M. J. M. Ringel – the decent Painter (2009)
A film about the Graz-born painter Franz Ringel († 2011) – on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
The idiosyncratic and shy painter is a unique phenomenon. His impressive career has taken him to galleries and museums all over the world. Ringel never courted the public’s favor, never bowed to the laws of the market or indulged in the spirit of the times. In this portrait he allows intimate insights into his life as an artist, at peace with himself, as colorful as it is profound and dramatic.
Directed by Thaddaeus Podgorski, Photography: Peter Kasperak, Dramaturgy and editing: Adam Wallisch, Commentary written by Wolfgang Bauer, Dubbing mixer: Stefan K. Fiedler, Archive research: Silvia Heimader, Production management: Toni Nemeth, Commissioning editor: Franz Grabner. A co-production of Cosmos Factory with ORF, supported by Austrian Television Fund (50:00 minutes)
Burleske Kunstfehler (2007)
(“Burlesque Malpractice”) Only produced in a German version.
Recording of the first and last performance of a one-act play by Austrian painter, performance artist, graphic artist, experimental filmmaker, and writer Günter Brus on 8 November 2007 at the Kunsthaus Weiz, Styria.
Direction of the play: Christine Wipplinger. Actors and participants: Bernd Jeschek, pupils and students from Weiz and the Elin town band. The play ends with the words: “Enough of the drama! Forward to the exit!” (“Schluss mit dem Theater! Vorwärts zum Ausgang!”)
Released as a DVD edition (30 copies), presented on September 24, 2008 on the occasion of Günter Brus’ 70th birthday (48:00 minutes). Distributed by the Weiz Cultural Office.
Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries, 122nd action (2005)
Hermann Nitsch at the Burgtheater
The 122nd action was a performance staged in 2005 by the Austrian contemporary artist, composer and set designer Hermann Nitsch († 2022) as part of his Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries. It took place in Austria’s National Theater and was Nitsch’s first performance in a permanent theater on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the reopening of the Burgtheater building after the war (1955).
The event was recorded on video on November 19, 2005. In the summer of 2006, screenings took place in Beijing and Tokyo followed by the US premiere on October 6, 2006 at the Mike Weiss Gallery in New York City. On November 7, 2008, a shortened version of 90 minutes was released on DVD.
Hermann Nitsch: Two-Day-Play (2005)
The 120th action of his Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries, in which Nitsch took up the Parsifal theme, which has occupied him starting from his early artistic beginnings, took place on July 1st and 2nd, 2004 at Hermann Nitsch’s Prinzendorf Castle in Lower Austria.
Release on DVD: Part 1 (119:00 minutes), Part 2 (81:00 minutes)
Camera: Peter Kasperak, Rolf Leitenbor, Jürgen Wimmer, Jürgen Nussbaumer, Sound recording: Andreas Haas, Michael Fandl, Klaus Kellermann, Editing by Adam Wallisch, Assistant director: Elisabeth Patsios.
Sinnlich intensiv – Hermann Nitsch (2004)
(“Sensually intense – Hermann Nitsch”) Only produced in a German version.
A portrait of the Viennese contemporary artist Hermann Nitsch († 2022), who is considered one of the most important Austrian artists of the second half of the 20th century.
The film shows his Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries, his paintings and his pleasurable life. (52:00 minutes)
Written and directed by Anita Natmeßnig, Camera: Peter Kasperak, Sound recording: Andreas Haas, Editing by Adam Wallisch, Dubbing mixer: Stefan K. Fiedler, Music composed by Hermann Nitsch, Production management: Toni Nemeth, Commissioning editor: Franz Grabner. A co-production with ORF.
Schrecklich verletzlich – Günter Brus (2004)
(“Terribly vulnerable – Günter Brus”) Only produced in a German version.
A portrait of the Austrian painter, performance artist, graphic artist, experimental filmmaker, and writer Günter Brus († 2024), which tells of fairy tale books, shows action sketches, includes historical film footage and reports on Brus’ exhibitions in Vienna, Berlin and Paris. His aggressively presented actionism intentionally disregarded conventions and taboos, with the intent of shocking the viewer. (52:00 minutes)
Written and directed by Anita Natmeßnig, Camera: Peter Kasperak, Sound recording: Andreas Haas, Editing by Adam Wallisch, Dubbing mixer: Stefan K. Fiedler, Production management: Toni Nemeth, Commissioning editor: Franz Grabner. A co-production with ORF.
Alles ist druckbar – Kurt Zein (2004)
(“Everything is printable – Kurt Zein”) Only produced in a German version.
The Viennese Kurt Zein († 2022) is the master of hand-printed original graphics. In his etching workshop in the Viennese suburbs, art history is written every day.
For him, everything can be printed. No material is foreign to him and no technique is too difficult. The boundaries between artistic creativity, masterful craftsmanship and industrial inventiveness are fluid.
His conclusion from decades of experience: “My most important work tool is the wastepaper basket.”
