Filmmaker and director Marianne Hettinger has always been fascinated by movement, dance, and the absurdity and complexities in human relationships. She sees Woody Allen, Mike Leigh and Pedro Almodovar as her greatest inspirations. German press: Die Welt online, click German Wikipedia for more info. Having come to New York alone as a teenager from a small town in Germany, she has found her own unique style. "I thrive in adversity. If people say I can't do something, I will use it as fuel to ignite my dream", she said after she won "Best Director" at the Detroit Independent Film Festival 2010 with her first feature. Born and raised in Augsburg, Germany and then Leitershofen, a suburb with a population of only 2000, Marianne Hettinger saw the movie "An American in Paris" for the first time at age 5. This was the birth of her dream to come to USA to dance and act like Gene Kelly. it would take her 7 hours roundtrip to get to the closest dance studio by bicycle, tramway, train and subway. But that didn’t stop her. From "American in Paris" to "German in New York", Marianne arrived as a nineteen year old alone in Manhattan with only $800 in her pocket, not knowing anybody. Soon she was accepted by the prestigious National Shakespeare Conservatory on a scholarship to study acting and directing. Simultaneously she studied dance on scholarships at the Alvin Ailey School, Steps on Broadway, the Martha Graham School and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.