La Montagne Magique

The Magic Mountain

Anhand verschiedener Episoden in der Biografie des polnischen Fotografen und Bergsteigers Adam Jacek Winkler (1937 – 2002) hantelt sich Damians animiertes Dokudrama durch ein halbes Jahrhundert Zeitgeschichte. Narrativer Ausgangspunkt des poetischen La montagne magique ist ein fingierter Dialog zwischen Winkler und seiner Tochter Ania; bildkompositorische Basis die naive (Foto-)Kunst des emigrierten Polen. Als Flüchtling lebte er dereinst in Paris, führte dort ein zügelloses Leben, wollte die Welt verändern. In den Achtzigerjahren nahm sein Leben eine radikale Wende: Winkler verließ Frankreich, um in Afghanistan gegen die Sowjets zu kämpfen.

This film describes the adventures of Polish photographer and mountaineer Adam J. Winkler (1937 – 2002), who fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan on the side of the mujahedin. The narrative, created using combined techniques involving actors and, for the most part, animation, is conceived as a dialogue between Winkler and his daughter Ania. Visually, the work is built up around Winkler’s photographs and naivistic drawings, which are graphically modified in various styles: sometimes merely as sketches, at other times in eye-catching gouache or watercolor, elsewhere via artistically treated and animated sequences. (Eva Zaoralová, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)

Director's Biography
ANCA DAMIAN, born in 1962, is an award-winning Romanian animation film artist, producer, and scriptwriter. Her credits include several internationally acclaimed feature and short films, including the award-winning global hit Crulic – The Path to Beyond. CROSSING EUROPE honored Damian’s extensive oeuvre with its Tribute in 2012. // Films (selection): Întâlniri încrucișate (Crossing Dates, 2008; CE’12), Crulic – drumul spre dincolo (Crulic – The Path to Beyond, 2011; CE’12), O vară foarte instabilă (A Very Unsettled Summer, 2013), La montagne magique (The Magic Mountain, 2015)
European Panorama Documentary 2016
Anca Damian
Rumänien / Frankreich / Polen 2015
color
86 Minuten
OmeU
Drehbuch Anca Damian, Anna Winkler
Ton/Sounddesign Frédéric Théry, Sebastian Wlodarczyk
Musik Alexander Balanescu
Mit Christophe Miossec, Lizzie Brochère
Produzent*innen Anca Damian (Aparte Film, RO), Guillaume de Seille, Bénédicte Thomas (Arizona Production, FR), Joanna Ronikier, Włodzimierz Matuszewski (Filmograf, PL), Studio Miniatur Filmowych (PL), Studio Video Art (RO),Krakow Festival Office (PL), Telewizja Polska
Produktion
Aparte Film Cãlãra.ilor 165 030614 Bucharest Romania office@apartefilm.net www.apartefilm.net
Animation Theodore Ushev, Sergiu Negulici, Raluca Popa, Dan Panaitescu and Tomek Ducki

Weltpremiere / World Premiere
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2015

Premierenstatus / Premiere Status
Austrian Premiere