Kevin Kopacka

Kevin Kopacka
Kopacka on set, 2023
Born1987 (age 37–38)
Graz, Austria
Occupation(s)Filmmaker, painter

Kevin Kopacka is an Austrian - Sri Lankan filmmaker and painter best known for writing and directing the 2021 horror film Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes.

Early life

Kopacka grew up in Graz, Austria as the son of Austrian journalist and writer Werner Kopacka and Ramani Kopacka from Sri Lanka. Kopacka has lived in Berlin, Germany since 2006, where he completed his studies in Fine Arts at the Berlin University of the Arts as a Master Student in the class of Japanese artist Leiko Ikemura.[1]

In 2012, Kopacka was named one of the “Top 30 Groundbreaking Artists Under 30” by the US trade magazine “Art Business News.”[2] He has exhibited his art in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, France and the USA.[3][4]

Film career

After graduating from university, Kopacka started working on short films. His first short film HADES (2015), about a woman stuck in an endless dream, in which she has to cross the five rivers of Hades, and its sequel TLMEA (2016), about a drug raid that descends down the nine levels of hell, made a splash at the festival circuit and were already a testament to Kopacka's distinct visual style.[5][6]

Kopacka made his directorial debut in 2021 with the gothic horror film Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes which premiered at FrightFest in 2021.[7] The film was a success and won several awards.[8]

In August 2023, Variety announced out of the Locarno Film Festival that Kopacka was developing his next feature film titled All the World Drops Dead - a co-production between Germany and Spain.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Wir Magier. Leiko Ikemura und Meisterschüler". leiko.info.
  2. ^ Tedesco, Ashley (December 11, 2013). "Kevin Kopacka's 'The One You Feed'". Input. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  3. ^ "Action at a Distance: the life and legacy of John Stewart Bell". artfacts.net.
  4. ^ "Paranormales und Unsichtbares". ORF.at.
  5. ^ Boiselle, Matt (October 21, 2015). "HADES". Input. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  6. ^ Alexander, Chris (March 3, 2016). "Austrian filmmaker Kevin Kopacka returns with surreal horror prequel TLMEA". Input. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  7. ^ "Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes (2021) – Film Review". bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  8. ^ Kay, Jeremy (February 2, 2022). "MPI boards EFM sales on gothic horror, Fright Fest premiere 'Dawn Breaks Behind The Eyes' (exclusive)". Input. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  9. ^ Hopewell, John (August 7, 2023). "Spain's Vertigo Joins 'All the World Drops Dead,' Kevin Kopacka's Horror Mystery About Global 'Fear of the Future'". Variety. Retrieved May 7, 2024.