Revanche

A nature scene. Late summer. A small lake in the woods. No people. Silence. Not far away, a newly built house inhabited by a couple: Robert and Susanne. They live an ordinary life like so many other people. Meanwhile in Vienna. Nightlife, red light district, the world of prostitution. Here money rules. Most people have jobs that barely let them scrape by. Like Alex and Tamara. She is a prostitute from Ukraine; he, the boss’ errand boy. They are lovers, but they have to keep it a secret. Employees aren’t allowed to get romantically involved. They want to escape this life, but they need money. Alex devises a plan to rob a bank in a little village out in the countryside. Everything is going exactly as planned until a policeman happens to walk up: Robert. He fires a few shots at the getaway car as it speeds off and hits the young woman. Overcome with despair, Alex leaves the body behind in a forest clearing.

Born in Wels in 1961, he grew up in Vienna. Starts writing and directing while still in school. His first film is aired on television in 1978. In 1980 he starts studying screenwriting and directing at the Vienna Film Academy. Two films completed during his studies receive international prizes and are screened at the Stadtkino, an arthouse cinema in Vienna. Spielmann graduates in 1987. Soon afterwards, he writes and directs four cinema and made-for-TV films in succession. In 1999, after several years of silence, his next feature film The Stranger is Austria’s nomination for the Foreign Language Oscar. This is followed by Spiel im Morgengrauen, a made-for-TV movie, and in 2004 the feature Antares, also nominated for the Foreign Language Oscar. Since 2005 Götz Spielmann has also written and directed for the stage. In 2006 he is awarded the Upper Austrian State Prize for Culture in the category of film. The same year he founds the production company Spielmannfilm.

43ª MOSTRA INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA

43ª MOSTRA INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA