About the Filmmaker Marianne Hettinger
Marianne Hettinger, Photo by Michele Civelli
Marianne Hettinger has already received several prizes with her first feature film MANGO TANGO including BEST DIRECTOR and the JURY PRIZE for BEST FEATURE. The film has been screened in sold- out houses with enthusiastic audience reactions.
As a 5-year old in her home town of Augsburg, Germany, Marianne watched Gene Kelly’s 'American In Paris’ for the first time. That was the birth of her dream to come to America to pursue her passion for dance, acting and filmmaking.
She wrote and performed her first play ‘Heaven & Earth’ off- off Broadway in New York at the tender age of 19. Since then Marianne Hettinger has become a well-known New York actress and dancer (Latin and Theatre Arts Ballroom Champion in the USA and Canada and Broadway performer), having worked with Antonio Banderas, David Letterman, Tom Berenger, Tim Robbins, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, John Stamos, Frank Oz, James Toback, Chita Rivera, Denis Leary and many others.
As a writer/ director she completed her short film ‘Saint Vitus Dance’ in April 2011 with world championship medalist figure skater Norbert Schramm.
Radio 1 Berlin interview
Listen to the early morning German radio interview with Marianne Hettinger.
Content: Marianne talks about following her dream of coming to New York as a teenager, passionately studying acting and dance 12 hours a day, sleeping in splits to increase her flexibiltiy, taking odd jobs to survive in a city where she didn't know anybody at the beginning, like taking a billionaire's cat to the dentist and then booking 9 national commerical spots where she danced as scissors snipping prices. She turned down a major modeling contract by the Elite modeling agency for her love of dancing and instead shared a one-bedroom apartment at first with 5 other actors where she had to sleep under the kitchen table next to the garbage can. Eventually she worked on Broadway and became a ballroom dance champion which let to her coaching and performing with Antonio Banderas on the Late Show with David Letterman. Her biggest achievement is, she says, creating her first feature film MANGO TANGO.
Newspaper Articles about Marianne Hettinger
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Augsburg Journal
Augsburg Journal
AZ- Bayernteil, page4
Die Welt
Focus Magazin
AZ: First Screening in NY with Test Audience
AZ: Film Shoot in Augsburg
AZ: Successful Screening in NY
Augsburger Allgemeine
Television Interview in Germany