For me, a film is always a form of communication between director and audience. I love the idea that everybody creates her/his own version of my film, taking in the images that I have provided and completing them in their own minds. This connection is something very special. Filmmaking is the only thing I can do.
It is often just a glimpse of a feeling that makes me decide to accept a certain project. I don’t work within a specific genre or format, as I have made short, independent documentaries such as EASY MONEY about young punks in Vienna, as well as feature films such as TWILIGHT OVER BURMA, a romantic History Drama, brutal TV crime series or the new Austrian Comedy series VORSTADTWEIBER, which has become the most successful Austrian TV-series of the past ten years – almost over night.
The films I create, are based on the relationship between different characters and the various images in their constellation to each other. I do everything I can to prepare myself before shooting. Nevertheless, I always try to catch the very moment – that special moment that goes beyond. I love to take scenes, heat them up, cool them down until I think NOW! I like to go beyond borders, I like to try new things. My analytical view is guided by my curiosity – in the process of finding and structuring material, while shooting, editing… I’m interested in stories and relationships between people. I’m curious about how they work, how life works.
Sabine Derflinger, born in Upper Austria, studied at the Film Academy Vienna in the fields of writing and dramaturgy. In 1996 she completed her studies with her diploma thesis “Film Narratives – Between Epic & Dramatic”. Since then she has produced several award-winning feature films and documentaries (e.g. “Step on it”, “Easy money”, “One out of 8”, “42 plus”, “Day and night”, “Twilight over Burma”).
In 2010 she founded her own production company Derflinger Film (e.g. “Jasmila Zbanic”, “Em Familia” – Globo TV, “Johanna Dohnal”, “Alice Schwarzer”), in addition she also directed various televisions productions in Germany and Austria.
In 2011 she was the first female director in Austria to direct an episode of the well known TV-crime series “Tatort” and won the Grimme Award in 2014 for the Tatort episode “Down for the count”.
She directed 2014-2016 the new TV series “Vorstadtweiber” (“Suburbia – Woman on the edge”), which became the most successful Austrian TV comedy series of the last ten years and won the “Metropolis Award 2016” best directed TV series in season 2/episode 6.
In 2017 she received the “Golden medal of merit – State of Vienna” in regognition of her great achievments.
She was awarded with the “Grand Diagonale prize documentary 2020” for the cinema documentary “Johanna Dohnal – Visionary of feminism”, Austria ́s first Secretary of State for general women affairs and an icon of the Austrian feminist movement. And 2021 “Johanna Dohnal – Visionary of feminism” received the Austrian Film Award for “Best Documentary Film” as well as for “Best Editing”.
In 2022 started her documentary about the German feminist and journalist “Alice Schwarzer” in cinema, which also was awarded with the “Grand Diagonale prize documentary 2022”.
In 2022 the two-part TV movie “High spirts” she directed has its TV premiere and she received the “Great upper Austrian culture award” in the category Film & Video.
In 2023 she directed two episodes of “Bozen Krimi” and also the Vienna Tatort “The death of the farmers”, which achieved top ratings in ORF and ARD.