SOUTH - FDb.cz

OFFICIAL SELECTION
43 rd HOF
INTERNATIONAL
FILM FESTIVAL 2009
OFFICIAL SELECTION
FILM FESTIVAL
MAX OPHUELS PREIS
2010
OFFICIAL SELECTION
DIAGONALE
2010
OFFICIAL SELECTION
INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA
50 th CARTAGENA INT.
FILM FESTIVAL 2010
SCREENINGS BERLIN / EFM
CINE STAR 2
SAT 02.13th 2010 I 10:45am
CINE STAR 6
MON 02.15th. 2010 I 12:45pm
© finnworks 2009
FINNWORKS in association with ADRIALPE MEDIA “SOUTH”
MATTHEW MARK MEYER CLAUDIA VICK SAL GIORNO TIM KIRKPATRICK BILLY CROSBY NINA HADER BRYAN HANNA and JIMENA HOYOS
visual fx by ONLINEVIDEO46 sound by ROTOR FILM POSTPRODUCTION casting by DORIS HARDER and CLAUDIA KOPACKA edited by FINN
music by SASCHA SELKE score producer ROBERT ELLIS-GEIGER recorded at SHAW STUDIOS HONG KONG
director of photography JOACHIM KRENN and JARROD KLOIBER executive producers GERHARD FILLEI JOACHIM KRENN CARL HOLLMANN
co-producers MATTHEW MARK MEYER JULIAN COUTTS written and directed by GERHARD FILLEI and JOACHIM KRENN
WWW:SOUTH-THEMOVIE.COM
SYNOPSIS SHORT
1999. A few days before Thanksgiving.
After a disastrous bank robbery attempt in Los Angeles fails, Bruce McGray hits rock bottom.
He longs to leave everything behind and start a new life. Maybe even in the place in South America so vividly
described in an unknown woman’s diary: An abandoned orange grove on the coast of Columbia.
When he finds several disturbing photos in the book, for some reason they seem familiar to him and he senses
he must somehow be connected to this mysterious young woman. Bruce has no idea that this book will bring his
entire past into question. As federal authorities and the New York police close in, Bruce sets out on a desperate
search to discover his true identity.
WWW:SOUTH-THEMOVIE.COM
SYNOPSIS MEDIUM
1999. A few days before Thanksgiving.
After a disastrous bank robbery attempt in Los Angeles fails, Bruce McGray hits rock bottom. Pursued by the FBI
and badly injured, he escapes up north to Oregon and from there to New York.
He longs to leave everything behind and start a new life. Maybe even in the place in South America so vividly
described in an unknown woman’s diary: An abandoned orange grove on the coast of Columbia.
The diary describes her stay at the extraordinary orange farm, 15 miles southwest of Cartagena and her difficult
journey home to Alabama. When he finds several disturbing photos in the book, for some reason they seem familiar to him and he senses he must somehow be connected to this mysterious young woman.
As federal authorities and the New York police close in, Bruce sets out on a desperate search to discover his true
identity.
WWW:SOUTH-THEMOVIE.COM
SYNOPSIS LARGE
1999. A few days before Thanksgiving.
After a disastrous bank robbery attempt in Los Angeles fails, Bruce McGray hits rock bottom. Pursued by the FBI
and badly injured, he escapes up north to Oregon and from there to New York.
He longs to leave everything behind and start a new life. Maybe even in the place in South America so vividly
described in a young woman’s diary: An abandoned orange grove on the coast of Columbia.
Bruce received the book in the mail just a few days ago from a woman named Maria. Ten years ago, they were in
a tumultuous relationship with one another, which Bruce abruptly ended. Now, he wonders how Maria found him
after all these years and why she would send him a perfect stranger’s diary.
The diary describes her stay at the extraordinary orange farm, 15 miles southwest of Cartagena and her difficult
journey home to Alabama.
When he finds several disturbing photos in the book, for some reason they seem familiar to him and he senses he
must somehow be connected to this mysterious young woman.
When he finally reaches Maria the next evening, he discovers some very unsettling things about himself.
As federal authorities and the New York police close in, Bruce sets out on a desperate search to discover his true
identity.
WWW:SOUTH-THEMOVIE.COM
ABOUT THE FILM
The foundation for SOUTH was laid very early. The filmmakers Joachim Krenn and Gerhard Fillei, both avid film fans
since childhood, quit their jobs in 1996 and began writing a treatment for a feature film entitled ANTARKTIKA. In
1996, they received screenplay funding. But it proved difficult to find producers and investors for a thriller set at
the South Pole and in Europe.
In February 1997 they went to New York and wrote the screenplay for a 30-minute, English-language short film
with the working title STIGMA. After intensive preparation, shooting began in April 1997 with an American cast.
Once back in Austria, they re-worked the entire story. The title was changed to THE ORANGE PAPER and they decided to make it a feature film. This decision was to shape the next decade of their lives.
”During production we had so many setbacks that from the beginning of shooting until the film was finally finished
some twelve years had gone by. For seven years, we didn’t even own the rights to the film. But that’s a story of
its own. During this time, we had to fight for every inch of the film and, more than once, we were on the brink of
financial ruin. There were a total of seven versions of the screenplay, the final version was completed in New York
in 2004. Three shoots in Austria, the last one in the spring of 2008. There are even scenes in which the actors’ ages
differ eight years from one scene to the next!”
Work on the film had to be interrupted time and time again. Together, they worked on numerous other projects in
different artistic fields. But despite a dismal financial situation, they never lost sight of their goal to finish the film.
