Before Benjamin Knöbl’s new short film “Impetus” is sent to film festivals all over the world, the big “Cast & Crew” premiere took place on Sunday in front of an enthusiastic audience in the Mattersburger Cineplex, to which representatives from politics and the church attended were loaded.
The short film drama takes place in a small monastery in Burgenland during the 1920s – at the same time as the birth of the new federal state 100 years ago. The young novice Paulinus, whose greatest passion is the service of the church, is about to take his perpetual religious vows and thereby commit himself to the monastery for life. His only regular contact with the world beyond the monastery walls is the young farmer’s son Jakob, who supplies the secluded monastery with food every day. When Paulinus’ feelings for Jacob grew beyond friendship, he found himself in the conflict between church and world. Before he can make this most important decision of his life, he has to find out where his real place is in life.
Film also contribution to “100 Years of Burgenland”
“Impetus is the inner urge of people to develop further – and to do the right thing,” says director Benjamin Knöbl, explaining the title and leitmotif of his short film.
Funded by the Burgenland Provincial Government’s “100 Years of Burgenland” campaign, Benjamin Knöbl tells in “Impetus” the development story of a young man who is torn between God and the world. The term “impetus” is the central theme of the story: It is the inner urge of people to develop further – and to do the right thing, explains Knöbl.
Knöbl found the inspiration for this in a work by the French philosopher Henri Bergson, who received the Nobel Prize in 1927 for his work “Creative Development”. The impetus is also reflected in the setting, Burgenland: “In the film, Paulinus has to reflect on his impetus in order to find out where to go. Burgenland was in the same situation when it was created in 1921 on the border between Austria and Hungary. “
The main location for the film was the Pauline monastery in Baumgarten, which has been abandoned for over 100 years and could therefore also be used with authentic interiors. Other locations included the Mönchhof Village Museum and an old Streckhof in Pöttelsdorf.
The main actor of the period film is the ROMY-nominated actor Markus Freistätter, who is best known for the title role in the film “Erik and Erika” about the life of ski racer Erik Schinegger. Freistätter says about his role in Impetus: “I am fascinated by Paulinus because at a young age he has to make a decision that he can never take back. He takes on great responsibility for himself and the people around him. ”The role of Jakob is played by the film and TV actor Felix Stichmann, who will also appear in the new season of the series“ Vienna Blood ”.
The venerable abbot of the monastery is played by the Josefstadt actor Johannes Seilern. Sebastian Thaler, who was behind the camera for the ORF series “Vorstadtweiber”, the feature film “7500” and the Oscar-nominated short film “Everything will be fine”, was responsible for the image design. After completing his film studies, director and author Benjamin Knöbl worked for television productions in Dubai, Vienna and Cologne before venturing into the film metropolis of Los Angeles. Since then he has worked for various film and television productions in Hollywood, including “Westworld” (HBO), “Arrested Development” (Netflix) and “Call of the Wild” (20th Century Fox) with acting legend Harrison Ford.
Semi-finalist at the Top 10 Short Film Festival
In addition to his work on film sets, Benjamin Knöbl concentrates on developing his own scripts and short films in the drama and thriller genres. With the Austro-American music producer Peter Wolf, Knöbl has developed a TV drama series that is currently being presented at various studios in Hollywood. But Benjamin Knöbl doesn’t let his homeland out of sight and is also writing a crime thriller that will be set in the Burgenland winegrowing milieu.
The film had its first success even before the premiere: It is one of the semi-finalists of the “Flickers” Film Festival in Rhode Island, which is one of the top 10 film festivals for short films in the USA. Earlier works can also be seen on Knöbl’s website.
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