Presskit.Pdf

Contents:

Short Synopsis ……………………………………………………………………..….. page 2 Long Synopsis ……………………………………………………………………..….. page 3 Interview extracts from the film …………………………………………………….…. page 5 Protagonists’ Biographies ……………..……………………………………………….. page 16 Key Crew Biographies..…………………..……………………………………………. page 21 Imprint …………………………………………………………………………………. page 27

Short Synopsis:

Ski Heil - The two planks that mean the world

Recreational sport, competitive sport, and tourist attraction: today skiing is a matter of course, but it wasn´t always this way: 80 years ago, four Austrian mountain boys raced down the snow-capped mountains on self-made skis, organized the first competitive races, and became the co-founders of a mass movement.

« Ski Heil » is a deeply personal journey through the lives of my father, Richard Rossmann, and his skiing colleagues Karl Koller, Eberhard Kneisl and Guzzi Lantschner. It traces not only their pioneering achievements, but a shared love for skiing and the mountains which stayed with them over a lifetime - sometimes opening up glittering opportunities, sometimes providing a framework to overcome personal and political dilemmas.

From early on, the fate of all four men was closely linked to Austrian and German history. One was the private ski instructor of Albert Speer; one was a student of the Reichs Sport Academy in Berlin; one was a cameraman for Leni Riefenstahl; three of them were members of the Olympic Ski Racing Team in 1936.

« Ski Heil » is a film about passion and repression, about men and their values that can’t be easily categorized in today’s world.

Long Synopsis:

Ski Heil - The two planks that mean the world

All four were born during the chaos of World War I in Austrian mountain villages. Coming from modest backgrounds the boys were fascinated by the new sport from Norway, which gave them a new feeling of freedom and equality high up above the demands of daily life. They eagerly competed in the very first races and contests. Before the outbreak of the World War II, they had all taken part in international competitions. !

Guzzi Lantschner became World Skiing Champion in 1932. The year before he was picked as an actor and went on to play a leading role in the alpine success movie “White Ecstasy”, where he co-starred along with Leni Riefenstahl. Soon afterwards, by then a director, Leni Riefenstahl introduced him to the movie world in Berlin.

My father Richard Rossmann took part in the 1936 Winter Olympics and went on to study at the Reichs Sports Academy in Berlin, the centre of the German sporting elite.

Karl Koller became the junior Austrian champion, earning his money as a private skiing instructor of men like Albert Speer and other political heavy weights.

Eberhard Kneisl won silver at the 1936 World Championships in Innsbruck and made it to the Olympics in the same year.

With unusual frankness, the four men recall how they were initially taken in by the ideas of early National Socialism, by its supposedly new energy and opportunities, by its cult of the body and “The Anschluss” – which made Austria a part of The German Reich. While Guzzi Lantschner went on to help promote the ideals of the Nazis, working as Leni Riefenstahl’s camera man on “Triumph of the Will” and “Olympia”, the others were increasingly alarmed by events such as the Reichskristallnacht, the outbreak of war, the fate of the Jews and other political developments. They slowly began to distance themselves from “the movement” and never became members of the NSDAP.

However their talent in Alpine sports continued to serve them well throughout the war, as they were recalled from desperate situations at the front. While Guzzi Lantschner was freed from active service, in order to shoot war footage for the German news reels, the other three managed to become Alpine guides for the “German Wehrmacht”. After the defeat in 1945, they returned home. Only Guzzi Lantschner left for Argentina. And yet again, it was skiing that provided the framework to rebuild all their post war lives.

« Ski Heil » is a deeply personal journey through the lives of four very different men, who tell their story with unusual frankness, helping to understand the generation, that formed the pre- and post war life in Austria. « Ski Heil » is a film about passion and repression, about men who grew up during a time different from ours, and about values that can’t be easily categorized in today’s world.

Interview extracts from the film:

Karl Koller on his passion for skiing

Karl Koller: Skiing is its own world. The most important thing is freedom. Freedom is above everything. Not being trapped, being free in nature on two boards that mean the world .

