What are you currently working on?
At the moment, I’m mainly focusing on preparing to return to work after enjoying some time out following the birth of my first daughter. I’m excited about what lies ahead. I have some ideas for my own film project and am currently developing the concept for this with some colleagues. I’m also starting work on a larger theatre project.
Which of your projects to date are you particularly proud of?
Binichdenn? – a surreal filmic poem initiated and based on an idea by the actresses in our collective binnen-I. It was also among the first short films to receive funding from the IDM Film Commission.
The South Tyrolean film scene is...
... on the right track and holds a lot of potential for us all. The potential to develop into a film scene with the self-confidence to tell more tales about itself and from deep within itself and to create a wide variety of films that portray South Tyrolean stories and themes that focus on our own identity and diversity.
What would you be doing if you hadn’t ended up working in the film industry?
I’d probably be working in medicine. As a child and for a long time afterwards, I wanted to be a doctor because of both my own personal experiences and the TV series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. That was until I realised that the doctor was played by an actress...
A film/series must definitely be made about...
... the stories of women from previous generations in our part of the world who had no choice but to get married. Or, conversely, women who were not allowed to get married because they had to take care of their parents, for example. There were women who experienced this in my family. And motherhood in all its guises, ambivalence towards motherhood and the elemental force of giving birth.
What role would you love to play?
Sophie Scholl. I once had the chance to play her in the theatre and even though she has already been portrayed in several films, she’d be my first choice every time.
Who or what inspires you?
Courageous people who want to shape change and to stand out from the crowd because they believe in something that can benefit a lot of people.
What does creativity mean to you?
A free mind. Movement. Images. Colours. Making connections. Endless possibilities.
When did you last cry when watching a film or series/in the cinema?
While watching the German series Neue Geschichten vom Pumuckl (2023) when Pumuckl is standing on Master Eder’s grave and doesn’t understand why he is under the ground and wants to dig him out again.
Cinema or streaming?
Cinema. Without a doubt.
Protagonist or antagonist?
Both! Both at the same time? Almost like in Fight Club. That would be exciting!
Katharina Gschnell is a theatre and film actress and co-founder of the actresses collective binnen-I. After studying at drama school in Innsbruck from 2008 to 2012 and taking the final state examination in Vienna in 2011, she completed numerous workshops and advanced training courses, including at the renowned Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in Los Angeles in 2022.
Most recently, she has appeared in the series Davos 1917 (2023) as well as in the South Tyrolean cinema production Joe der Film (2022), the short film Binichdenn? (2022) and the feature film Shillings from Heaven (2018), which won the Romy Award.