22 Facts About Reinhard Schwabenitzky

Reinhard Schwabenitzky was an Austrian film director, producer and screenwriter.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky was born in his maternal grandmother's pub in the remote hamlet of Bucheben, a long walk along the valley to the south of Rauris, which is a small town in the mountains of the State of Salzburg, positioned an hour or so by car to the south of Salzburg itself.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky appeared in his first acting roles at the age of just 4 at the Municipal Theater in Sankt Polten, under the direction of his father.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky was sent to live with an aunt and an uncle in a relatively remote mountain village called Mittersill.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky later went back to live with his grandmother and his Uncle Erwin who ran the family farm in the mountains south of Rauris.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky moved with his mother and stepfather along with his grandmother to their newly acquired guest house, the "Itzlinger Hof", in Salzburg.

The head teacher at the school was a priest, and Reinhard Schwabenitzky found that the times that, as the son of a peasant family in the mountains, he had set aside for attending Mass, he now preferred to dedicate to cinema visits.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky's father had moved to East Berlin and was working at the vast Babelsberg Film Studios as a film director.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky watched the film shooting and cutting and, aged just 11, met Wolfgang Staudte, whom he would later come to revere as one of the best film directors ever.

When he was 14 Reinhard Schwabenitzky started a band, but the venture was short-lived since he was sent away to school again, this time attending a large "Technical College" at Modling, just outside Vienna.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky did not take naturally to the technical aspects of the course but was keen to emerge with a respectable qualification.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky had entered the college with the ambition to become an actor, but by the time he successfully completed his course, receiving his "Matura" diploma in 1968, this had shifted.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky now prepared to build a career as a film director.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky now had more time for cinema visits, and he resumed playing in a band.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky gained admission to the University of Vienna to study not the film directing course but the camera course.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky had by this time taken to 8 mm film photography as a hobby.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky found time to take plenty of casual work in film and television production, and when there was no casual work he could sometimes be found in a dark corner at the Burgtheater during rehearsals, watching and learning.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky's son, Markus, was born a year later: his daughter, Martina, two years after that.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky was able to find work as a director's assistant with Axel Corti, Franz Antel and Bernhard Wicki, and worked as a cameraman on a television series and for various television commercials.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky produced his own "graduation film" two years before the end of his course, and managed to have the film, "Die Lebensaufgabe" shown on Austrian Television.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky was nevertheless able to maintain close contact with his two children.

Reinhard Schwabenitzky continued to enjoy popular success, notably with the Austrian television series Kaisermuhlen Blues and Oben ohne, both of which achieved cult status.