Klaus Thomas Steindl (born 20 June 1966 in Graz, Austria) is an author,[1][2] scriptwriter & director,[3] film producer[4][5] and owner of the company KREATIVkraft e.U.[6] His primary focus is on nature and investigative documentaries that deal with internationally relevant issues, particularly in the field of Outstanding Biographies. Most of his award-winning documentaries have been produced for the international prime-time market.
Career
Steindl studied directing and stage design at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz.[7] In 1987 his professor Wolfram Skalicki[8] encouraged him to take on the role of assistant director to Lotfi Mansouri at Opéra de Nice (“Hérodiade”).[9] He then worked as a freelance director for experimental theater performances before entering the field of film in 1991. After directing several award-winning commercials Steindl decided to focus on producing documentary films.[10]
In 2017 the European art and culture broadcaster ARTE opened its one-week anniversary program "25 Years of ARTE" with the German/French premiere of Steindl's feature-film-length docu-drama "Venice and the Ghetto".[11][12]
Promoting Fresh Talent
As well as producing and directing films, Klaus Steindl is involved with promoting and supporting young and new talents. He developed the educational concept and the first curriculum for the „Film und Medien Initiative“, a Graz-based film academy for children and adolescents.[13] Furthermore, he was a member of the board of the Documentary Campus and a member of the commission for film funding in Styria, Austria, for several years.[14] Over the years CINESTYRIA Film Commission has been successful in attracting large international film productions to the region. For example, several scenes from the James Bond film Spectre were shot at Styria's Altaussee lake.[15]
Productions
In the course of his career Steindl has produced over 30 primetime documentaries. More than half of them were devised as international productions in several languages, produced with European and U.S. partners and broadcast around the globe. As well as producing high-quality wildlife and nature documentaries - like the successful Wild Venice, shown all over the world,[16][17] Steindl focuses on investigative films that deal with internationally relevant historical themes. His research has frequently led to new scientific discoveries, most recently in The Nero Files - Uncovering an Ancient Conspiracy and Lost City of Gladiators - Carnuntum. For his film Vampire Princess he discovered the historical inspiration for Bram Stoker's legendary Dracula character:
"Picture a spectacular vampire attack at the tomb of an Austrian princess. A scene from Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series? No. It's the deleted opening to Bram Stoker's "Dracula," a horror classic that many experts believe was actually based on a woman. Archaeologists, historians, and forensic scientists revisit the days of vampire hysteria in the eighteenth-century Czech Republic and re-open the unholy grave of dark princess Eleonore von Schwarzenberg. They uncover her story, once buried and long forgotten, now raised from the dead."[18] Official Info Smithsonian Channel
Steindl has also played a significant role in the development of the docudrama genre. The writer and director has recently begun to focus more on the field of Human interest. As a director, he is increasingly interested in genre-spanning narrative film direction.
Several of Steindl's works have been accepted into the libraries of European and U.S. universities.[20] Many have been adapted for use in schools in a variety of forms and have received the European "Comenius EduMedia" Award for Educational Media.[21][22]
The Miami Jewish Film Festival shows Steindl´s film "Rothschild Saga" in the "Official Selection 2023" (North America Premiere). Official film description:
"This rich and nuanced portrait of the remarkable, elusive Rothschild family uncovers the story behind the family's phenomenal economic success. The film tells the dynasty’s incredible saga, from the confines of the Frankfurt ghetto to the halls of royal palaces, all the while emphasizing the importance they placed on family unity and the profound role Judaism played in their lives, later using their influence to assist oppressed Jews throughout Europe. A definitive work of documentary cinema with a thoroughly engaging narrative, The Rothschild Saga brings their mysterious and fascinating history to life."[23]
Filmography (excerpt)
1994: From the "Etrich Taube" to the Mail Rocket - The history of Austrian aviation (with Niki Lauda)
1996: Signs of the Time - The history of writing[24]
^Steindl, Klaus (2012). Die Alpen von oben - die Nordalpen (in German). München: Polyband Medien. OCLC862808226.
^Der Tulpencrash - DOK (in German). Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar: Verlag nicht ermittelbar. 2014. OCLC894860179.
^Steindl, Klaus T; Sanders, Jay O; Terra Mater Factual Studios GmbH (Firm); Thirteen Productions; Public Broadcasting Service (U.S.); PBS Distribution (Firm) (2014), Secrets of the dead, ISBN9781627890724, OCLC1043475038
^Germany, programm.ARD.de - ARD Play-Out-Center Potsdam, Potsdam. "Venedig und das Ghetto". programm.ARD.de. Retrieved 2018-08-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^German and French premiere of the 90 minute-TV Documentary: This film started the ARTE 25 years anniversary program at Saturday, 27 May 2017, 08:15 p.m.[1]
