Ulrich Seidl started his career with award-winning documentaries such as Good News (1990), Animal Love (1995) and Models (1998).

Seidl’s first feature fiction film Dog Days (2001) won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 2001. Import Export (2007) was the first film Seidl produced through his own production company, formed in 2003 with his long-term co-author Veronika Franz. It was followed by his prize-winning PARADISE Trilogy (2012). All three films were premiered in competition in Cannes, Venice and Berlin. The trilogy was followed by In the Basement (2014) and Safari (2016).

Sparta (world premiere in competition at the 2022 San Sebastian International Film Festival) is the brother film to Rimini (world premiere in competition at the 2022 Berlinale), and the conclusion of Ulrich Seidl’s diptych about the inescapability of the past and the pain of finding yourself.