55/95

A piece of found footage from the Austrian past, adapted with the future in mind.

May 15, 1955 - "Austria is free", says the Austrian minister for foreign affairs and drops the paper with this sentence written on it. 40 years later I find a piece of film with this event registred on it.

January 1, 1995 - Austria becomes a member of the European Community. The state treaty and neutrality are up for discussion again. I adapted the found footage as a national example for the international handling of political responsability.

(Gustav Deutsch)


The one minute film consists of a single shot from the 1955 newsreel in which Leopold Figl, after signing the treaty, declares Austria´s post-war independence. At a time when Austria has become a member of the EU and the right wing dreams of a third republic, the re-working of an amusing trifle becomes a serious commentary on the way in which Austrian neutrality and independence is dealt with.

(Thomas Korschil)


The question today is: Free from what and free what for?

(Eva Waniek)

Orig. Title
55/95
Year
1994
Country
Austria
Duration
1 min
Director
Gustav Deutsch
Category
Avantgarde/Arts
Orig. Language
German
Subtitles
English
Downloads
55/95 (Image)
Credits
Director
Gustav Deutsch
Available Formats
35 mm (Distribution Copy)
Aspect Ratio
1:1,37
Sound Format
mono
Frame Rate
24 fps
Color Format
b/w
16 mm (Distribution Copy)
Aspect Ratio
1:1,37
Sound Format
mono
Frame Rate
24 fps
Color Format
b/w
Festivals (Selection)
1995
Luzern - VIPER - Int. Film und Video Festival
1996
Stuttgart - Filmwinter, Expanded Media Festival
Rotterdam - Int. Filmfestival
Madrid - ARCO - Semana de Cine Experimental
1997
Locarno - Festival Int. De la Video et Arts Electroniques
Palermo - l'immagine leggera. Int. Videoart, Film & Media Festival
1998
Aix-en-Provence - Festival Tous Courts
1999
Cork - Int. Film Festival
Aukland - New Zealand Int. Film Festival
Tokyo - Image Forum Festival