Matthias Müller, a renowned filmmaker, was born on March 29, 1961, in Bielefeld, West Germany. His fascination with filmmaking began during his university days, where he studied Arts and German Literature at Bielefeld University in the 1980s.
In 1985, Müller co-founded the Alte Kinder Film Collective with friends Christiane Heuwinkel and Maja-Lene Rettig. This collective produced and distributed a series of innovative films on Super-8, a format preferred by Germany's post-punk underground filmmakers.
Müller's international recognition began with the release of his 1989 film, Aus Der Ferne, a poignant exploration of loss and mourning. His subsequent film, Home Stories (1990),utilized a captivating montage of shots from technicolor melodramas of the 1950s and 60s to comment on Hollywood conventions. The film earned numerous awards and solidified Müller's reputation as an important new talent in the film and art worlds.
Since then, Müller has continued to create some of the most breathtaking works in the avant-garde genre. Vacancy (1999) is a nostalgic glance into the past, examining the hopes and dreams of a post-World War II, pre-Kennedy assassination world. The film's flickering cuts between 1961 and the present serve as a heart-wrenching reminder of unfulfilled promises.
In 1999, Müller collaborated with Christoph Girardet to create a series of works based on the films of Alfred Hitchcock for the Oxford Museum of Modern Art. The result, Phoenix Tapes (2000),is an engaging study of the themes and techniques of the master of suspense.
Müller's short film, Breeze (2000),was used as an advertisement for the Vienna International Film Festival, showcasing his versatility and talent.
