Julia von Heinz

Julia von Heinz (born 3 June 1976 in West Berlin) is a German film director and screenwriter.

Life and work Her debut feature film Nothing Else Matters, a coming of age-drama, premiered at Berlin International Film Festival in 2007, was shown at numerous international festivals and won awards.

After that, she shot the documentary film Standesgemäß (2008) about single aristocratic women.

In 2012, her children's film Hanni & Nanni 2, based on the series of novels by Enid Blyton, and her bestseller adaptation I'm Off Then were box office hits in Germany.

Together with the directors Tom Tykwer, Chris Kraus, Robert Thalheim and Axel Ranisch, she made the documentary film Pink Children (2012) about their common mentor Rosa von Praunheim.

Her greatest international success until then was And Tomorrow the Entire World (2020). It was shown in competition at Venice Film Festival. Mala Emde won the Independent Critics Award for best actress at the festival. In this feature film von Heinz processed her own experiences as a teenager in Antifa.

Von Heinz returned to Venice in 2021 with her film Isolation, a compilation film she made with the directors Michael Winterbottom, Jaco Van Dormael, Michele Placido and Olivier Guerpillon.

In 2023 Julia von Heinz directed Treasure, starring Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry. It was based on the bestselling novel Too Many Men by Lily Brett and premiered at Berlin International Film Festival in 2024. Treasure is the third part of Julia von Heinz’ Aftermath-Trilogy that deals with the lasting effects of the Holocaust on following generations.

In 2024 Julia von Heinz was invited to be a jury member for the competition at Venice Film Festival.

From 2005 to 2006, Julia von Heinz worked as a personal assistant for director and professor Rosa von Praunheim at Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg. In 2012 von Heinz received her Ph.D. with a focus on film. She is head of the directing department at University of Television and Film Munich since 2023.

Von Heinz is married to John Quester, a screenwriter with whom she has co-written several projects. The couple have three children.

Awards (selection) 2008: Special Jury Award at Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (Nothing Else Matters) 2009: Bavarian TV Award for Best Documentary (Standesgemäß) 2023: Bavarian TV Award for Best Directing (Eldorado KaDeWe) 2024: German Film Peace Prize – Die Brücke (Treasure)

Filmography (selection) 2001: Dienstags 2007: Nothing Else Matters 2008: Standesgemäß 2012: Hanni & Nanni 2 2012: Pink Children 2013: Hanna's Journey 2015: I'm Off Then 2020: And Tomorrow the Entire World 2021: Isolation 2021: Eldorado KaDeWe (mini-series) 2024: Treasure TBA: She Gets It From Me