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Waldheims Walzer

The Waldheim Waltz
Forum 2018
© Ruth Beckermann Filmproduktion
A lot of time has passed since the scandal surrounding the Nazi past of former UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim made headlines worldwide, not least because he denied it. It all started during the 1986 Austrian presidential campaign, when Waldheim was supposed to gain victory and thus reach the pinnacle of his storybook post-war political career. Based on smartly chosen international TV archive material, this documentary essay reconstructs how this heated debate progressed, all the way up to the second round of voting in June 1986. The positions of the various stakeholders – excerpts from the press conferences of the World Jewish Congress, debates in the UN General Assembly, hearings in the US Congress as well as statements by the Austrian People’s Party and its candidate – are joined by Ruth Beckermann’s subjective, analytical commentary in voiceover. She’s also there in the video footage she shot herself, documents of an oppositional movement that show anti-Waldheim events and verbal disputes with resentful and anti-Semitic passersby. Rabble-rousing, slander, media-bashing, and denying facts – they all broke new ground here. Yes, a lot of time has passed, but it’s not over yet.
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by Ruth Beckermann Austria 2018 German, English, French 93’ Colour World premiere | Documentary form

Crew

Written and Directed by Ruth Beckermann
Editing Dieter Pichler
Sound Design Manuel Grandpierre, Rudolf Pototschnig
Producer Ruth Beckermann

World Sales

Wide House

Produced by

Ruth Beckermann Filmproduktion

Photos

Ruth Beckermann

© Nini Tschavoll

The filmmaker and writer was born in Vienna, Austria. Her films include The Paper Bridge and East of War. Her film Those Who Go Those Who Stay won Best Documentary at the 2014 Diagonale in Graz. Two years later, The Dreamed Ones won Beat Feature Film at the same festival. The Waldheim Waltz received several prizes including the Glashütte Original – Documentary Award at the 2018 Berlinale and was also nominated as Austria’s entry for the Oscars. In 2022, MUTZENBACHER screened in the Encounters section of the Berlinale where it won the award for Best Film.

Filmography

1977 Arena besetzt (Arena Squatted) 1978 Auf amol a Streik (Suddenly, a Strike); short film 1981 Der Hammer steht auf der Wiese da draußen (The Steel Hammer Out There on the Grass); short film 1984 Wien retour (Return to Vienna) 1986 Der Igel; short film 1987 Die papierene Brücke (The Paper Bridge) 1991 Nach Jerusalem (Towards Jerusalem) 1996 Jenseits des Krieges (East of War) 1999 Ein flüchtiger Zug nach dem Orient (A Fleeting Passage to the Orient) 2001 Homemad(e) 2006 Zorros Bar Mizwa (Zorro’s Bar Mizwa) · Mozart Enigma; short film 2011 American Passages 2012 Jackson/Marker 4am; short film 2013 Those Who Go Those Who Stay 2015 The Missing Image; video installation 2016 Die Geträumten (The Dreamed Ones) 2018 Waldheims Walzer (The Waldheim Waltz) 2019 Joyful Joyce; video installation 2022 MUTZENBACHER 2024 Favoriten

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2024