My Dear Republic

Colour, 35 mm
Austria, 2007, 80 min
IP – International premiere
Section: Documentary Films in Competition

Synopsis

The story of Austrian Friedrich Zawrel begins in Vienna in 1941 when, at the age of twelve, this “problem child” was shut away in the notorious Splegelgrund pediatric neurological clinic. Here during the Second World War, the Nazis tortured to death over 800 children. Zawrel managed to survive, but his four years under the supervision of pitiless doctors took their toll on his mental health. For minor thefts he ended up spending a total of 20 years in various prisons. When he was tried for the last time in 1974, he recognised, in a prominent forensic psychiatrist, Austrian Nazi physician Heinrich Gross from Splegelgrund. His letters to the then Justice Minister received no response, and it was only with the help of journalists that he was able to point a finger at Gross’s past. But even then, government officials did nothing. The turbulent story of charismatic Friedrich Zawrel demonstrates how onerously and reluctantly Austria tries to come to terms with its gloomy past.

About the director

Elisabeth Scharang (b. 1969, Bruck an der Mur, Austria) worked from 1987 as a journalist and ORF radio presenter, and also as a director of TV reports and documentaries. She has been a free-lance filmmaker in Vienna since 1997. In 2006 her documentary Mein Mörder won the Best TV Movie Award at the Zoom Igualada TV Movies Festival, and the Fipa d’Or Grand Prix at the FIPA Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels Biarritz. During last year’s Berlin IFF, the Panorama section screened her documentary Tintenfischalarm, which was also shown at this year’s One World festival. The Karlovy Vary festival screened her documentary Normal Times (Normale Zeiten) in 2001. Select filmography: Die Tage der Kommune (1997), Schweigen und Erinnern (1998), Global Faces (2002).