When time allowed, they both worked on the editing, often times in remote places like a lakeside cottage or a
cabin in the snow-covered mountains.
A total of over 50 hours of film material was shot for SOUTH and the first edited version had a harrowing length
of over three and a half hours. In literally thousands of hours, day and night, the film was completely dissected and
re-assembled in different structures. The final cut came to 105 minutes.
In 2007, after the filmmakers had fought for the film rights for over seven years in vain, the project was at rock
bottom, again. Thanks to two extraordinary people, an investor and a producer, it became possible to secure the
film rights that same year and post-production began in New York, Berlin, and Zurich.
WWW:SOUTH-THEMOVIE.COM
The composer Sascha Selke from Salzburg had already written a suite of piano pieces for SOUTH in 1998, these
pieces varied over the years in innumerable themes and later formed the basis of the final score. The conductor
and score producer is the Australian Robert Ellis-Geiger who made it possible to record the score in the new Shaw
Studios in Hong Kong with musicians from the Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra.
“We have often been asked where we got all the stamina and energy to make it through it all. That, we do not
know. What motivated us? Perhaps one can cautiously say that a distinctive trust was the basis of the entire production. Trust in people, in our own abilities, in life … whatever …
There were hundreds of situations where one would normally say, ‘Ok, that’s enough, I can’t go any further.’ But we
had already gone way too far to stop. It wouldn’t have made any sense to turn back… we had too much responsibility to carry…”
“We both have this passion for grim and mysterious stories.
Most likely that’s the reason we show a very atmospheric and dark New York, where it almost always rains.
Except for in a very few scenes, the almost entire lack of color is predominantly for reasons of content.
But since SOUTH, in addition to the thriller elements, is also a film-noir love story, the use of chilly black & white
was also an aesthetic decision! From its narrative and camera styles, SOUTH is often quite challenging. Particularly
when we accompany the main characters. Their deep, internal trepidation and their restlessness, we wanted to
transfer all that to the visual language.”
“The story is also an enigma. That is the reason we chose to apply that kind of editing and dramaturgy. We wanted
to transpose the viewer to a similar situation as the main character, who until the end doesn’t really know who he
actually is. Together we experience and witness him losing sight of himself and his life slowly falling apart.”
“Above all, “South” is a movie about the longing for a self-determined life.
Sooner or later, we all ask questions about the deeper meaning of freedom.
That is, once we finally realize that our actions have consequences and leave indelible traces on our lives and the
lives of others…”
WWW:SOUTH-THEMOVIE.COM
MAIN CAST
Bruce McGray
MATTHEW MARK MEYER
Dana Millea
Al Davis Agent Robert Delaney
Maria Coelho
Kate
Agent Jerome Nelson
Travis
Agent Thomas
Cab Driver
Mike
John
The Canadian
Dante CLAUDIA VICK
SAL GIORNO
TIM KIRKPATRICK
JIMENA HOYOS
NINA HADER
BILLY CROSBY
BRYAN HANNA
CHRISTOPHER BATYR
GIL SILVERBIRD
JULIAN COUTTS
JEREMY XIDO
MICHAEL OSIRIS
PIERRE O’FARRELL
WWW:SOUTH-THEMOVIE.COM
MAIN CREW
writer, producer, director
GERHARD FILLEI – JOACHIM KRENN
executive producer
co-producer
co-producer
unit production manager
casting director #1
casting director #2
first assistant director
second assistant director #1
second assistant director #2
director of photography #1
director of photography #2
production sound
location manager
editors
set photographer #1
set photographer #2
CARL HOLLMANN
MATTHEW MARK MEYER
JULIAN COUTTS
PETRA HERGLOTZ
DORIS HADER
CLAUDIA KOPACKA
CLAUS LACHMANN
CLAUDIA HEU
JEREMY XIDO
JOACHIM KRENN
JARROD KLOIBER
SPENCER SNYGG
WOLFGANG RUNDA
GERHARD FILLEI – JOACHIM KRENN
OLIVER HAIDUTSCHEK
HANNES KOHLMEIER
WWW:SOUTH-THEMOVIE.COM
THE FILMMAKERS – joachim krenn
born 1964
Wolfsberg
AUSTRIA
Education:
Marketing Design
Training / 16 mm Film techniques
Further Studies New York University – Directing and Acting
Active as
writer, director and producer
Further Activities
Photography
Graphic Design
Stage and Exhibition Design
Filmography (Joachim Krenn – Gerhard Fillei)
Moloch (1995 short)
Red (2008 short)
Rape (2008 short)
Secret (2008 short)
South (2009 feature)
WWW:SOUTH-THEMOVIE.COM
THE FILMMAKERS – gerhard fillei
born 1963
Villach
AUSTRIA
Education:
Technical Director – Production – Stage Design for Theater and Fine Arts
Education:
Marketing Designer
Training / 16 mm Film techniques
Further Studies New York University – Directing and Acting
Active as
writer, director and producer
Further Activities:
Painting
Graphic Design
Stage and Exhibition Design
Music
Filmography (Joachim Krenn – Gerhard Fillei)
Moloch (1995 short)
Red (2008 short)
Rape (2008 short)
Secret (2008 short)
South (2009 feature)
WWW:SOUTH-THEMOVIE.COM
IN COOPERATION WITH
federal arts bm:uk
AUSTRIAN FILM COMMISSION
ORF Film / Fernseh-Abkommen
Raiffeisen Bank Villach
Austrian Airlines
Stadt Villach
Stadt Wolfsberg
WWW:SOUTH-THEMOVIE.COM