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Ina Peichl’s career as a production and set designer would eventually take her to Paris, Los Angeles, Dallas and Berlin, but she set out on that journey in her native Austria. In 1980, while completing her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna under Professor Erich Wonder, Peichl began working primarily in theater.
In 1984 she designed the stage and costumes for a number of works at the Vienna Schauspielhaus, including Hans Gratzer’s production of Pirandello’s “The Mountain Giants.” She also supplied the costumes for Ödön von Horváth’s “Tales from the Vienna Woods” staged at the renowned Burgtheater.
In the mid-1980s, Peichl focus began to shift to film. She created the production design for Luc Bondy’s film adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s play “Unknown Country,” starring Michel Piccoli and Bulle Ogier, for which she received the German Film Award in Gold in 1988. In the same year, she made her first contact with the American film industry, working as a set decorator for “Courage Mountain,” a Hollywood adaptation of the Swiss classic “Heidi” filmed in Austria and France. With these and other film adaptations, such as Karin Brandauer’s “Ein Sohn aus gutem Hause” (based on the novel by Karl Tschuppik) and “St. Petri Schnee” (based on the novel by Leo Perutz), Peichl at first focused her work as a production designer on historical subjects from the late 19th and early 20th century.
During this same period, Peichl began creating studio designs for television shows, including the award-winning talk show “0137” on Premiere, Germany’s pay-TV channel. She also began to establish a name for herself in advertising. In 1989, she received the silver ADC Award for her work on the advertising spot for “Tempo” magazine. In the same year, she went on to shoot several other ad spots, music videos and the feature film “Der Mitwisser,” a moving drama that earned German actor Thomas Kretschmann a Max Ophüls Award.
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In 1990, Peichl met American producer and screenwriter Leonard Katzman in Paris, where he was producing five episodes of “Dallas,” one of the most successful television series of all time. Katzman hired Peichl to work for him as an art director in Paris and, soon thereafter, invited her to work on other projects in the United States. Peichl moved to Los Angeles and later to Dallas, where she worked four seasons long as a production designer on the neo-Western series “Walker, Texas Ranger” featuring action star Chuck Norris. Back in Los Angeles, she acquired US-citizenship and dedicated her time to raising her two girls and working on music videos.
In 2002 Peichl returned to Europe, where she settled in Berlin. Peichl continues her theatre work, but focuses on film and TV productions. She has created the sets of TV movies such as “Der Duft des Geldes” and “Liebe darf alles” directed by Karl Kases as well as for the sitcom “Novotny und Maroudy”. At the same time she also designed television studios for talk shows and news programs, including »The Barbara Karlich Show« or »Nighttalk«, and stages for live TV events like “Die Starnacht am Wörthersee”.
In 2010 she worked together with production designer Bertram Reiter as art director for the German-Austrian film production “3Faltig” directed by Harald Sicheritz with Roland Düringer, Matthias Schweighöfer and Alfred Dorfer. She has been in charge of the studio sets built on the back lot at Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. The end of the year, following two more TV productions, sees her at work on the costume design for Roland Schimmelpfennig’s play “Peggy Pickitt” directed by Wilfried Minks at Hamburg’s famous Thalia Theater.
Peichl makes her home somewhere between Vienna, Los Angeles and Berlin. True to form she does not restrict her work to only one genre. Her approach is multi-perspective, and risky projects don’t scare her. From erotic television to auteur films, from talk shows to theater - each genre is a new challenge for her work. And with every new challenge grows her passion for her work and art.
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Ina Peichl is a member of the German Film Academy and the Association of Production Designers, Set Designers and Costume Artists (S/F/K).
She lives with her two daughters in Berlin.
