it works

Four handicapped children of ten, four film documents about work processes.
In both a visual and acoustic sense the camera is focused on feats of strength.
Each of the children accomplishes something which, for them, is a critical achievement.


it works: it can be managed, it's happening, it functions, it's taking place.

Gerald writes letters, syllables and words on the computer. Finally he writes the sentence "The ship sailes over the sea". Something which is taken for granted, a hand on a keyboard, is experienced as a challenge.

Lilian
does the crawl, dives and swims, her whole body swings, rhythmically compensating for a "missing"? limb.

Valentin is listening to music. His whole body is the equivalent of a sensitive measuring instrument which transforms wavelengths into a language of gestures.

Michael tells his mother about events at school. The consonants and vowels become the smallest common units of what is felt as a great interest in each other.

A shared (school) year - personal definitions or normality have to be revised. Irrational fears and a feeling of helplessness obscure an unconditional and value-free view of the people behind/with a physical or mental handicap. The metamorphosis of one's own perception takes place in the willingness to accept another speed of thinking and in the discovery of value in slowness.

Without attempting to force the film in a direction dictated by particular pedagogic, sociological or aesthetic dogma, it works concentrates on the work process. The human achievement itself and film as an instrument of perception stand opposite one another. (Fridolin Schönwiese)

Trailer
Orig. Title
it works
Year
1998
Country
Austria
Duration
21 min
Category
Documentary
Orig. Language
German
Subtitles
English, German, AD (deutsch), SDH (deutsch)
Credits
Director
Fridolin Schönwiese
Script
Fridolin Schönwiese
Cinematography
Fridolin Schönwiese
Editing
Lotte Klimitschek
Sound
Michael Palm
Actor/Actress
Valentin Braeuer, Lilian Dzeneda Nowak, Michael Hagleitner, Geralt Alt
Production
Fridolin Schönwiese
Available Formats
35 mm (Original Format)
Aspect Ratio
1:1,66
Sound Format
Dolby Surround
Frame Rate
24 fps
Color Format
b/w
DCP 2K flat (Distribution Copy)
Aspect Ratio
1:1,85
Sound Format
stereo
Frame Rate
25 fps
Digital File (prores, h264) (Distribution Copy)
Festivals (Selection)
1998
Duisburg - Duisburger Filmwoche
Wien - Viennale - Int. Filmfestwochen
1999
Windsor - Media City
Winterthur - Kurzfilmtage
Viareggio - Europa Cinema & TV Film Festival
Clermont-Ferrand - Festival de Court Metrage
Split - Festival of New Film and Video
Kassel - Dokumentarfilm- & Videofest
Nyon - Dokumentarfilm Festival
München - Int. Dokumentarfilmfestival
Uppsala - Int. Short Film Festival
Melbourne - Int. Film Festival
Madrid - Semana de Cine Experimental
Austin - Cinetexas - Int. short film&video&new media festival
Salzburg, Diagonale, Festival des österreichischen Films
2000
Stuttgart - Filmwinter, Expanded Media Festival
2001
Brest - Festival du Film Court