Robert Dornhelm to be Honored with the 2018 SEEfest Legacy Award

Academy Award and Emmy nominated director Robert Dornhelm will receive the South East European Film Festival (SEEfest) Legacy Award during the opening night of the 13^thAnnual Film Festival. The prolific Austrian Film & TV director will receive the award during the red carpet gala event on April 26^th, 7 PM at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills (135 S. Doheny Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90211).

 

 

Romanian-born Dornhelm is a symbol of the escape from the communist regime through his film creations and legacy. Destiny would take him to Austria and the United States where his films received international recognition. His 1977 documentary film, “The Children of Theatre Street,” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. He directed the TV miniseries “Anne Frank: The Whole Story” (2002), which received 3 Golden Globe and 11 Emmy nominations including Best Director for Dornhelm and an Emmy win for Best Miniseries. He also directed “Echo Park” (1985), “Requiem for Dominic” (1990), “Sins of the Father” (2002), “War and Peace” (2007), Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy” (2011), and most recently the critically acclaimed international series “Hotel Sacher” (2016) and “Maria Theresia” (2017).

 

The 2018 SEEfest Legacy Award will be presented to Robert Dornhelm not only for his body of work, but also for his inspiration to young filmmakers and his dedication to telling socially-critical stories.

 

“It is a special privilege for us at SEEfest to recognize those artists of South East European heritage whose legacies enrich cinema,” says Vera Mijojlic, founder and director of SEEfest. “We are honored to pay tribute to Romanian-Austrian filmmaker Robert Dornhelm for outstanding achievements in cinema and television in Europe and America both.”

 

Director Robert Dornhelm, an accomplished filmmaker in many arenas, has been impressing audiences the world over for many years. By winning broad acclaim not only for his Emmy-winning mini-series “Anne Frank: The Whole Story,” but also for his excellent telefilms “Sins Of The Father” and “RFK,”Dornhelm has established himself as a contemporary filmmaker of great range and versatility.

Most recently, the former Academy Award nominee filmed the critically acclaimed TV series “Maria Theresia” and “Hotel Sacher”, which was a rating hit in Europe. In 2011 he directed the Lifetime film “Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy” in Rome, but his subjects have been varied and eclectic. 

 

Born in the provincial Romanian city of Timisoara, Dornhelm began his directing career as a prolific documentary filmmaker in Austria, his adoptive country and home since age 13. His first works to receive widespread international attention were “The Children Of Theatre Street” and “She Dances Alone”, both of which were selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival. “The Children of Theatre Street” chronicles the lives of the young students of the Kirov Ballet and was nominated for an Academy Award, while the strikingly original “She Dances Alone” tells the story of Nijinska, daughter of the legendary Nijinsky. Dornhelm’s bittersweet comedy “Echo Park”, set in the quirky LA neighborhood of the same name, marked his transition into fictional filmmaking. He went on to direct “Cold Feet” for Avenue Pictures before returning to Romania to shoot the docudrama “Requiem for Dominic”. Requiem received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film and was Austria’s Official Selection for the 1991 Academy Awards.

 

In 1992, NBC & Warner Brothers engaged him to direct “Fatal Deception: Marina’s Story”, for which Helena Bonham Carter received a Golden Globe nomination. Political thriller “The Break” opened the 1995 Dublin International Film Festival and, the following year, his adult fairy tale, “The Unfish,” marked the second time Austria selected a Dornhelm film as its submission for the Academy Awards. Lauren Bacall and Dennis Hopper starred in the quirky Dornhelm comedy, “The Venice Project,” which was selected for competition in the 1999 Venice Film Festival.

 

Robert’s 2001 mini-series for ABC, “Anne Frank: The Whole Story,” earned 11 Emmy nominations and resulted in a win for Best Miniseries. “RFK,” which he filmed for F/X, received critical acclaim, as did his CBS film “Suburban Madness” and his Lifetime movie “Identity Theft: The Michelle Brown Story”. In 2006, Robert returned to Vienna to film “The Crown Prince,” which told the tragic story of the heir to the doomed Austro-Hungarian Empire, followed by his eight-hour adaptation of Tolstoy’s epic “War and Peace” in Italy, Lithuania, Germany, and Russia.

 

While helming “Spartacus,” Dornhelm skillfully managed a crew of 400 and a cast of 12,000 extras. His work brought him to the attention of Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks SKG, who hired him to shoot the first episode of their two-hour limited series “Into The West”. The series, a multi-dimensional look at the settlement of the American West circa 1824-1892, began airing in June 2005 and won two Emmy Awards. The six films that make up “Into the West” are the most expensive ever produced by TNT and represent a $100 million investment.

 

Robert Dornhelm and his wife Lynn split their time between their homes in Malibu, Calif. and Vienna.

Rudolf – the true story of a royal rebel and his tragic love. Indelibly linked to the tragedy of Mayerling, the name of Crown Prince Rudolf still evokes mystery and conspiracy, thwarted hopes and unfulfilled love. 

Rudolf is raised since his earliest childhood to succeed his father Emperor Franz Joseph to the throne of Austria-Hungary. Well-read and passionately liberal-minded, Rudolf is exactly the kind of man Vienna needs to calm the Empire’s restive nations and maintain peace in Europe. Yet the political establishment and Rudolf’s own father stand between him and the exercise of power. Kept away from political affairs by the Emperor’s conservative councilors, longing for the affection of his constantly traveling mother Empress Elisabeth (“Sisi”), Rudolf begins publishing flaming diatribes against his father’s government under a pseudonym and indulges in many romantic affairs. 

In Prague, he falls in love with a Jewish girl; but when she dies mysteriously after Rudolf’s true identity is discovered, he feels responsible for her death and realizes that his role prevents him from ever finding happiness. He thus resignedly agrees to marry Stephanie of Belgium. It is a loveless marriage that brings the dynasty “only” a daughter… Then, a ray of light brightens his life: Mary Vetsera, a ravishing young baroness who has idolized Rudolf since her childhood. Their passionate affair gives Rudolf new strength and courage, yet trouble continues to brew… 

Rudolf clearly sees that without a radical change of policy the Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot survive in Europe’s new balance of power. Together with his liberal friends, he is ready to force his father to abdicate. But the emperor’s spies are faster. In a dramatic confrontation, Franz Joseph tells him that he is not fit to succeed him. And he also forbids Rudolf to divorce Stephanie. Seeing no way out of his dilemma, Rudolf plans to commit suicide in his hunting lodge at Mayerling. Mary is with him. Unwilling to live without him, she begs him to take her life before he takes his…

 

With Max von Thun, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Julia Jentsch, Vittoria Puccini, Sandra Ceccarelli, Omar Sharif and Christian Clavier.

 

SEEfest presents cinematic and cultural diversity of South East Europe to American audiences and creates cultural connections through films, artistic and social events. It was founded in 2006 by Vera Mijojlić, long-time film critic, and cultural entrepreneur. The 13^thAnnual South East European Film Festival (SEEfest) will take place April 26 – May 3 and will bring a large selection of feature, documentary and short films to the Writers Guild Theater, Laemmle Music Hall, and West Hollywood Council Chambers/ Library campus.

 

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The 13th Edition of SEEfest kicks off on April 26, 2018!