Eberhard Kneisl on the early days of skiing

Eberhard Kneisl: The first skiing was with staves. The staves out of wine barrels, they were like this. And so we tacked leather over them, then with loden shoes and an alpine staff, we mounted our skis and glided down the steeper paths. It was novel. Well it was very primitive. When I had my third winter at school I won the Austrian Youth Skiing Competition in the 10 to 14 years category. Next time it was in Windischgarten and I won again. And that’s how it progressed. Better skis, better bindings, better stuff. And that’s when skiing took off as a sport. Then it got bigger, more comfortable. That’s when skiing took shape.

Richard Rossmann on his participation at the Winter Olympics in Garmisch 1936

Richard Rossmann: So you were together with Eberhard Kneisl in the Austrian Olympic Team. Why weren’t you allowed to compete?

Richard Rossmann sr: We were already up at Garmisch for the training. At the Kreuzeck where the race took place. I already did the stretch 2 or 3 times to train. And two days later, the word came: “We were to go home, we wouldn’t be competing”. And all because the Germans saw that they wouldn’t have a chance. They had a few good skiers. Like Pfnuer from Berchtesgarden. He was the only real contender. But, against our team, the Austrians, like Josl Gstrein or Eberhard Kneisl, nobody would have had a chance, we would have cleaned up. The FIS, this committee was composed of lots of neutral states… So the Germans proposed, the Nazis proposed, that the Austrians weren’t to compete. But the real reason was that the Germans would never have won the Olympics. Because during the week as ski instructors we were getting 6 shillings, we were seen as professionals. So then Pfnuer won. But they invited Toni Seelos to be a forerunner. And according to our people, he was six seconds faster than Pfnuer, the winner.

Richard Rossmann: So did that cause a stir?

Richard Rossmann sr: Well, yes, in skiing circles, it was passed around. But, outside of that it was kept a secret. It didn’t make it to the press. “Germany won the Olympics in Alpine Skiing”, that was the line.

Richard Rossmann: Did the Austrians protest to the Olympic committee?

Richard Rossmann sr: There was no protest against the Nazis. They just kicked us out of everything.

Guzzi Lantschner on his collaboration with Leni Riefenstahl

Guzzi Lantschner: Because I was a good skier and because I was known for that. That’s how I got into this world, how they took me in. Riefenstahl was very open. We clicked very early on. And Riefenstahl supported me, when I went into the movie business later on in Berlin. It was pretty exciting for me because I knew so little and because I got a break in the movie industry. It wasn’t such a big industry back then, but still, already, there was a little industry. I learned a lot of practical stuff from Riefenstahl. When we did those films about the 1936 Summer Olympics. The 1936 Olympics were a lot of work. Riefenstahl got a lot of opportunities through contact with the government and the top officials. And we did what we had to do. The existing techniques weren’t sufficient for our requirements. So we invented a lot of new techniques. Techniques that were never used before. I had a lot of trust in Riefenstahl and vice versa, she loved to collaborate with me.

Eberhard Kneisl on the Nazis

Eberhard Kneisl: I just preferred to stay home. I couldn’t get into the whole thing. Some were for the Nazis and some were against.

Richard Rossmann: And what did you think about the Nazis?

Eberhard Kneisl: I basically wasn’t really interested in any of that stuff. I mostly just avoided the whole issue. Because, what can you say...

Karl Koller on the “Ski Corps”

Karl Koller: The Ski Corps. That was right at the beginning, as I was mobilized. By this I mean 1940. I was called to Mittenwald. I hadn’t known, but they were assembling a ski corps there. They got together all the great skiers there, and put them in the corps. We trained at skiing, slalom, everything. And then we had to put on the uniforms. We were deployed and these pictures were made. And the whole event was, of course, to support Goebbels’ propaganda. And every weekend we took part in a race. Not international races, but local ones, like in Seefeld, in Bad Wiessee and in the smaller towns. Of course we enjoyed this. Duty was fairly loose. And we thought, if this carries on, military life ain’t so bad. It all went well up to the point when there was that terrible winter in Russia. Where they had such great losses. And that’s when we were deployed at the front, one after the other. Why I was the first one sent to the front, I don’t know.

11 Richard Rossmann on his knowledge of concentration camps as an alpine trainer in the mountains

Richard Rossmann: What did you know in the mountains about the concentration camps? Was it discussed among your comrades?

