80 MINUTES WITHOUT CUT ************************************************** "Dive into a REAL - TIME - FAMILY - DRAMA and become the main character." ***************************************************** Karl Krämer is a middle class retired person who has been living with his wife Maria in the countryside of northern Germany for many years. Maria formally was a well-known singer, who, in the peak of her career, fell seriously ill and then unluckily lost her voice. From this moment she has been in a desolate state unable to communicate and forced to battle her inner demons... But for her husband she has remained the glamorous person of former times. He denies to realise the fact, that the success of his wife and the love of their partnership has vanished by the time. Besides life has changed to increasing isolation... Together, Karl and Maria have three grown up children, who are quite different in their character and their way of living. Each of them try to get over their difficult childhood in their own way and through the course of the years they have grown distant to their parents and perhaps to each other. Yet, on the 65th birthday of their father, they all come back to visit him unexpectedly. This family gathering is of course supposed to be a simple birthday reunion, but then it transforms into a series of disturbing, poignant and sometimes comic-like events. The emerging problems of this situation expose the family drowning into unresolved conflicts of the past. Each family member tries to find a solution in different interactions - with a deep desire to heal each other. How can they find the way back to sanity when the own point of view differs from each other in so many aspects...?
Director Statement The completion of my first feature film Im Auge Des Betrachters (Point of View) is a personal milestone as it is not only the culmination of years of experience in theater and film, but also a fulfillment of a challenge to write, produce, direct, film, edit and sell a film on my own. Im Auge Des Betrachters captures the essence of my filmographic identity: • Technique: Running on a low budget of only 10,000 euros, I achieved quality through content and technique rather than special effects. The film is shot from the point of view of one of the characters, and the storyline and shooting was optimized to achieve 80 minutes of real-time material, with no cut visible. • Style: I combined different art forms (theatrical satire, chanson music and creative cinematic effects) into a film which engages and captures the viewers’ attention via subtle twists. By fusing these different elements, I show that creativity has no borders, and in line with the title of the film, is a matter of perspective and point of view. • Content: The film touches a topic which everyone can relate to – family and the entailing relationship dynamics and conflicts. Yet the familiar is made unfamiliar through a jolting mix of perspectives and coping mechanisms – from the mundane to the bizarre. On a personal level, the film was planned to be shot over 8 days but technical issues cut down the shooting time to 4 days. My father passed away within those 4 days, transforming the artistic challenge to the biggest challenge in my life. The emotional rollercoaster that followed almost made me want to stop this project.
Luckily, my father read the film’s script before passing away. He read the storyline with enthusiasm, comparing it with the works of one of his favorite writers - Dostojewski. As a tribute to my father’s memory, I felt duty-bound to overcome the challenges of this film and see it through to completion.
80 MINUTES WITHOUT CUT ************************************************** "Dive into a REAL - TIME - FAMILY - DRAMA and become the main character." ***************************************************** Karl Krämer is a middle class retired person who has been living with his wife Maria in the countryside of northern Germany for many years. Maria formally was a well-known singer, who, in the peak of her career, fell seriously ill and then unluckily lost her voice. From this moment she has been in a desolate state unable to communicate and forced to battle her inner demons... But for her husband she has remained the glamorous person of former times. He denies to realise the fact, that the success of his wife and the love of their partnership has vanished by the time. Besides life has changed to increasing isolation... Together, Karl and Maria have three grown up children, who are quite different in their character and their way of living. Each of them try to get over their difficult childhood in their own way and through the course of the years they have grown distant to their parents and perhaps to each other. Yet, on the 65th birthday of their father, they all come back to visit him unexpectedly. This family gathering is of course supposed to be a simple birthday reunion, but then it transforms into a series of disturbing, poignant and sometimes comic-like events. The emerging problems of this situation expose the family drowning into unresolved conflicts of the past. Each family member tries to find a solution in different interactions - with a deep desire to heal each other. How can they find the way back to sanity when the own point of view differs from each other in so many aspects...?
Director Statement
The completion of my first feature film Im Auge Des Betrachters (Point of View) is a personal milestone as it is not only the culmination of years of experience in theater and film, but also a fulfillment of a challenge to write, produce, direct, film, edit and sell a film on my own.
Im Auge Des Betrachters captures the essence of my filmographic identity:
• Technique: Running on a low budget of only 10,000 euros, I achieved quality through content and technique rather than special effects. The film is shot from the point of view of one of the characters, and the storyline and shooting was optimized to achieve 80 minutes of real-time material, with no cut visible. • Style: I combined different art forms (theatrical satire, chanson music and creative cinematic effects) into a film which engages and captures the viewers’ attention via subtle twists. By fusing these different elements, I show that creativity has no borders, and in line with the title of the film, is a matter of perspective and point of view. • Content: The film touches a topic which everyone can relate to – family and the entailing relationship dynamics and conflicts. Yet the familiar is made unfamiliar through a jolting mix of perspectives and coping mechanisms – from the mundane to the bizarre.
On a personal level, the film was planned to be shot over 8 days but technical issues cut down the shooting time to 4 days. My father passed away within those 4 days, transforming the artistic challenge to the biggest challenge in my life. The emotional rollercoaster that followed almost made me want to stop this project.
Luckily, my father read the film’s script before passing away. He read the storyline with enthusiasm, comparing it with the works of one of his favorite writers - Dostojewski. As a tribute to my father’s memory, I felt duty-bound to overcome the challenges of this film and see it through to completion.
Directors: Otwin Biernat
Writers: Otwin Biernat
Producers: Otwin Biernat
Key cast: Knut Kroedel, Maximilian Popp, Uta Krueger, Doris Pigneter, Bodil Strutz
Categories:
Nominated:
– London International Film Festival | Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
– Lissabon International Film Festival: Best Experimental Film
– Sofia Independent Film Festival: Best low and no budget feature film
– Swindon Indetpendent Film Festival: Best Drama
– FICMA Mexiko City: Best Feature Film
– Jagran Film Festival India: Best feature film | World Panorama
- Pphnom Phen International Film Festival / Best Foreign Film
– New York City International Film Festival | Best Foreign Feature/ Best Male Actor
– Transylvania Cinema Awards: Best feature film
– Top Indie Film Awards: Extra consideration: Best Cinematography
Original idea
Best actor
– Barcelona Planet Film Festival: Best trailer
– 12 Months Film Festival: Best Feature Film
Best Experimental Film
Best Trailer
– Hollywood Screenings Film Festival
– Los Angeles CineFest
AWARDED:
– London International Film Festival: Best Supporting Actress Doris Pigneter
- KINODUEL International Film Festival Moskow: Best Feature Film
– I Filmmaker International Film Festival Marbella: „The BEAST“ Best Feature Film/ Best Drama Feature
– Swindon Independent Film Festival: Best Feature Film
– Antakya International Film Festival: Best Editor – Bucharest Film Awards: Best Editor
– Best Film Awards Cluj: Best feature film
Best Drama Feature
Best Screenplay
Runner up Best Director
– Chhatrapati Shivaji International Film Festival: Best Male Actor Knut Krödel
– FICMA Mexico: Special Mention Award
– Headline International Film Festival Canada: Special Mention Award
Student project: No Completion date: 2017-04-06 Shooting format: Digital Aspect ratio: 16:9 Film color: Color First-time filmmaker: No
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