Using unpublished and newly digitalised archive footage and film material, Bettina Böhler has brilliantly assembled this film about the life and work of the exceptional artist Christoph Schlingensief, who died in 2010.
Editor
In the Brazilian megacity São Paulo athletes from around the world run the traditional New Year's marathon. At the same time in an Amazonian jungle backwater 19-year-old Jô is running like a world champion. He has skipped town with the generous New Year's collection from the church and is being followed by the out-of-breath town sheriff Rui, a fan of the marathon. By pure luck he manages to capture Jô. Rui may have missed the race on TV, but not talented runner Jô. In the cell sit Jô and a dream. He trains Jô for a year until he is at his peak performance. They then make the long journey to São Paulo. Sheriff Rui sends his prisoner and marathon man Jô into the big race, the legendary New Year's marathon of 1999, the race into the year 2000. Surprises await.
Animation
Other essential predecessors of film were those devices that created the illusion of motion by taking advantage of the persistence of vision and the stroboscopic effect, such as the thaumatrope, phenakistoscope or wheel of life, zoetrope or magic drum and praxinoscope and later on, the more sophisticated flip-books such as the kinora and mutoscope.
Animation
The film looks at ways of creating spezial illusions through amiguous images, perspective theatres, folding peepshows and from the 19th century, the stereoscope, which look forward to today’s holography.
Animation
The history of the magic lantern with demonstrations of moving slides, watertank or polarisation slides, followed by images on paper, which are brought to life with mechanical manipulations, with light shining through them or as panorama.
Animation
The film traces the history of the camera obscura, the understanding of perspective and anamorphosis, peepshows and it shows the beauty of historical shadowtheaters and shadow toys.
