LIFE STORY

Michael Glawogger calls himself a "travelling filmmaker". Not only in the literal sense, but also because his style is to move between genres and forms. After graduating from the Art Institute of San Francisco and Vienna Academy, Glawogger began with sketches Death of a Reader (1984), City of Others and War in Vienna (1989). Then he collaborated with well-known Austrian director Ulrich Seidl as a screenwriter (Loss is to Be Expected, 1992), cameraman and editor (Animal Love, 1995). He attracted public attention with his film The Ant Street (1995) shot at the crossroads of documentary and feature films. Glawogger's next film, Movies in the Mind (1996), was experimental. His film Megacities (1998) made him widely known. The films State of the Nation: Austria in Six Chapters (2002) and Workingman's Death (2005) are noted for their socio-critical analysis of reality. At the same time, Glawogger works as a screenwriter in the genre of urban comedy and has produced several such films - Slugs (2004), Slumming (2006) and A Special Relationship (2008). Glawogger has brought his new film Kill Daddy Good Night to the Baku European Film Festival. In an interview with R+ Glawogger shares his views about the controversial film, his hobbies and more.

- Why does a film that dwells upon an eternal conflict of two generations have such a "thriller" name?

- This film is no thriller. I have simply paraphrased the saying "kiss daddy good night". The film interweaves stories of three families during and after World War II. Raz fights with his father, a successful politician who suppresses the guy with his authority. To overcome psychological problems, Raz develops a computer game and replaces the villain with the image of his father. One day the guy is phoned by a girl he knows who asks him to come to her place. In the basement of her home Raz discovers the girl's grandfather who is hiding from his memories of the war. The film is based on the eponymous book by Josef Haslinger. This is a story about the confrontation between two generations, a conflict between fathers and children. Most young people have problems communicating with parents, who they feel do not understand them. Over time, young people grow up, have families and children of their own. And when sons become fathers themselves, they understand what it is like to be a father.

- Your film Workingman's Death is based on a story about a Soviet hero of labour, Aleksey Stakhanov. How did you shoot that film?

- I shot most of it in Ukraine. Workingman's Death is a documentary collection of short stories shot in different parts of the world: in the Donbass mines, Nigerian abattoirs, Pakistani ports and steel mills of China ... Each chapter has its own style. The first sketch is called Heroes and begins with documentary chronicles: the 1930s, Soviet Donbass, Stakhanov's labour feat, the Stakhanov movement, mass heroism against the backdrop of industrialization. And then we show the current plight of the Donbass, abandoned mines, dying industry, a group of illegal Ukrainian miners stubbornly producing coal in the written off and useless state mines. I wanted to go to the roots of the "iconized" view of workers that originates in the city where Stakhanov set his record that became a major historic event because it gave rise to the mythology of labour and promotion of workers. I also tried not to use the images of workers for any ideological goals, as was the case with Stakhanov. Instead, I tried to give the film some sensitivity, not with words or ideology, but through feelings. This film won the Grierson Award (London), the DOX award for the best documentary (Copenhagen), a Special Jury Prize at the International Film Festival in Gijon, the Fipresci award at the International Film Festival in Leipzig, and was nominated for the best documentary film award in Europe.

- How does an Austrian decide to make a film about Soviet hero Stakhanov?

- Very often I am approached at the airport and asked questions in Russian - people often take me for a Russian. Once I read about Stakhanov's feat and was deeply moved by his story. He was some kind of a star of his time. This is actually a very funny story. After his feat Stakhanov, in principle, did nothing else. He only drank with Stalin a few times (laughs). I enjoyed shooting this film. I met great people, learned someone else's culture.

- Your films are very realistic. You show life without glamour and gloss. How do you do that? 

- I am very inquisitive by nature. I like to travel around the world, get acquainted with the local way of life, meet new people and learn their destinies. I do not believe in journalism which gives us false information from TV screens (laughs). I do not believe CNN. I think it is necessary to show the real side of life. When I was working on my film Whore's Glory, I had four years to travel the world to learn more about the problem of prostitution. We often think that we know life from various television shows, but believe me this is not the case. Real life is fundamentally different. And there's little romanticism and sheen in it. For many of us living on the planet, life, is a cruel thing.

- Despite your "cruel reality", you have also made a very amusing film Slumming.

- I shot this film in Austria and the Czech Republic. It is about a rich Viennese varmint-philanderer and his friend who love practical jokes - sometimes pretty bad. Once they pick up a drunk local poet who is unconscious, take the unfortunate man's passport and throw him out in a provincial town outside the Czech border. Once the poet sobers up, he has a hard time realizing where he is and then starts an adventurous journey home. Meanwhile, wanderlust suddenly seizes other heroes of the film who find themselves in the most exotic locations of the world, such as Jakarta and Bangkok. The movie is about people losing themselves, becoming unsettled and trying to find themselves and realize who they really are.

- If you had the opportunity to shoot a film about Baku, what topic would you choose?

- I would make a film about Azerbaijani oil and how it is extracted, about oil workers and their hard work. You have a lot of interesting places and things. I think it would be a great movie!

- What are you interested in other than filmmaking? What do you like to do in your free time?  

- I like wandering in unknown streets with a camera. When I have a free minute, I write new scripts (laughs). I don't mind having a few shots of vodka. Yes, I love vodka.

- What is your private life like? 

- I am married, but no kids yet. You know, there is never enough time. I am almost never at home, always on the road. I wouldn't want my kids to suffer because of my constant absence. After all, we have to choose between a profession or an average family. So far my choice has been one of profession…