The Secret Floor

Norbert
Lechner

Norbert Lechner (born 1961) is screenwriter, director and producer. He graduated in German, philosophy and art history. 1985 he directed his first shortfilm BAUCHWUNDE. 1991 he directed and produced his first feature film WOUNDED FACES. His children’s feature films THE BOY WHO LOOKS FOR GOLD (TONI GOLDWASCHER, 2007), TOM SAWYER AND HIS FRIENDS (TOM UND HACKE, 2012), and FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE (ENTE GUT! 2016) won a lot of awards. 2019 he shot the feature film THE WALL BETWEEN US (ZWISCHEN UNS DIE MAUER). The leading actress LEA FREUND won the “Actors Award” as “Best Performance of the Year”. His new children’s feature film THE SECRET FLOOR (DAS GEHEIME STOCKWERK) he finished in February 2025.

Karli (12) doesn’t get the seaside summer he hoped for. Instead, he ends up at an abandoned hotel in the Alps, where his parents plan to renovate. Instead of adventure, he’s stuck scraping wallpaper and doing boring chores – until he discovers a mysterious floor. An elevator takes him back in time – to 1938. There, Karli befriends Hannah, a Jewish girl, and George, a shoeshine boy. When George is wrongly accused of theft, the kids join forces to uncover the truth. Their search reveals not only strange events but also a hidden secret behind the hotel’s walls. This adventurous film is a story of friendship across time, the courage to face history, and standing up for what’s right – no matter the era. The Mysterious Floor, an Austrian-German co-production, is having its world premiere at the Zlín Film Festival.