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 GOTTFRIED HELNWEIN AND THE DREAMING CHILD
72 minutes, documentary, color, 2011
A film by Lisa Kirk Colburn
A fascinating look at the creative process, this
unique documentary explores what happens
when the artist Gottfried Helnwein takes on
the role of Production Designer for a never-before-seen opera written
by Israel's most famous playwright, Hanoch Levin. For Helnwein, the
child has always been the symbol of innocence and innocence betrayed,
a motif that persists throughout much of his work. But when the Israeli
Opera creative team casts an adult to play the lead child, Helnwein must
fight to preserve the opera's integrity and Levin's original vision.
“A wonderful look at a stunning contemporary artist.” - Film Threat
“A visual feast!” - Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
“The actual production is impressive...viscerally exciting...quite breathtaking.” - Film Journal
“Helnwein‘s vision is revealed as grand and arresting. The film rightly admires his work.” - Village Voice
UPC: 7-20229-91536-6 | Catalog #: FRF 915366D | SRP: $27.95 | Street Date: March 19 |
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 FATHERLAND
100 minutes, documentary, color, Spanish w/English subtitles, 2011
A film by Nicolás Prividera
La Recoleta Cemetery rests in the heart of one of Buenos Aires' swankiest neighborhoods. A city-within-a-city, it is an inward-facing place with its own interior geography. Like the Père-Lachaise graveyard in France, La Recoleta is the final resting place for key figures of its nation's history: statesmen and poets, founding fathers and oppositional voices. And with Argentina's history so fraught with unrest, this relationship between the necropolis, the city and the nation proves fascinating ground for Nicolás Prividera's new film.
The grounds are laid out like city blocks, with wide avenues branching onto lanes filled with
elaborate mausoleums. The film does not attempt to tour the cemetery as one would on foot,
however, but rather moves chronologically through the history enshrined there.
A series of individuals read aloud excerpts from the writings of noteworthy Argentines interred
within. Revealed are civil wars, battles with the country's native population, conflict between
the city and the provinces, and years of military dictatorship. The readings are intercut with
sequences of daily life in Recoleta, including the cemetery's custodians, whose work amid the
tombs alludes to the ongoing construction of the nation's history.
Prividera has a striking sense of composition. He is highly attentive to contrasts between light
and shadow, immovable stone and the passing signs of human presence, and the looming
skyline of Buenos Aires over the cemetery's walls. Fatherland could stand on the strength of
its images alone. However, its astonishing historical juxtapositions and the moving articulations
of living Argentine citizens elevate the film's significance to another plane entirely. [Excerpts from the TIFF Programmer‘s Note by Kate Lawrie Van de Ven]
• Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival
“Arresting...original...most effective! One of the real highlights of the Toronto Film Festival.” - Senses of Cinema
“Intriguing... Engrossing!” - Variety
UPC: 7-20229-91542-7 | Catalog #: FRF 915427D | SRP: $24.95 | Street Date: March 19 |
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