HexerDER PRESSKIT

Eine Produktion der Filmgerberei www.filmgerberei.ch 1 2 INDEX

Synopsis and Logline 4 Crew 7 Film Sheet 7 Director‘s Statement 8 Producer‘s Note 13 Filmography Maja Tschumi 15 Filmography Filmgerberei 16 Contact 20

3 SYNOPSIS AND LOGLINE

SYNOPSIS Sven experienced a dramatic childhood in which his stepmo- ther abused him. Isolated and marginalised from society, he withdrew into an imaginary parallel world populated by fanta- sy characters. As an adult he encountered the character „The Witcher“ in a video game, and his life took a remarkable turn. He learned to control his aggressiveness and how to break out of his isolation. THE WITCHER is a film about using fantasy as a strategy to survive and the therapeutic benefits of the imaginary. It is a documentary about the unusual relationship between a man and a fantasy character.

LOGLINE Sven’s life resembles a nightmare. To cope with the abuse suffered at the hands of his step-mother in his childhood, Sven first fled into his own phantasy world and later, as an adult, discovers video games. There he meets The Witcher and his life takes a remarkable turn.

4 5 6 CREW AND FILM SHEET

WITH Sven Baumgartner PRODUCTION Filmgerberei GmbH and Mali Schumacher GENRE Short Documentary LENGTH 21’17’’ WRITER & DIRECTOR Maja Tschumi LANGUAGE Swiss German PRODUCERS Nadine Lüchinger & Flavio SUBTITLES German, English, Gerber French CAMERA Maja Tschumi, Stefan Tschumi FILM FORMAT HD SOUND Maja Tschumi SCREENING COPY DCP EDITING Rebecca Trösch CAMERA Canon C300 SOUND DESIGN & ENGENEERING SHOOTING TIME 6 Weeks Christof Steinmann, Magnetix FINALISATION July 2016 MUSIC Dominik Blumer, Roman Lerch, SHOOTING LOCATIONS Canton Aargau, Thomi Christ Winterthur MUSIC PRODUCTION Feed the Monkey WITH THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF COLOUR GRADING Christoph Walther, Bundesamt für Kultur, Zürcher Trinipix Filmstiftung, Aargauer Kuratorium, Familienstiftung Hans und Silvia Tschumi-Seifert, Stadt Baden

Use of sequences from THE WITCHER® videogames courtesy of CD PROJEKT S.A. The Witcher game © CD PROJEKT S.A. All rights reserved.

7 DIRECTOR‘S STATEMENT «When Sven talks about The Witcher, he is also talking about himself.»

MAJA TSCHUMI Do we not all know the longing to be a hero, or at least to be a little bit better, stronger and more courageous than what we are? Have we not all lost ourselves in a book or a film and thought that was life? Stories shape us: our view on the world, our self-perception and our desires. In stories we find words and pictures for what we feel and crave.

I met Sven in 2001, when I was we had only been seeing each other eighteen years old, in a left-wing three or four times a year. autonomous cultural center in Brem- garten, Switzerland. We became Two years ago, I noticed that it had friends and spent a lot of time been a long time since Sven’s last together. I was shocked by the stories outburst. When I asked him what had from his childhood, even though I was changed, he said: „I have met The not yet aware of the extent of the Witcher!“ I could not quite imagine abuse toward him through his stepmo- what he meant and wanted to know ther. After a few months we got into who that Witcher was. The more Sven an argument and I experienced Sven’s told me the more I was convinced that violent temper for the first time. We I wanted to do a film about Sven and kept our distance, but still did not lose his extraordinary relationship to this track of each other. It was when Sven’s video game character, The Witcher. father died in 2004 that I realized I Right from the start and all during the was the only person of trust that Sven test shots Sven talked very openly. The had at that point, albeit the fact that film project was born.

8 I was intrigued by the idea of doing a profound trauma in the eye and find a documentary about fantasy as a way out of it. The Witcher had also strategy of survival. A film about Sven’s been tormented during childhood; he escape from the world shows a radical also had to learn to fight monsters. example of how important stories can From this perspective the film tells the be in our lives. Every day after work story of an unbelievably resilient man, Sven plays video games for several who has found his very own way to hours. In order for the viewer to grasp tackle his trauma and who repeatedly the different worlds in which he “lives”, refuses to take on the role of a victim. I have combined different visual levels: Sven’s documented daily routine, the stylized pictures of the fantasy video game and recordings on VHS from the eighties. The images on VHS are symbolic and accommodate the fact that barely any pictures or visual memories exist from Sven’s childhood.

