Kafka goes to the movies

Regarding this work, Hanns Zischler explains: "In 1978, while working on a small film about Kafka, I discovered for the first time, in his diaries and letters, notes he had written about cinema and the screenings he attended. (...) His excited, passionate, and melancholic tone conveyed the vivid emotions Kafka experienced at the cinema." This essay reflects Zischler’s research into Kafka's relationship with cinema, spanning Prague, Verona, and Paris, blending images from the early 20th century with those from 2002, and featuring encounters with individuals who help clarify the director's ideas.

Discussion with director Hanns Zischler.

Duration: 54’
Production year: 2002
Country: FR, DE
Language: EN

Locarno Festival – Official Selection

Vienna Festival – Official Selection

Hanns Zischler

Hanns Zischler, born June 18, 1947, in Nuremberg, Bavaria, is a German actor and director. Known to audiences for his roles in films by Wim Wenders, Steven Spielberg, Akerman and Godard, among others, Zischler was also, from an early age, a screenwriter, translator, editor, director, composer and photographer. Having studied in the Humanities Department at University, the actor explains his current professional activities stemming from an interest, particularly dear to Germans, in research ('Erkenntnisinteresse') which permeates all his projects. His encounters with Franz Kafka began in 1978, when he took part in a television project in honour of the writer. There he stumbled across some of Kafka's writings about the films he had seen and set out to investigate his connection to cinema. Over several years and through countless trips to the European archives, Zischler compiled a list of these films, some of which had almost been forgotten, speculating on the influence they might have had on his reasoning and thinking. This led to the book Kafka geht ins Kino (1996), which he adapted for the cinema in 2002 under the title Kafka va au cinéma. The same year it was released, the film was part of the official selection of the Locarno Film Festival and the Viennale.

Original title: Kafka geht ins Kino/Kafka va au cinéma

Hanns Zischler

Credits

Uso de cookies