Richard Rossmann sr: Soellner told me. He was a field corpsman in Russia for a time. A paramedic staff sargeant. And he was requisitioned to a firing squad of the SS. Jews were driven there in cargo trucks. They were forced to kneel in front of gravel pits, one next to the other. And the SS squad walked along with handguns. The Langloeffel 22, that’s what they had. A real mean weapon. Then the Jews were shot in the back of the neck, so that they would fall forward, into the pit. If they weren’t hit dead center with the small bullet, so that the spine would rupture, the bullet would come out the other side. The people were down there, writhing and screaming. And he had to watch that. It was strange that they stationed him there as a paramedic, even though he wasn’t part of the SS. He was there in case anything happened to the firing squad. Then he would have had to intervene. He said it was horrible. That was the first time that I had heard anything like that. That they were exterminating the Jews in Russia like that. The destroyed entire villages. Women, children, everything. I mean, they were real scum.

Richard Rossmann: What did you feel when you heard that story?

Richard Rossmann sr: Well I had to forget about it, there was nothing else for it. I couldn’t change it. We could only change it when the Americans marched in and the others had to retreat.

Karl Koller und Eberhard Kneisl on how skiing became popular as a recreational sport after the war

Karl Koller: So I have to say, after the war, skiing really changed for the better. Skiing became a popular sport. Not only for the rich but for everyone.

Eberhard Kneisl: The best thing was that a lot of people came and they brought a lot of money into the valleys. And people lived from that. These buildings wouldn’t be here if that money hadn’t come. Dutch, Swiss, Italians and French came. It was international, particularly in the ski schools.

Karl Koller reflects in his poem „Der militärische Eid“ on his war experience

Karl Koller: “The Military Oath! Who has the right to oblige you to kill To destroy the livelihoods of men of those in foreign lands I too did say this oath Swore never to break it as a soldier But then in times of war How that oath I regretted.”

Protagonists’ Biographies:

Karl Koller Eberhard Kneisl Guzzi Lantschner Richard Rossmann Sr

Karl Koller

Karl Koller was born on April 16th 1919, the youngest out of ten in Kitzbühel. As a boy he was already fascinated by skiing, the sport that influenced his career for a lifetime, whether as a ski racer, as the head of the ski school in Kitzbühel or as the chairman of the Austrian Skiing Association. Karl Koller dedicated his life with all his heart and soul “The two planks that mean the world”.

Highlights in the life of Karl Koller

1938 Austrian Junior Champion, Downhill

1940 – 1942 Member of the National German Ski Team of the Greater German Reich

1943 – 1945 Alpine guide for the “German Wehrmacht” at the Alpine Medical School in St. Johann

1946 Hahnenkamm Champion, Combined

1950 – 1978 Head of the Ski School in Kitzbühel

Cofounder of the Association for Kitzbühel Ski Instructors and Mountain Guides

1969 Chairman of the Professional Ski Instructors Association of Austria

1976 Foundation of Kollerland, the famous ski school for children invented by Karl Koller

1995 Author of “Kitzbühel zu meiner Zeit”

1998 Author of “Freud und Leid zu meiner Zeit”

Honored with the golden order of the Province of Tirol

Today

Today, at the age of 91 Karl Koller lives with his wife Ida in Jochberg in Tirol. During the winter they both love to go wild cross-country skiing every day.

Eberhard Kneisl

Eberhard Kneisl was born on May 12th 1916 in Sölden in Austria. Growing up in a modest mountain farming family it was skiing that opened up undreamed of possibilities for him. Known as the „Tiger from the Ötztal“ Eberhard holds a plethora of international ski racing titles. Alongside his career as a ski racer he has been working as a ski instructor and alpine guide all his life.

Highlights in the life of Eberhard Kneisl

1934 Tirol Junior Champion, Downhill & Slalom

1936 World Champion Silver Medalist, Slalom, Innsbruck

Member of the Austrian Olympic Ski Team

1939 – 1945 Alpine guide for the “German Wehrmacht” in Tirol

1944 Winner of the last “Großglockner Race” of the Greater German Reich

1947 Hahnenkamm Bronze Medalist, Combination

50 years professional experience as state-approved ski instructor and alpine guide

Honorary Member of the Ski Club Sölden

Today

Eberhard Kneisl only stopped racing a few years ago. He lived until the age of 92 with his children in Sölden in Tirol. He died on December 26th 2008.