It was crucial to get close enough to the protagonist to be able to get an intimate portrait. For this reason I did the camera work myself. A whole film crew (camera, audio and light technici- an) would have too greatly intimidated this lone wolf, who likes to avoid people, and would have hindered authentic statements.

The story of Sven’s life has astonishing similarities to a fairy tale, only that it is not a prince but rather a virtual friend from a video game that saves him from a mean stepmother. Thus it was clear for me from the very beginning that I would need to tell Sven’s upsetting story through his relationship to The Witcher. When Sven talks about The Witcher, he is also talking about himself. The Witcher is the medium that allows him to look his

9 DIRECTOR‘S STATEMENT «Imaginary friends and video games – two controversial topics.»

MAJA TSCHUMI According to recent studies one out of three children has an imaginary companion before eighteen years of age. The phenomenon is more seldom in adults, or rather there is less research on it, not to mention it is also still a taboo. Adults with imaginary friends are instantly perceived as being crazy. However, psychological studies have proven the contrary. People having fantasy companions or a very vivid fantasy are psychologically very stable. Their imagination is strongly influenced by the stories seen in films, books or video ga- mes.

The media still treats the impact of brutalization and dullness, the film video games astoundingly one-sided. THE WITCHER tells a different story: Emphasis is mostly placed on addicti- Today Sven can control his aggressive- on or the potential for aggression. ness, even though, or explicitly Meanwhile, however, it is simple fact because he is a very strong fighter in that video games influence our lives. the virtual world. Video games can The video game industry has outstrip- channel emotions that find no accep- ped Hollywood in worldwide sales. tance in our society. Contrary to the general fears that video games would lead to

10 11 12 PRODUCER‘S NOTE «Maja Tschumi is a de- dicated filmmaker, who is very interested in her counterpart.»

NADINE LÜCHINGER AND FLAVIO GERBER Two years ago and with a twinkle in her eyes Maja Tschumi excitedly told us all about her meeting with Sven, a longtime friend and video gamer. It triggered our interest that Sven had supposedly gotten his life back thanks to a video game and had been able to make peace with his past because of a fantasy figure. Admittedly, this effect did not match our expectations of the social and psychological consequences of violent video games.

Maja told us about the potential of the unknown manner for both of them, story and the unique opportunity she since Maja is an autodidact and this was being given. We understood and was her first job as a director. For supported Maja’s idea to plan the Sven it was new to come out of his filming without a film crew. This was a isolation and tell about his trauma in wise decision because Sven would front of a camera. Maja’s stable speak freely only to her. Thus Maja relationship to Sven as well as her became his mouthpiece. decision to tell his story through the character of The Witcher were funda- Several meetings between Maja and mental for his being able to talk Sven followed. This approach was an openly.

13 Maja’s work is characterized by the way she engages with her counterpart. She likes to focus especially on ambivalent people with abysses, whose desire for a better world or their suffering from an unchangeable reality is linked to the potential for violence.

THE WITCHER is a socially relevant film because it could trigger the debate about the positive effect of video FLAVIO GERBER games. Furthermore, this film tells the Producer and Partner story of brutal abuse within a family. Filmgerberei GmbH Unfortunately, such fates are no longer a rarity and, therefore, it is important that we give the victims a voice and let others be encouraged to defend themselves against experienced harm.

This film takes us along into the special world of a man, who, thanks to a fantasy figure, retakes possession of his own life and overcomes his aggressiveness – ultimately a coup. THE WITCHER shows in a haunting way NADINE LÜCHINGER why people need stories and is an Film Producer intimate portrait of the interesting Filmgerberei GmbH inside of an outsider.

14 FILMOGRAPHY Maja Tschumi

BIOGRAPHY Born 1983 in Basle, Switzerland. She studied Philosophy and German Philology at the University of Zurich and Heidelberg throughout the years of 2003 to 2013. During her studies she wrote four plays, which were staged in Zurich, Basle and Fribourg. In 2011 „Apokalypse – das Theater“ was published at Reinhart Verlag Basel. From 2010 until 2012 she worked as a freelance drama critic and dramaturgy assistant. Since 2011, Maja Tschumi lives and works in Zurich as an author and freelance filmmaker.

