Rasta Filmproduktion

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Point of view

Point of View – allows its audience/viewer to become a witness of a specific time period amongst a family that has not yet moved on from its past. The usual observation known to viewers is disregarded here since the audience is taken into the storyline thanks to the camera’s own part in the story. Through this, the audience shares a key position with the central person who initially created this family constellation. The camera films for over 70 minutes without any cut.

POINT OF VIEW is a 80 minute experimental, realtime family drama, which is being autonomously being produced by an independent group of artists, away from the usual funding policy. A note of black humour along with proponents of daring film will be felt throughout the film.

The plot and screenplay was written by Austrian film maker Otwin Biernat.

Biography:
Otwin Biernat was born in Graz, Austria. He started his foray into theatre and film in Vienna in 2002, where he developed his skills as an all-round artist. Through various national theatre pieces, he evolved from actor, to assistant director, and ultimately director.
In 2009, Otwin moved to Berlin to expand his horizons. He joined the Berlin film circle, and in a spur of curiosity, started experimenting with cameras, leading him to discover his true passion – filmography.
In 2011, “Codewort Mr. Bean” which he co-directed, acted in, and produced was selected for the Berlin International Film Festival. The film garnered 3rd place for “Best Camera” in the 99 Fire Films Awards category.
Seeking international experience, Otwin moved to the Middle East in late 2011, where he worked for television as senior picture editor.
However, the call of filmography was too strong, and in 2014, Otwin made his way back to Europe. He then co-produced the movie “Homesick” which had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2015.
Capping off his experience in film and acting over the years, and as a debut to a career in directing, Otwin completed his first feature film “Im Auge des Betrachters” in 2017. This movie, which will be the first of many to come, bears Otwin’s filmography identity. Otwin fuses film, satirical theatre, music, painting and drawing, with unconventional storylines and cinematic techniques, creating a holistic art form that captivates and surprises viewers through engaging points of views.

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."

Synopsis:
POINT OF VIEW. Karl Krämer has been living with his wife Maria in the German countryside. Maria was a once well-known singer, who, in the peak of her career fell seriously ill and lost her voice, leaving her in a desolate state unable to communicate and forced to battle her inner demons.
Together, Karl and Maria have three children, who, through the course of the years, have grown distant to their parents. Yet, on the 65th birthday of their father, they all come back to visit him unexpectedly. What was supposed to be a simple birthday reunion transforms into a series of disturbing, poignant, sometimes comic, series of events exposing a family drowning in the past and trying to heal each other in what their own point of view, is the way back to sanity.

POINT DE VUE. Karl Krämer vit avec sa femme Maria dans la campagne allemande. Maria, en son temps une célèbre chanteuse, fut, au pic de sa carrière, frappée d’une grave maladie qui lui fit perdre sa voix, la laissant désespérée, incapable de communiquer oralement et forcée de se battre contre ses démons intérieurs.
Ensemble, Karl et Maria eurent trois enfants, qui, au fil des années, se sont tous plus ou moins éloignés de leurs parents. Cependant, à l’occasion du 65ème anniversaire de leur père, ils sont tous venus lui rendre visite à l’improviste. Ce qui était supposé être une simple réunion de famille donne lieu à toute une série d’événements dérangeants, poignants, et parfois comiques, exposant une famille submergée par le passé, chacun de ses membres tentant de guérir et guider les autres vers ce qu’il, selon son point de vue, considère comme la voie du retour vers la Raison."

IM AUGE DES BETRACHTERS - POINT OF VIEW lässt den Zuschauer zu einem Zeitzeugen einer Momentaufnahme innerhalb einer Familie werden, die ihre Vergangenheit noch nicht bewältigt hat. Die Betrachtung von aussen fällt weg, da der Zuschauer zusammen mit der Kamera zu einem Teil der Geschichte wird. Dabei nimmt der Zuschauer die Position jener zentralen Schlüsselperson ein, die diese Familienkonstellation initiiert hat.
Das Besondere an der Umsetzung ist, dass die Kamera in den ersten 80 Minuten scheinbar ohne Schnitt durchgehend dreht.

IM AUGE DES BETRACHTERS ist ein 80 minütiges experimentelles Echtzeit- Familiendrama, welches eigenständig und unabhängig von einer Gruppe kreativer Künstler selbst produziert wird, abseits der üblichen Förderpolitik. Befürworter von gewagten Filmen mit einer speziellen Prise schwarzen Humors werden sich durch den entstehenden Film angesprochen fühlen.

IM AUGE DES BETRACHTERS greift die psychologischen Vorgänge einer Familienkonstellation auf, die allgemein bekannt sein dürften: Unverarbeitete Probleme drängen die Familienangehörigen in die gewohnten alten Muster zurück.

IM AUGE DES BETRACHTERS versetzt den Zuschauer in die Perspektive der in sich zurückgezogenen verstummten Mutter, die inmitten dieser komplex verstrickten Familienstruktur die zentrale Rolle spielt.