Guzzi Lantschner

Guzzi Lantschner was born on August 10th 1910 in Innsbruck. His extraordinary talent in skiing soon brought him international titles. During the 1930s he was part of the international skiing elite. Through his skiing exploits, doors were opened for him as an actor in Arnold Fanck´s skiing film “White Ecstasy”, later as camera man to Leni Riefenstahl and later still, an independent filmmaker.

Highlights in the life of Guzzi Lantschner

1928 Austrian Skiing Champion

1931 Leading role in the famous skiing movie „White Ecstasy“ by Dr. Arnold Fanck

1932 World Skiing Champion (as a member of the Austrian Ski Racing Team)

1934 Cameraman for Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will

1935 Naturalized German Citizenship

1936 Olympic Silver Medalist, Garmisch 1936 (as a member of the German Ski Racing Team)

1936 Cameraman for Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia I + II

1939 – 1945 Cameraman for wartime German news reels

1945 – 1952 Cameraman and ski instructor in Bariloche, Argentina

1952 Return to Germany

Freelance Cameraman and independent filmmaker until his retirement

Today

Today, at the age of 98 Guzzi Lantschner lives with his wife Inge in Munich. They still love to go together to their mountain chalet in Tirol.

Richard Rossmann Sr

Richard Rossmann was born on January 10th 1916 in Salzburg. His passion for skiing began at the age of four when his great uncle gave him his first pair of skis. A passion that influenced his career decisively, as a ski racer, as head of the ski school in Zell am See and as Chairman of the Professional Ski Instructors Association of Salzburg.

Highlights in the life of Richard Rossmann

1933 Salzburg Skiing Champion, Slalom & Downhill

1935 Austrian Junior Champion, Glungezer

1936 Member of the Austrian Olympic Ski Team

1937 – 1939 Studies of Sports at the Reichs Sports Academy in Berlin

1941 – 1945 Alpine guide for the “German Wehrmacht” at the Alpine Medical School in St. Johann

1945 Reestablishment of the Ski School in Zell am See

1945 - 1989 Head of the Ski School in Zell am See

1945 – 1982 Chairman of the Professional Ski Instructors Association of Salzburg

Honored with the golden order of the province of Salzburg

Today

Richard Rossmann lived until the age of 92 with his wife Maresi in Saalfelden with whom he shared his love for skiing and the mountains. He died on December 30st 2008.

Key Crew Biographies:

Written, edited & directed by Richard Rossmann Director of Photography: Bella Halben Dramatic Advisor: Sissi Hüetlin Score: Fabian Müller Theme Song: Rufus Wainwright

Richard Rossmann was born on April 26 1971 in Saalfelden in the heart of the Austrian Alps. As a son of ski obsessed parents he grew up between ski races and international ski school guests. At the age of 18 he moved to Vienna to study economics and business administration.

As a student, he made ends meet as an assistant for production companies. He soon discovered his passion for the world of television and film. After his final degree he took a job at a TV Production in Hamburg where he learned the art of television from the bottom up. Since then he is working as a freelance producer for international TV and commercial productions. He lives in Berlin and in Pinzgau.

Two years ago Richard started to work on his first independent documentary film project. Ski Heil - The two planks that mean the world is his debut as director and independent filmmaker.

Filmography

Ski Heil - The two planks that mean the world, Documentary 86 min

Bella Halben was born in Hamburg. After her professional training as a photographer she worked as a camera assistant for movies, documentaries and commercials. In 1998 she shot her first feature length movie as a cinematographer. Since then Bella Halben worked for a lot of award-winning movies, TV productions and documentaries.

