Michael Haneke (1942) is an Austrian filmmaker and writer. He started making films in the 1970s, initially for television and often based on the work of other writers, such as Franz Kafka and Ingeborg Bachmann. His debut feature film Der siebente Kontinent premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1989. Haneke is known for his uncompromising view on contemporary society, reflected in his stark and non-sentimental narratives often situated in middle-class milieus. Much of his work forms an examination of the social alienation and brutal and violent tendencies hidden underneath the seemingly smooth surface of societal interactions. His other films include Benny's Video (1992), Funny Games (1997), Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages (2000), La pianiste (2001), Caché (2005), Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009), Amour (2012) and Happy End (2017). Haneke has been teaching directing at the Vienna Film Academy since 2002 and was awarded with an honorary doctorate by the University of Paris VIII and the University of Graz.