Kurt Kren
Biography
Kurt Kren was born in 1929 in Vienna, Austria from a Jewish father and a German mother. From 1939 till the end of World War II, Kren lived in Rotterdam, where he was sent to with one of the Children's Transports. In 1947 Kren returned to Vienna, and his father provided him a job at the National Bank. He began making films in 1957. 2/60 48 Köpfe Aus Dem Szondi -Test (1960) was his first serial film and 3/60 Bäume Im Herbst (1960) confirmed this structural orientation. He realized in the 1960s his most famous films with the Viennese actionists, where his skill of short film blossomed. In 1966, he took part in the « Destruction in Art Symposium » organized by Metzger in London. In 1968 he visited the USA for the first time, showing his films in New York and St. Louis. This very year he became a founder of the Austria Filmmakers Cooperative. After a participation in a happening "Kunst und Revolution" ("Art and Revolution") at the University of Vienna in 1968, Kren's films were confiscated and he was fired from the National Bank. He participated in 1970 in the International Underground Film Festival (London) and in 1971, in the Cannes Film Festival. He then moved to Cologne for five years. Retrospectives were set up by the London National Film Theatre in 1976 and the New York Museum of Modern Art in 1979. He was also involved in the Dokumenta 6 of Kassel in 1977. From 1978 to 1989, Kren lived in the USA and presented lectures for universities and schools. He did many jobs such as security officer in the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Within this period he made his bad home movies as he used to call them inspired by his travels across the country. He finally returned to his native Vienna in 1990. He died from pneumonia in Vienna in 1998.
Personal Details
Movies (50)
Becoming Otto
2010
The Films of Kurt Kren 1957-1995
Director (Directing)
2001
The 120 Days of Bottrop
Director of Photography (Camera)
1997
Birth of a Nation
as Self
1997
Homage to Kurt Kren
1997
50/96 Snapshots (For Bruce)
Director (Directing)
1996
49/95: thousandyearsofcinema
Director (Directing)
1995
48/94 Fragment W.E.
Director (Directing)
1994
Memoirs of My Nervous Illness, Part 3
1993
47/91 A Celebration
Director (Directing)
1991
46/90 Falter 2
Director (Directing)
1990
No Danube - Kurt Kren and His Films
as Self
1988
Home Movies 1971-81
1985
44/85: Foot'-age Shoot'-out
Director (Directing)
1985
43/84: 1984
Director (Directing)
1984
42/83: No Film
Director (Directing)
1983
41/82 Getting Warm
Director (Directing)
1982
40/81: Breakfast in Grey
Director (Directing)
1981
39/81 Which Way to CA?
Director (Directing)
1981
Exit... But No Panic
as voyeur
1980
38/79: Sentimental Punk
Director (Directing)
1979
36/78: Rischart
1978
37/78: Tree Again
Director (Directing)
1978
33/77 No Danube
Director (Directing)
1977
34/76: Tschibo
Director (Directing)
1976
32/76: To W + B
Director (Directing)
1976
31/75: Asylum
Director (Directing)
1975
29/73 Ready-Made
as Himself
1973
28/73: Time Exposure(s)
Director (Directing)
1973
30/73 Coop Cinema Amsterdam
Director (Directing)
1973
The Lascivious Wotan
Cinematography (Crew)
1971
27/71 On Peacock Isle
Director (Directing)
1971
26/71: Cartoon - Balzac and the Eye of God
Director (Directing)
1971
Portrait: Kurt Kren
as Himself
1970
24/70 Western
Director (Directing)
1970
Sodoma
1970
Scheiss-Kerl
Cinematography (Crew)
1969
23/69: Underground Explosion
Director (Directing)
1969
22/69 Happy-End
Director (Directing)
1969
Porträtfilm: Kurt Kren
as Himself
1969
18/68: Venecia kaputt
Director (Directing)
1968
17/68: Green-red
Director (Directing)
1968
Amore - Aktion mit einem Masochisten
Camera Operator (Camera)
1968
20/68: Honey
Director (Directing)
1968
Satisfaction
Cinematography (Crew)
1968
15/67: TV
Director (Directing)
1967
16/67: September 20th
Director (Directing)
1967
13/67: Sinus Beta
Director (Directing)
1967
12/66: Cosinus Alpha
Director (Directing)
1966
10/65: Self-Mutilation
Director (Directing)
1965