Kurt Zein is a typical Viennese. And whatever he does, he does it with dedication and enthusiasm. Whether he is inking printing plates or performing as a percussionist, roasting potatoes or describing his vision of a house wall paneled with discarded copper plates. (52:00 Minuten)
Interview: Anita Natmeßnig, Idea/concept/editing: Adam Wallisch, Camera: Peter Kasperak, Sound recording: Mike Fried, Dubbing mixer: Stefan K. Fiedler. Produced by Cosmos Factory.
On March 20, 2005, the film was presented as part of the “Diagonale – Festival of Austrian Film” in the Space04 of the Kunsthaus Graz.
Satyagraha – Gandhi in Südafrika (2001)
(“Satyagraha – Gandhi in South Africa”) Only produced in a German version.
Film about the Austrian premiere of the opera “Satyagraha” by the American composer Philip Glass on October 12, 2001 in the Festspielhaus St. Pölten – with stage sets and costumes (set design) by the painter and actionist Hermann Nitsch.
“Satyagraha” describes episodes from the life of Mahatma Gandhi.
Lower Austria Tonkunstler Orchestra, Concentus Vocalis Wien (Choir). Stage director: Michael Schilhan.
Documentary directed by Michael Bukovsky, Edited by Adam Wallisch. Produced by Cosmos Factory for ORF (45:00 minutes)
Step by Step – Österreich entlang des “Sunset Boulevard” (2001)
(“Step by Step – Austrians along Sunset Boulevard”) Only produced in a German version.
Students from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts follow Austrian footsteps in Los Angeles.
The journey through the present branches off into the world of yesterday and becomes a portrait of the golden age of Hollywood, when Sunset Boulevard was still the dream street of American cinema.
Traces of film history can be found everywhere. The travelers re-enact famous film scenes and discover stories of Austrians who have shaped Hollywood: Fred Zinnemann, Billy Wilder, Hedi Lamarr, Alma Mahler and Arnold Schönberg.
Screenwriter Fred Schiller (Laurel & Hardy, 77 Sunset Strip), Ronald Schönberg, the son of Arnold Schönberg, the famous architectural photographer Julius Shulman and Hubert Schmalix, painter and professor at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, talk about it.
Based on an idea by Herwig Zens († 2019) Directed by Harald Pokieser, Camera: Peter Kasperak, Sound recording: Mike Fried, Edited by Jörg Achatz, Gpahic design: Christine Puchner, Dubbing mixer: Hubert Weninger, Production assistant: Dinah Czezik-Müller, Commissioning editor: Peter Zurek. Produced by Cosmos Factory for ORF 3-SAT (28:00 minutes)
Günter Brus: Body Analysis (2001)
Autobiographical art film by the performance artist, graphic artist and writer Günter Brus († 2024) on the occasion of his exhibition “La peinture comme crime ou la part maudite de la modernité” (“Painting as crime or the accursed part of art”) at the Louvre Museum in Paris from October 19, 2001 to January 14, 2002, where two rooms were dedicated to him.
In addition to films by Kurt Kren and Christof Stenzel, “Body Analyses” also contains private films by Günter and Anni Brus, drawings and action photos.
It is not based on a conventional script, but follows a “score” drawn by Günter Brus (74:00 minutes).
Editing and implementation of the score by Jörg Achatz, Camera: Peter Kasperak, Camera assistance: Mike Fried, Graphic design: Christine Puchner, Dubbing mixer: Stefan K. Fiedler, Production management: Dinah Czezik-Müller, Narrators: Christian Basel, Florentin Groll, Paul Kreshka. Produced by Cosmos Factory.
Herwig Zens – eine spanische Passion (1999)
(“Herwig Zens – a Spanish Passion”) Only produced in a German version.
Printmaker, painter and graphic artist Herwig Zens († 2019) on the trail of the Spanish painter Francisco José de Goya.
Zens is a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, has spent decades studying Goya’s work and knows how to pass on his enthusiasm for Spain to his students.
Based on an idea by Herwig Zens († 2019) Written and directed by Gustav W. Trampitsch, Camera: Peter Kasperak. Produced by Cosmos Factory for ORF 3-SAT (27:00 minutes).
Hermann Nitsch: Six-Day-Play (1998)
Painter and performance artist Hermann Nitsch’s legendary Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries 6-Day-Play, inspired by the story of creation, celebrated from August 3 to 9, 1998.
Nitsch: “It is at the same time a folk festival and a mystery of existence brought to consciousness.” (“es ist gleichzeitig volksfest und zu bewusstsein gebrachtes mysterium der existenz.”)
(52:00 minutes).
Video release (1999): 6 days = 6 VHS cassettes (total running time about 6 hours)
Camera: Norbert Arnsteiner, Peter Kasperak, Rolf Leitenbor, Walter Reichl, Sound recording: Mike Fried, Fredrik Nilsen, Gary Todd, Lighting technician: Niki Griedl, Camera assistant: Thomas Föger, Alexander Steinbach, Roland Winkler, Editing: Adi Wallisch, Video technicians: Roland Buzzi, Holger Lang, Gottfried Watz, Assistant directors: Isabella Chromy, Karl Maurer, Technical assistence: Niki Yvon, Production assistants: Schiwa Aliabadi, Dinah Czezik-Müller, Commissioning editor: Wolfgang Lorenz. A production by Cosmos Factory and Hermann Nitsch.