Pia Marais

• Born — 1971 • Birthplace — Johannesburg, South Africa • Occupation — Film director

Pia Marais was born in Johannesburg to a Swedish mother and South African father. She lived in South Africa, Sweden, and Spain as a child. Marais studied sculpture and photography in London and Amsterdam as well as at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. She went on to study filmmaking at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin.

Marais directed four short films at the start of her career: Loop (1996), Deranged (1998), Tricky People (1999), and 17 (2003). During this time, she also worked as a casting director and script supervisor. The Unpolished, Marais' semi-autobiographical feature directorial debut, premiered at the 2007 International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it won a Tiger Award. Her 2010 feature film, At Ellen's Age, starred Jeanne Balibar as a woman who roams the world after abandoning her former life. The film premiered in competition at the Locarno Film Festival in 2010. Marais' third feature film, the South Africa-set thriller Layla Fourie about a young mother confronting her guilt after a hit and run accident, premiered at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2013, where it was recognized with a special mention by the international jury. In 2017, Marais became a professor at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. She was one of 45 directors from across Europe who contributed to the 2019 television documentary 24h Europe - The Next Generation. Transamazonia, Marais' 2024 feature film about a girl in the Amazon rainforest whose father claims she is a faith healer, premiered in competition at the 77th Locarno Film Festival.

Marais resides in Berlin.

• Year — Title — Notes — Ref. • 2019 — 24h Europe - The Next Generation — One of 45 directors involved in the documentary.