FILM THEATRE

2016 DER HEXER 2014 PAULUS. DAS EREIGNIS 22 Minutes, Documentary Writer, Director: Simon Helbling Writer, Director and Camera 2011 HUSH, NO MORE Filmgerberei Assistant of Dramaturgy, 2014 SONNTAG Stage Director: Corinna von Rad 10 Minutes, Fantasy Fiction 2011 ROBERTS ROTER FADEN Co-Writer, Director: Silvio Writer, Director: Elisabeth Cäsar Gerber 2009 APOKALYPSE – DAS THEATER Filmgerberei Writer, Director: Simon Helbling 2014 LEICHTGEWICHT 2009 IT’S LIFE, STUPID –18 70 Minutes, Documentary Writer, Director: Simon Helbling Writer and Director, In Development, Filmgerberei

15 FILMOGRAPHY Filmgerberei GmbH

Filmgerberei GmbH is a film production company in Zurich. Sin- ce its foundation in 2008 by brothers Flavio and Silvio Gerber, Filmgerberei has successfully produced documentaries and fea- tures for cinema and TV, short films and music videos, as well as numerous advertising and image films.

OWN PRODUCTIONS (SELECTION)

2016 2016 The Witcher (Der Hexer) Doug & Walter Short fim, documentary Short film, fiction Writer & Director: Maja Tschumi Writer & Director: Samuel Morris 22 Min, Digital 2K, DCP 25 Min, Digital 2K, DCP OV ch-de, ST de/eng/fr OV ch-de/en, ST de/en

AWARDS — Short Run Prize (Best Screenplay) Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2014 — TOP 10, REGARD 20th edition, — 1. Place Category D, Schweizer Jugendfilmtage 2016

16 2015 2015 Frail (Puppenspiel) The Cheated One (Der Gehörnte) Short film, fantasy Writer & Director: Ares Ceylan Short film, comedy 18 Min, Digital 2K, DCP Writer & Director: Tillo Spreng OV ch-de, ST de/eng/fr 10 Min, Digital 2K, DCP In co-production with SRF OV ch-de, ST de/en/fr

AWARDS AWARDS Opening film at the Kurzfilmnacht Opening film at the Kurzfilmnacht Zürich 2016 Zürich 2015, Selection to Cinetour

2014 2013 Sunnday (Sonntag) Hold-Up! Short film, fantasy Short film, comedy drama Writers: Silvio Gerber & Maja Tschumi Writer & Director: Fabio Friedli Director: Silvio Gerber 7 Min, Digital 2K 10 Min, Digital 2K, DCP without dialog without dialog In co-production with SRF

AWARDS AWARDS Best Short Film at Mumbai Short Nominated for the Berner Film Festival 2014 Film Award 2014

17 IN PRODUCTION

2013 2016/17 Beware of Children! Junge Talente.ch Short film, horror comedy 3 short films Writer & Director: Ares Ceylan Writer: Jann Preuss 15 Min, Digital 2K, DCP Directors: Katalin Gödrös, Cihan Inan, OV ch-de, ST de/en/fr Jann Preuss 4–5 Min, Digital 2K, OV ch-de, fr AWARDS In co-production with Corinna Glaus — Basler Film Award ZOOM Best Short Casting Film 2013 — Public Award & 2nd Jury Award IN DEVELOPMENT Jugendfilmtage 2013 Family Weekend — 2nd Jury Award at Abertoir Wales Int. Horror Festival 2013 Feature film, thriller Writer: Pilar Anguita-MacKay Idea & Director: Cihan Inan 90 Min, Digital 2K OV fr/eng, ST de/eng/fr

Trieb Feature film, drama Writer & Director: Luca Ribler 2013 In co-production with ZHDK Making of Jesus Christ 90 Min, Digital 2K Feature film, documentary OV ch-de, ST de/eng/fr Writer & Director: Luke Gasser 92 Min, HD Marinka OV de/en, ST de In co-production with Silvertrain, SRF Feature film, drama Writer & Director: Marina Klauser AWARDS 90 Min, Digital 2K — Best Documentary at Nevada OV ch-de, ST de/eng/fr Film Festival

18 19 CONTACT Filmgerberei GmbH Gasometerstr. 29a/b 8005 Zürich Schweiz

Nadine Lüchinger [email protected] +41 44 542 21 03 +41 76 379 70 74 www.filmgerberei.ch/film/der-hexer