Klaus T. Steindl


Klaus Thomas Steindl is an Austrian author, scriptwriter, director, and film producer. He owns the company KREATIVkraft e.U. His primary focus is on nature and investigative documentaries that deal with internationally relevant issues.

Early life and education

Klaus Thomas Steindl was born in Austrial. He studied directing and stage design at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. In 1987 his professor Wolfram Skalicki encouraged him to take on the role of assistant director to Lotfi Mansouri at Opéra de Nice.

Career

Steindl is an author, scriptwriter, director, and film producer.
After graduation, then worked as a freelance director for experimental theater performances before entering the field of film in 1991. After directing several award-winning commercials Steindl decided to focus on producing documentary films.
In 2017 the European art and culture broadcaster ARTE opened its one-week anniversary program "25 Years of ARTE" with the German/French premiere of Steindl's feature-film-length docu-drama "Venice and the Ghetto".

Promoting fresh talent

As well as producing and directing films, Klaus Steindl is involved with promoting and supporting young and new talents. He developed the educational concept and the first curriculum for the „Film und Medien Initiative“, a Graz-based film academy for children and adolescents. Furthermore, he was a member of the board of the Documentary Campus and a member of the commission for film funding in Styria, Austria, for several years. Over the years CINESTYRIA Film Commission has been successful in attracting large international film productions to the region. For example, several scenes from the James Bond film Spectre were shot at Styria's Altaussee lake.

Company

Steindl owns the company KREATIVkraft e.U.

Productions

In the course of his career Steindl has produced many documentaries. More than half of them were devised as international productions in several languages, produced with European and U.S. partners and broadcast around the globe. As well as producing wildlife and nature documentaries such ase Wild Venice, shown all over the world, Steindl focuses on investigative films that deal with internationally relevant historical themes. His research has frequently led to new scientific discoveries, most recently in Uncovering an Ancient Conspiracy and Lost City of Gladiators. For his film Vampire Princess, he discovered the historical inspiration for Bram Stoker's legendary Dracula character:
In his docudrama "Venus of Willendorf - The Naked Truth" the statuette of a naked woman provides a starting point for a ground-breaking scientific re-interpretation of the relationship between Stone Age men and woman.
Several of Steindl's works have been accepted into the libraries of European and U.S. universities. Many have been adapted for use in schools in a variety of forms and have received the European "Comenius EduMedia" Award for Educational Media.
The Miami Jewish Film Festival screened Steindl's film Rothschild Saga in its 2023 Official Selection, which was its North American premiere.

Selected filmography