Jack Unterweger
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POET LOVER KILLER JACKA FILM BY ELISABETH SCHARANG FESTIVAL DEL FILM LOCARNO 2015 PIAZZA GRANDE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2015 PICTURE TREE INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS JACKA FILM BY ELISABETH SCHARANG EUROPEAN PREMIERE 68TH FESTIVAL DEL FILM LOCARNO, AUGUST 8TH, 2015, PIAZZA GRANDE THEATRICAL RELEASE IN AUSTRIA SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2015 97 MINS (24 FPS) / 2K / 1,85:1 / DOLBY DIGITAL PRESS CONTACT TORONTO SILVERSALT PR / THESSA MOOIJ / T +1 212 729 7071 / [email protected] PRESS MATERIALS: WWW.SILVERSALTPR.COM WORLD SALES PICTURE TREE INTERNATIONAL, ZUR BÖRSE 12, 10247 BERLIN, GERMANY T +49 30 4208 2480 / [email protected] ADVANCE PRESS SCREENING MONDAY / AUG 24TH / 10.00 A.M. / VARSITY CINEPLEX #5 PRESS & INDUSTRY SCREENING MONDAY / SEPT 14TH / 11.30 A.M. / SCOTIABANK 7 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE TUESDAY / SEPT 15TH / 07.00 P.M. / SCOTIABANK 10 PUBLIC SCREENINGS THURSDAY / SEPT 17TH / 09.15 P.M. / SCOTIABANK 10 SUNDAY / SEPT 20TH / 09.00 A.M. / SCOTIABANK 14 CREW CAST WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY................................................................. ELISABETH SCHARANG JACK UNTERWEGER.................................................................................. JOHANNES KRISCH CASTING BY........................................................................................................................ LISA OLÁH SUSANNE SÖNNMANN.......................................................................CORINNA HARFOUCH CINEMATOGRAPHY BY........................................................................................... JÖRG WIDMER MARLIES HAUM.......................................................................................BIRGIT MINICHMAYR ORIGINAL SOUND BY........................................................ WILLIAM EDOUARD FRANCK CHARLOTTE.....................................................................................SARAH VIKTORIA FRICK EDITING BY.............................................................................................................. ALARICH LENZ PSYCHOLOGIST ZIEHOFER..............................................................................PAULUS MANKER SOUND DESIGN BY......................................................................... VERONIKA HLAWATSCH PUBLISHER BASTIAN WOLF............................................................................................SAMI LORIS SOUND MIX BY.......................................................................................... BERNHARD MAISCH JACK’S MOTHER...............................................................................................................INGE MAUX PRODUCTION DESIGN BY................................................................................ ISIDOR WIMMER MARLENE.......................................................................................................VALERIE PACHNER COSTUME BY..................................................................................... ALEXANDRA TRUMMER INSPECTOR ROCHL............................................................................................BIRGIT LINAUER MAKE-UP BY........................................................................ MONIKA FISCHER-VORAUER INSPECTOR ANDRES...........................................................................................MICHAEL FUITH MUSIC BY................................................................................................................. NAKED LUNCH NEUMANN.........................................................................................................ERNST STÖTZNER PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT BY.................................................................... KARIN SCHMATZ ET AL. JUNIOR PRODUCER.................................................................................. JAKOB POCHLATKO PRODUCER............................................................................................... DIETER POCHLATKO SUPPORTED BY THE AUSTRIAN FILM INSTITUTE, FISA – FILM LOCATION AUSTRIA, FILMFONDS WIEN, ORF FILM/FERNSEH-ABKOMMEN, PROVINCE OF SALZBURG AND CINE ART. SHORT SYNOPSIS One winter’s night a girl freezes to death after suffering brutal injuries. Jack is convicted of her murder. When released from prison 15 years later, he be- comes an acclaimed writer and well-known ladies’ man, and Vienna’s society celebrates his example of successful social rehabilitation. But questions arise when more and more prostitutes are being found dead. Can a man change that fundamentally? From murderer of a woman to ladykiller, from jailbird poet to society darling – Jack Unterweger was the talk of the town in early 1990’s Vienna. His suicide following the conviction