Filmography (highlights)

2008 The Door Movie directed by Anno Saul, Wüste Film

Ski Heil – The two planks that mean the world Documentary directed by Richard Rossmann

2007 A Year Ago in Winter Movie directed by Caroline Link, Bavaria Film

Zeruya Shalev TV Biopic directed by Marion Kollbach & Angela Scheele, ARTE

2006 The Heart Is a Dark Forest Movie directed by Nicolette Krebitz, NDR, X-Filme

Autistic Disco Movie directed by Hans Steinbichler, Tatami Films

2005 Winter Journey Movie directed by Hans Steinbichler, d.i.e. Film GmbH

2002 Hierankl Movie directed by Hans Steinbichler, Avista Film/ HFF München/BR/ arte/ SWR

2000 Baader Movie directed by Christopher Roth, 72film GmbH

Sissi Hüetlin was born on January 22nd 1966 in Munich. After her final degree in “Russian and Soviet Studies” from the University of London she began to work as a journalist, initially for magazines and later for TV programs. The documentary The Nightwitches was her debut as a filmmaker. Since then she works as a successful writer, editor and director for TV stations and production companies.

Filmographie (highlights)

24 h Berlin, Director of one episode of a documentary project, Main Director: Volker Heise, zero one film, ARTE, 2008

Der Enzianmord, Writer/Director, Documentary, Doc.Station for ARD, 45', 2008

Ski Heil - The two planks that mean the world, Dramatic Advisor, Documentary by Richard Rossmann, 86', D/Ö 2007/2008

High sein, Frei sein, überall dabei sein – Auf dem Hippietrail nach Marokko, Writer/Director, 25 min. documenatry for ARTE, 2007 (produced by zero one film)

The Rapoports – Our Three Lives, Writer/Director, together with Britta Wauer; 58 min documentary for ZDF/ARTE, 2004, (produced by Ziegler Film)- „Adolf-Grimme-Preis“ 2005

The Nightwitches, Writer/Director/Producer, together with Elisabeth McKay, 52 min. documentary for PREMIERE, 1994 (produced by Move a Mountain Prod. Ltd.)

Fabian Müller (*1964) is one of the leading Swiss composers of his generation. His music is created wholly out of an intuitive freedom. His starting point is rarely a concept developed by the intellect for the music to follow. His works thus encompass modernistic and traditional elements. He feels no duty to any particular school or dogma, seeing his composing as a voyage of discovery undertaken by an independent spirit, combining a playful treatment of traditional methods with the unexpected and unforeseen.

His recent commissions include the «Concerto per Klee» for cello and chamber orchestra which was premiered by the cellist Steven Isserlis and the «Weinberger Chamber Orchestra» conducted by Gábor Takács-Nagy, then a trio for saxophone, cello and piano (commissioned by the Art Museum of Winterthur), and the «Concerto for Orchestra» which will be presented on a tour (in the series of Klubhaus Konzerte) throughout Switzerland (season 08/09). One of his recent works is also «Taranis» (2006) for large orchestra, which was premiered by the Bern Symphony Orchestra in the season 08/09.The cello-sonata composed for his wife the cellist Pi-Chin Chien was premiered together with the pianist Beatrice Long in new Jersey in spring 2006. Another performance took place at October 7th in the Carnegie Hall, New York.

Ski Heil - The two planks that mean the world is his first film project.

Rufus Wainwright began playing the piano at 6 years of age. At the age of 13 he went on tour with his sister Martha, his mother Kate McGarrigle and his aunt Anna as ‘The McGarrigle Sisters and Wainwright Family’. After regular gigs in Montreal’s music clubs Rufus started to produce his first demos, beginning of an extraordinary music career. Since then Rufus Wainwright has released some very fine, well received albums.

Discography 2007: Rufus does Judy at Carnegie Hall

2007: Release the Stars 2004: Want Two 2003: Want One 2001: Poses 1998: Rufus Wainwright

Filmography (highlights)

Ski Heil - The two planks that mean the world by Richard Rossmann, 2008

Trade by Marco Kreuzpaintner, 2007

Brokeback Mountain by Ang Lee, 2005

Imprint:

Please note that the usage of the picture material is only granted in connection within the coverage of the movie Ski Heil – The two planks that mean the world. Archiving is not allowed. Please note further that in any case the naming of the source and the creator is mandatory. For the credit line please contact the press department.

Press contact:

Ela Angerer Cell: +43 676 5411002 Email: [email protected]

Actual press comments & interviews can be found on the official website: http://www.skiheil-derfilm.com