When Fact Meets Fiction

It’s no wonder the 56-year-old Austrian director and documentarian Ulrich Seidl takes time to clarify his relationship to his subjects. His films tend to blur the boundaries of documentary and fiction, creating a sense of intimacy generally unseen – or indeed felt - by other filmmakers. Beginning his career in documentary filmmaking with Good News, which followed several immigrant street newspaper vendors, he continued to garner success depicting the bizarre world of extreme dog lovers in Animal Love and the scuzzy realm of aspiring models in the aptly titled Models. But it’s not merely his chosen subjects that illuminate darkened and unscrutinized crannies of the everyday that set him apart, it is also the very quality of his filming.

There are no shaky handheld camera shots and interviews here, but uncomfortably long steady shots, beautiful cinematography and a naturally evolving and often strangely latent narrative. This is borne throughout his work from a want of realness where he lets the work evolve organically over time. “There are no written dialogs in my scripts,” Seidl says. “It is known that in my work there is a long and intense preparation time with several months of research before the first day of shooting. It is important to me that I build up a trustful relationship to the people in my movies and that I get to know them. I don’t include interviews; that would be a lot easier. I want to create something that comes from the reality of these people and that gets shaped through different cinematic means.”

Although garnering attention for his documentaries, it was Dog Days, his 2001 foray into fiction, that cemented his position in cinematic circles, followed by a dual story of emigration and immigration in 2007’s Import/Export. Breaking the mould in regards to a rigorous pursuit of authenticity - mostly using non-actors and genuine locations – it becomes difficult to know where the real stops and the fiction begins. Stemming from these successes, Seidl’s new projects delve into similarly stark, thoughtprovoking ground. The first, In The Basement, focuses on the special relation Austrians have with their basements. Primarily the way the spaces are both a place of “violence, but also a retreat.” He adds, “It’s a place to do things in secret. I came across the subject when I researched Dog Days in the late ‘90s. I realized that there were countless single-family houses where the basement was bigger than the living space, where people would spend more time in the basement than upstairs.” The second project, Paradise, follows three related female members as they search for happiness, however with themes such as ‘male sex tourism in Africa’ and ‘diet camps’ it doesn’t really come close to Sex and The City.

Seidl’s work, while particular, always reveals something universal about human nature. Its veracity always leaves one wondering what’s true or false, but one thing is for sure: Seidl’s upcoming features will be well worth seeing.


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Features Miranda July Vs S/S10 RANKIN - SAGA MAGAZINE '09 Bella Freud - Saga Magazine '09 ROMAIN GAVRAS - Vs MAGAZINE A/W09 Ulrich Seidl - Vs MAGAZINE A/W09 Sebastien Tellier - Vs Magazine A/W08 'Speakieasies Go Legit...Kinda' - DRINK MAGAZINE '08 Chris Cunningham - Vs Magazine A/W08 Sebastien Tellier - Electronic Beats. Autumn '08 David Shrigley LCD Soundsystem Bang Gang Simian Mobile Disco Justin Robertson Ed Banger (Busy P) Columns Reviews	When Fact Meets Fiction It’s no wonder the 56-year-old Austrian director and documentarian Ulrich Seidl takes time to clarify his relationship to his subjects. His films tend to blur the boundaries of documentary and fiction, creating a sense of intimacy generally unseen – or indeed felt - by other filmmakers. Beginning his career in documentary filmmaking with Good News, which followed several immigrant street newspaper vendors, he continued to garner success depicting the bizarre world of extreme dog lovers in Animal Love and the scuzzy realm of aspiring models in the aptly titled Models. But it’s not merely his chosen subjects that illuminate darkened and unscrutinized crannies of the everyday that set him apart, it is also the very quality of his filming. There are no shaky handheld camera shots and interviews here, but uncomfortably long steady shots, beautiful cinematography and a naturally evolving and often strangely latent narrative. This is borne throughout his work from a want of realness where he lets the work evolve organically over time. “There are no written dialogs in my scripts,” Seidl says. “It is known that in my work there is a long and intense preparation time with several months of research before the first day of shooting. It is important to me that I build up a trustful relationship to the people in my movies and that I get to know them. I don’t include interviews; that would be a lot easier. I want to create something that comes from the reality of these people and that gets shaped through different cinematic means.” Although garnering attention for his documentaries, it was Dog Days, his 2001 foray into fiction, that cemented his position in cinematic circles, followed by a dual story of emigration and immigration in 2007’s Import/Export. Breaking the mould in regards to a rigorous pursuit of authenticity - mostly using non-actors and genuine locations – it becomes difficult to know where the real stops and the fiction begins. Stemming from these successes, Seidl’s new projects delve into similarly stark, thoughtprovoking ground. The first, In The Basement, focuses on the special relation Austrians have with their basements. Primarily the way the spaces are both a place of “violence, but also a retreat.” He adds, “It’s a place to do things in secret. I came across the subject when I researched Dog Days in the late ‘90s. I realized that there were countless single-family houses where the basement was bigger than the living space, where people would spend more time in the basement than upstairs.” The second project, Paradise, follows three related female members as they search for happiness, however with themes such as ‘male sex tourism in Africa’ and ‘diet camps’ it doesn’t really come close to Sex and The City. Seidl’s work, while particular, always reveals something universal about human nature. Its veracity always leaves one wondering what’s true or false, but one thing is for sure: Seidl’s upcoming features will be well worth seeing.