- Occupation
Producer, Director - Country
Austria
Albert Barbara
State of the Nation: Austria in Six Chapters
It wasn‘t the goal to make just a report on Austria but to contribute to a discussion. Turn the spectator into another debater. The moving picture of the group of four directors tries to render the social situation, economic factors and the ideology mixtures that naturally outline the present life without significant concessions. The document is not a critic analysis of Austrian political crises, which could be a symptom of western-european standards. It is rather its statement, which is more less a consequence of sociological reckoned on practical life of presentation of representative types. Barbara Albert portraitured working women, single mothers. A cashier in a supermarket, a worker at an endless band in a factory, a convinced elector for the Freedom a woman of Turkish nationality and an unemployed artist of action. The director catches them in brief moments of everyday life however even from there we can read what the political conviction grows from. Michael Glawogger set off by himself. During three weeks he crossed Austria hitchhiking. With a small camera he was getting in to random drivers. The journey mainly followed the state border. The most often picture there is a driver with the countryside running away behind the window. The sentence fragments are glued together as a mosaic of views and opinions on the government, opposition, the monarch and the European Union, on immigrants. Ulrich Seidl. The most ordinary Austrians as well, fascinate the director of controversial movie Psí dny (Dog days) presented in Czech cinemas, the intimacy of their stereotype lives. He chose one of the monotonous motives for his part of the collective document. - A notorious complainer, who spends his life writing letters to authorities and an elderly couple, who view themselves surrounded with a bunch of foreigners, as the country and tradition savers. Michael Strumminger followed a prominent telecast and peaked into two different living rooms. He found there children and their grandparents - two groups not interested in politics. Not yet and not any more. However, there is a shadow on them as well. The bipolarity tension between politics and non-politics follows the whole film, which only summaries, points and in places condensed way popularize the endless discussion about the state of public affairs. The bearers of different ideas are the heroes of the dialogue and they make it human. They live their lives, there are parts of history and beyond them, they are indifferent although they feel how much politics affects them. They take part there meanwhile it‘s as if they wanted stay out of time. The Austrians.
It wasn‘t the goal to make just a report on Austria but to contribute to a discussion. Turn the spectator into another debater. The moving picture of the group of four directors tries to render the social situation, economic factors and the ideology mixtures that naturally outline the present life without significant concessions. The document is not a critic analysis of Austrian political crises, which could be a symptom of western-european standards. It is rather its statement, which is more less a consequence of sociological reckoned on practical life of presentation of representative types. Barbara Albert portraitured working women, single mothers. A cashier in a supermarket, a worker at an endless band in a factory, a convinced elector for the Freedom a woman of Turkish nationality and an unemployed artist of action. The director catches them in brief moments of everyday life however even from there we can read what the political conviction grows from. Michael Glawogger set off by himself. During three weeks he crossed Austria hitchhiking. With a small camera he was getting in to random drivers. The journey mainly followed the state border. The most often picture there is a driver with the countryside running away behind the window. The sentence fragments are glued together as a mosaic of views and opinions on the government, opposition, the monarch and the European Union, on immigrants. Ulrich Seidl. The most ordinary Austrians as well, fascinate the director of controversial movie Psí dny (Dog days) presented in Czech cinemas, the intimacy of their stereotype lives. He chose one of the monotonous motives for his part of the collective document. - A notorious complainer, who spends his life writing letters to authorities and an elderly couple, who view themselves surrounded with a bunch of foreigners, as the country and tradition savers. Michael Strumminger followed a prominent telecast and peaked into two different living rooms. He found there children and their grandparents - two groups not interested in politics. Not yet and not any more. However, there is a shadow on them as well. The bipolarity tension between politics and non-politics follows the whole film, which only summaries, points and in places condensed way popularize the endless discussion about the state of public affairs. The bearers of different ideas are the heroes of the dialogue and they make it human. They live their lives, there are parts of history and beyond them, they are indifferent although they feel how much politics affects them. They take part there meanwhile it‘s as if they wanted stay out of time. The Austrians.
Born in Vienna in 1970, Barbara studied theatre science, German language and journalism. She started with directing and screenwriting studies at the Vienna Film Academy in 1991 and worked as assistant director, script / continuity, assistant editor and acted in the feature film Memory of the Unknown, directed by Nathalie Alonso Casale. In 1999 she co-founded the film production company COOP 99 along with Martin Gschlacht, Jessica Hausner and Antonin Svoboda. Selected filmography: Falling (2006), Free Radicals (2003), State of Nation (2002), Northern Skirts (1999), Slidin' – Bright and Shiny World (1998), Sun Spots (1998), Somewhere Else (1997).
Born in Vienna in 1970, Barbara studied theatre science, German language and journalism. She started with directing and screenwriting studies at the Vienna Film Academy in 1991 and worked as assistant director, script / continuity, assistant editor and acted in the feature film Memory of the Unknown, directed by Nathalie Alonso Casale. In 1999 she co-founded the film production company COOP 99 along with Martin Gschlacht, Jessica Hausner and Antonin Svoboda. Filmography: Falling (2006), feature film (Prod. coop99 Filmproduktion, International Film Festival Venice 2006); Free Radicals (2003), feature film (Prod. coop99 Filmproduktion, Locarno Int. Film Festival in competition 2003, Toronto Int. Film Festival 2003, New York Film Festival 2003, Viennale 2003, Hofer Filmtage 2003, London Int. Film Festival 2003, Thessaloniki Int. Film Festival 2003, in competition)l; State of Nation (2002), documentary (togehter with Michael Glawogger, Ulrich Seidl and Michael Sturminger, Diagonale Graz 2002, Kinostart Österreich: June 2002); Northern Skirts (1999), feature film (Biennale di Venezia 1999, Wettbewerb, Marcello Mastroianni Preis für Nina Proll: beste Nachwuchsdarstellerin
Viennale 1999: Vienna Film Award, FIPRESCI Award, Int. Stockholm Film Festival: Best First Feature Film, Max-Ophüls-Film-Festival Saarbrücken 2000: Förderungspreis u. Bestes Drehbuch, FEMINA Award for Christine A. Maier: Best Camera in Northern Skirts); Slidin' – Bright and Shiny World (1998), feature film (Episode TAGADA, 30 min.) Rotterdam Int. Film Festival 1999, Tiger Award competition); Sun Spots (1998), short film (Win Femme Film Festival, Los Angeles 1999: Best Short Film); Somewhere Else (1997), documentary (Festival der Menschenrechte, Leipzig 1998); The Fruit of Their Womb (1996), short film (Int. Filmfestival Locarno '97: Leopard of tomorrow, Prix SSR (D/A/CH), Rencontres Internationales Henri Langlois Festival du Film, Poitiers: Le Prix Spécial du Jury, Krakow International Short Film Festival: The Jury's Diploma of Honour, 31st Humboldt International Film Festival, Arcata '98: Best Film of the Festival, Best International Film); Nightjars/Swallows of the Night (1993), short film, Max Ophüls-Preis Saarbrücken '94: best short film 1994.
Coop99 Filmproduktion
Wasagasse 12/1
1090 Vienna
Wasagasse 12/1
1090 Vienna