Anna Roller

Director & Screenwriter

Anna was born in Munich in 1993 and grew up in a family immersed in music and stories. Her desire to blend these two passions prompted her to venture into parallel worlds through self-made films at a young age. She loves magical moments within realism, favoring films that pose questions rather than professing to hold all the answers.

In 2014, Anna startet studying directing at the University of Television and Film Munich. During her studies, she created several short films focusing on imperfect, unconventional, and bold female characters: PAN, THE LAST CHILDREN IN PARADISE, and BRAT. Her shorts have been showcased in over 60 festivals, winning awards such as the German Short Film Award, the Bronze Tadpole at Camerimage, and two Starter Film Awards. In 2019, Anna was part of the FUTURE FRAMES program at the Karlovy Vary Festival and participated in the TALENT VILLAGE at the Les Arcs Festival, along with the CUTTING EDGE TALENT CAMP at the International Film Festival Mannheim.

When the joint feature film project faced a temporary halt due to the corona pandemic, Anna, along with her existing team and kalekone Filmproduktion, spontaneously launched the web series CURFEW CALLS. They produced 14 episodes of 5-10 minutes each during lockdown, with Anna’s RUN GIRL RUN as the pilot episode. The following year marked the debut of DEAD GIRLS DANCING, a magical-realistic road movie that held a shared world-premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival New York and the Munich Film Festival. In November 2023, Mubi released the film in cinemas across Germany.

Anna writes in teams and on her own preferring cross-genre stories with emotional depth. She is a firm believer in the power of cinema and the shared experience of watching movies together. She rejects the outdated idea of the authoritarian directorial genius, advocating for collaborative teamwork on an equal footing.

© photo: Felix Pflieger

GÖR | director & screenwriter: Anna Roller

HFF Munich

GÖR | director & screenwriter: Anna Roller

HFF Munich

GÖR | director & screenwriter: Anna Roller

HFF Munich

PAN | director & screenwriter: Anna Roller

HFF Munich

PAN | director & screenwriter: Anna Roller

HFF Munich

PAN | director & screenwriter: Anna Roller

HFF Munich

PAN | director & screenwriter: Anna Roller

HFF Munich

PAN | director & screenwriter: Anna Roller

HFF Munich

DIE LETZTEN KINDER IM PARADIES | director & screenwriter: Anna Roller

HFF Munich

DIE LETZTEN KINDER IM PARADIES | director & screenwriter: Anna Roller

HFF Munich

DIE LETZTEN KINDER IM PARADIES | director & screenwriter: Anna Roller

HFF Munich

DIE LETZTEN KINDER IM PARADIES | director & screenwriter: Anna Roller

HFF Munich

Filmographie

2024

ALLEGRO PASTELL
feature film | 90‘ | Walker und Worm Film GmbH
(writer & director), in preparation

MANATEE
Spielfilm | 90‘ | Kalekone Film
(co-writer & director), in development

2023

DEAD GIRLS DANCING
feature film | 90‘ | kalekone film
(writer & director)

2021

GÖR
short film | Allergikerfilm | HFF Munich
(director)

CURFEW CALLS
web series | 14 episodes a 5’ | kalekone film (showrunner)
Episode 1 | RUN GIRL RUN | 5‘ (director)

2019

DIE LETZTEN KINDER IM PARADIES
short film | 29‘ | HFF Munich (screenwriter, director)

2017

PAN
short film | 16‘ | HFF Munich (screenwriter, director)

2016

MOCCA SWING
music video | 4‘ | Monaco Swing Ensemble (co-director)

WOHIN GEHST DU, WENN DU SAGST,
DASS DU NACH HAUSE GEHST?
short film | 10‘ | HFF Munich (screenwriter, director)

2015

UNGARISCHER TANZ FÜR ZWEI
short film | 12‘ | HFF Munich (screenwriter, director)

2014

SOPHIE
short film | 5‘ | (screenwriter, director)

2013

ES IST STILL IN DEINEN AUGEN
short film | 30‘ | BKM (co-director)

2012

KUNTERGRAUDUNKELBUNT
medium length film | 42‘ | BKM
(director)

Education

Studium – Regie für Kino & Fernsehfilm
HFF München

Awards

DEAD GILS DANCING
Tribeca Festival 2023 – official selection
40. Filmfest München 2023
Nomination New Faces Award “Best Emerging Director”

GÖR
Lola – Kurzfilmpreis 2021 – Gewinner
Deutscher Kurzfilmpreis 2021 – Gewinner

DIE LETZTEN KINDER IM PARADIES
Max Ophüls Preis Saarbrücken 2019 – Erstauffürung
20. Landshuter Kurzfilmfestival 2019 – Wettbewerb
Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival 2019 – Volumina Award
filmreif! – Das Bundesfestival junger Film 2019 – Best Directing
19. International Film Schools Festival Award – Uruguay –
Best Fiction Film by the Professional Jury –
Special Mention by the Students Jury
EnergaCAMERIMAGE – Bronze Award Student Etudes
Blicke Festival 2019 – Aus-Blicke Preis
Deutscher Kamerapreis Nachwuchs für Felix Pflieger
Big Shorts Award – Nominierung Beste Regie, Beste Kamera,
Beste Schauspielerin Lea Drinda

PAN
Landshuter Kurzfilmfestival 2017 – Erstaufführung
Starterfilmpreis der Stadt München
FiSH Filmfestival Rostock 2017 – Jury, Publikums- und Sputnikpreis
Shocking Shorts – Finalist Nachwuchspreis
Flimmern und Rauschen 2018 – Jury Preis
Yale Studentfilm Festival 2018 – Best Editing & Best Soundtrack
JUFINALE Bayerisches Jugendfilmfestival 2018 – Jury Preis
Genrenale 6 2019 – WTF Preis
Phenomena Festival 2019 – Best Cinematography, Felix Pflieger
Palm Springs International Short Film Festival 2018
CIFF43 Cleveland Internation Film Festival 2019
12th Go Short – Int. Short Film Festival Nijmegen 2020
Vimeo Staff Pick

KUNTERGRAUDUNKELBUNT
Int. Kurzfilmfestival Hannover 2013 – Deutscher Nachwuchsfilmpreis
Flimmern und Rauschen 2013 – Jury Preis
JuFinale 2013 – Publikumspreis

PAN | Kurzfilm