for multiple murder left many questions unanswered, and 20 years later, his story has not lost any of its mystery. Focusing on the enigmatic title character, Elisabeth Scharang (In Another Lifetime) presents a breath-taking and haunting psychograph. JacK PRESSINFO / 4 SYNOPSIS One winter’s night a girl freezes to death after suffering brutal injuries. Jack “Once a murderer, always a murderer?”, Jack asks his new friends. They can- is convicted of her murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. In prison, he not answer his question. The white-suited dandy is let down by his entourage. channels his criminal past and gloomy thoughts into poems and literary essays and even writes a novel. He tries to maintain his connection to the outside For Jack, the issue of his guilt or innocence becomes a matter of life and death. world by writing to various women, who he charms with his words. Has he really killed eleven women since being released from prison? Or is Jack His typewriter paves him the way to freedom. just a perfect fit for the profile of serial killer in the eyes of the public and the authorities? When he is given an early release after 15 years, he goes from being a “jailbird poet” to a real “ladykiller” and darling of Vienna’s society. In addition to his JACK is the second feature film by writer, dramaturge, filmmaker and radio various flirtations and sexual encounters, Jack expects his affair with the ar- journalist Elisabeth Scharang (“In Another Lifetime”). Following the TV mo- chitect Susanne to open the doors to high society – that’s where he wants to vie “Franz Fuchs – Ein Patriot”, this is her second adaptation of a spectacular be, right at the top. case from Austrian criminal history. The plotline of the film is fictional, but Jack is passed around like a trophy. He appears on TV talk shows, the liberal the key elements are based on the case of the writer and woman killer Jack bourgeoisie adorn themselves with the rehabilitated woman killer and his novel Unterweger. sells well. Will he be able to seize this chance? Is there a way back once one has The result is a breath-taking and haunting psychograph featuring Johannes crossed the line and killed a person? Krisch as Jack and co-starring Corinna Harfouch, Birgit Minichmayr, Sarah Viktoria Frick and Paulus Manker. When Jack’s mother unexpectedly shows up on his doorstep, his new image cracks. A series of rumours about him start to spread and Jack cannot do Jack Unterweger was accused of the murder of eleven women in 1992 and af- anything to stop them. He may know the rules of the game in prison, but he ter a trial based on circumstantial evidence, he was found guilty of nine of the knows very little about the rules of the cultural jet set and the media world. murders in 1994. A few hours after his verdict was announced, Unterweger The atmosphere is on the verge of souring once and for all when several pro- hanged himself in his cell. As a result, it was not possible to appeal the verdict, stitutes fall victim to a mysterious murderer. These murders hit the headlines meaning that it was not legally valid. of every newspaper and both the police and the press direct their attention to one chief suspect: Jack. JACK. Poet. Lover. Killer. JacK PRESSINFO / 5 »Before you judge a man, step into his shoes and walk down the street in them. « JacK PRESSINFO / 7 ELISABETH SCHARANG – DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT THE STORY From that moment on, I broke away from the facts and developed my own I don’t know whether Jack Unterweger really committed the eleven murders interpretation of events. I approached this man – whom I had met shortly that he was tried for in Graz in 1992. I’d like to know for sure. Because eleven after his release from prison – through the female characters. While writing, women died, and the suspect as well. And because I want to know that I live I recalled my four meetings with the real Jack Unterweger in the early 1990s in a country which adheres to the rule of law, a country where the judicial and this helped me to avoid the pitfalls of clichés and myths. Unterweger was authorities – when in doubt – will do everything within their power to give the a projection surface, reflecting everything people wanted to see in him: jail accused a fair trial. buddy, actor, lover, poet, victim and offender. The ideal main character for any story, really. But this story actually happened. After two years of research (2008-2010) I had everything I needed to make a major documentary. But I still didn’t have the main character. He had killed Is it different writing a story based on a real person? Yes. himself in 1994 after being convicted by the trial court. Particularly regarding the visibility of this project. But he was the key to the story. Each and every Austrian has an opinion on Jack Unterweger and as soon After working on it for another year and after