Jessica Hausner was born in Vienna in 1972. She studied directing at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Department of Film and Television, in Vienna, where she made the short film "Flora" in 1996, for which she won prizes at several festivals. "Inter-View" (1999), her 48-minute graduation film, was honoured at the Cinéfondation in Cannes. Her first feature-length film "Lovely Rita" premiered in Cannes in 2001 in the official "Un Certain Regard" programme. She consistently worked with amateur actors in this and her first three films.