Hamlet - This is Your Family

  • 79'
  • Germany
  • 2001
A provocative and ironic-pamfletteering documentary about Peter Kern's colleague director and enfant terrible Christoph Schlingensief. Schlingensief has a reputation as a film and theatre director in doing his nut and causing scandals. When he was asked for a theatre project in Zurich, they knew what they were taking on, but he still managed to raise hackles in political and cultural circles.As far as Schlingensief is concerned, a theatre project never exists in isolation: it is both a media event and a form of political action. He choose to perform Hamlet in Zurich, but then as part of a so-called Nazi-Aussteigerprogramm, an officially grant-aided project to offer guidance to neo-Nazis who want toleave the movement and are seeking a new place in society. Schlingensief let the ex-neo-Nazis play themselves in a very classical Hamlet. His provocation in so-called Nazi-free Switzerland was not appreciated. When he added fuel to the flames by calling for the local political party SVP to be banned, his media offensive made front-page news far beyond Switzerland too.Kern operated with his film team, from within and from behind the scenes, as a confident of Schlingensief, and as actor in the play: he plays King Claudius.
  • 79'
  • Germany
  • 2001
Director
Peter Kern
Premiere
International premiere
Country of production
Germany
Year
2001
Festival Edition
IFFR 2002
Length
79'
Medium
35mm
Language
German
Producers
K&K Film, Eqal Visual Productions, Peter Kern
Sales
K&K Film
Cinematography
Christoph Schlingensief
Cast
Christoph Schlingensief, Peter Kern
Director
Peter Kern
Premiere
International premiere
Country of production
Germany
Year
2001
Festival Edition
IFFR 2002
Length
79'
Medium
35mm
Language
German
Producers
K&K Film, Eqal Visual Productions, Peter Kern
Sales
K&K Film
Cinematography
Christoph Schlingensief
Cast
Christoph Schlingensief, Peter Kern