prize for Literature * 2015: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst (Austrian Decoration for Science and Art) * 2022: Encounters Award at the

72nd Berlin International Film Festival The 72nd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale (), took place from 10 to 20 February 2022 in person. On 15 December 2021, the first film of the festival was announced. The festival opened with François Ozon's ...

for ''Mutzenbacher''

Filmography

* ''

Favoriten Favoriten (; ), the 10th district of Vienna, Austria (), is located south of the central districts. It is south of Innere Stadt, Wieden and Margareten. Favoriten is a heavily populated urban area with many residential buildings, but also la ...

'' (2024) * ''Mutzenbacher'' (2022) * '' The Waldheim Waltz'' (2018) * '' The Dreamed Ones'' (''Die Geträumten''; 2016), based on correspondence between poets

Ingeborg Bachmann Ingeborg Bachmann (; 25 June 1926 – 17 October 1973) was an Austrian poet and author. She is regarded as one of the major voices of German-language literature in the 20th century. In 1963, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature b ...

and

Paul Celan Paul Celan (; ; born Paul Antschel; 23 November 1920 – c. 20 April 1970) was a German-speaking Romanian poet, Holocaust survivor, and literary translation, literary translator. He adopted his pen name (an anagram of the Romanian spelling Ancel ...

* ''Those Who Go Those Who Stay'' (2013) * ''Jackson/Marker 4AM'' (2012) * ''American Passages'' (2011) * ''Zorros Bar Mizwa'' (2006) * ''Homemad(e)'' (2000) * ''A Fleeting Passage to the Orient'' (''Ein flüchtiger Zug nach dem Orient''; 1999) * ''East of War'' (''Jenseits des Krieges''; 1996) * ''Towards Jerusalem'' (''Nach Jerusalem''; 1991) * ''The Paper Bridge'' (1987) * ''Return to Vienna'' (1983) * ''Arena Squatted'' (1977)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckermann, Ruth Austrian women film directors Austrian documentary film directors English-language film directors Austrian Jews Film people from Vienna 1952 births Living people Academic staff of the University of Salzburg Women documentary filmmakers