Kurt Kren
Directing
Kurt Kren was born in 1929 in Vienna, Austria from a Jewish father and a German mother. From 1939 till the end of World War II, Kren lived in Rotterdam, where he was sent to with one of the Children's Transports. In 1947 Kren returned to Vienna, and his father provided him a job at the National Bank. He began making films in 1957. 2/60 48 Köpfe Aus Dem Szondi -Test (1960) was his first serial film and 3/60 Bäume Im Herbst (1960) confirmed this structural orientation. He realized in the 1960s his most famous films with the Viennese actionists, where his skill of short film blossomed. In 1966, he took part in the « Destruction in Art Symposium » organized by Metzger in London. In 1968 he visited the USA for the first time, showing his films in New York and St. Louis. This very year he became a founder of the Austria Filmmakers Cooperative. After a participation in a happening "Kunst und Revolution" ("Art and Revolution") at the University of Vienna in 1968, Kren's films were confiscated and he was fired from the National Bank. He participated in 1970 in the International Underground Film Festival (London) and in 1971, in the Cannes Film Festival. He then moved to Cologne for five years. Retrospectives were set up by the London National Film Theatre in 1976 and the New York Museum of Modern Art in 1979. He was also involved in the Dokumenta 6 of Kassel in 1977. From 1978 to 1989, Kren lived in the USA and presented lectures for universities and schools. He did many jobs such as security officer in the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Within this period he made his bad home movies as he used to call them inspired by his travels across the country. He finally returned to his native Vienna in 1990. He died from pneumonia in Vienna in 1998.
Known for
Directing51
movie48/94 Fragment W.E.
1994
Director
movie47/91 A Celebration
1991
Director
movie43/84: 1984
1984
Director
movie41/82 Getting Warm
1982
Director
movie39/81 Which Way to CA?
1981
Director
movie38/79: Sentimental Punk
1979
Director
movie37/78: Tree Again
1978
Director
movie33/77 No Danube
1977
Director
movie32/76: To W + B
1976
Director
movie28/73: Time Exposure(s)
1973
Director
movie29/73 Ready-Made
1973
Director
movie27/71 On Peacock Isle
1971
Director
movie24/70 Western
1970
Director
movie22/69 Happy-End
1969
Director
movie18/68: Venecia kaputt
1968
Director
movie20/68: Honey
1968
Director
movie15/67: TV
1967
Director
movie12/66: Cosinus Alpha
1966
Director
movie10/65: Self-Mutilation
1965
Director
movie7/64: Leda and the Swan
1964
Director
movie9/64: O Christmas Tree
1964
Director
1/57: Experiment with Synthetic Sound (Test)
1957
Director
Black Movie I
1957
Co-Director
movieDas Walk
1956
Director
moviePiano Salon 1. Floor
1956
Director
movieRome
1956
Director
Acting13
movie29/73 Ready-Made
1973
Himself
moviePortrait: Kurt Kren
1970
Himself
Crew5
31/75: Asylum
1975
Cinematography
movieThe Lascivious Wotan
1971
Cinematography
movieScheiss-Kerl
1969
Cinematography
movieSatisfaction
1968
Cinematography
movie15/67: TV
1967
Cinematography
Camera2
movieThe 120 Days of Bottrop
1997
Director of Photography
movieAmore - Aktion mit einem Masochisten
1968
Camera Operator
Production2
movie15/67: TV
1967
Producer
Writing1
movieSodoma
1970
Writer