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D E R HexerP R E S S K I T

Eine Produktion der Filmgerberei www.filmgerberei.ch

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

I N D E X

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SYNOPSIS ANDLOGLINE

SY N O P S I S

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.

LO G L I N E

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.

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CREW ANDFILM SHEET

WITH Sven Baumgartner and Mali Schumacher

WRITER & DIRECTOR Maja TschumiPRODUCERS Nadine Lüchinger & Flavio GerberCAMERA Maja Tschumi, Stefan TschumiSOUND Maja TschumiEDITING Rebecca TröschSOUND DESIGN & ENGENEERING Christof Steinmann, MagnetixMUSIC Dominik Blumer, Roman Lerch, Thomi Christ MUSIC PRODUCTION Feed the MonkeyCOLOUR GRADING Christoph Walther, Trinipix

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

PRODUCTION Filmgerberei GmbHGENRE Short DocumentaryLENGTH 21’17’’LANGUAGE Swiss GermanSUBTITLES German, English, FrenchFILM FORMAT HDSCREENING COPY DCPCAMERA Canon C300SHOOTING TIME 6 WeeksFINALISATION July 2016SHOOTING LOCATIONS Canton Aargau, Winterthur WITH THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF

Bundesamt für Kultur, Zürcher Filmstiftung, Aargauer Kuratorium, Familienstiftung Hans und Silvia Tschumi-Seifert, Stadt Baden

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DIRECTOR‘S STATEMENT

«When Sven talks about The Witcher, he is also talking

about himself.»

I met Sven in 2001, when I was eighteen years old, in a left-wing autonomous cultural center in Brem-garten, Switzerland. We became friends and spent a lot of time together. I was shocked by the stories from his childhood, even though I was not yet aware of the extent of the abuse toward him through his stepmo-ther. After a few months we got into an argument and I experienced Sven’s violent temper for the first time. We kept our distance, but still did not lose track of each other. It was when Sven’s father died in 2004 that I realized I was the only person of trust that Sven had at that point, albeit the fact that

we had only been seeing each other three or four times a year.

Two years ago, I noticed that it had been a long time since Sven’s last outburst. When I asked him what had changed, he said: „I have met The Witcher!“ I could not quite imagine what he meant and wanted to know who that Witcher was. The more Sven told me the more I was convinced that I wanted to do a film about Sven and his extraordinary relationship to this video game character, The Witcher. Right from the start and all during the test shots Sven talked very openly. The film project was born.

M A J A T S CH U M I

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.

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I was intrigued by the idea of doing a documentary about fantasy as a strategy of survival. A film about Sven’s escape from the world shows a radical example of how important stories can be in our lives. Every day after work Sven plays video games for several hours. In order for the viewer to grasp the different worlds in which he “lives”, 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

profound trauma in the eye and find a way out of it. The Witcher had also been tormented during childhood; he also had to learn to fight monsters. From this perspective the film tells the story of an unbelievably resilient man, who has found his very own way to tackle his trauma and who repeatedly refuses to take on the role of a victim.

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The media still treats the impact of video games astoundingly one-sided. Emphasis is mostly placed on addicti-on or the potential for aggression. Meanwhile, however, it is simple fact that video games influence our lives. The video game industry has outstrip-ped Hollywood in worldwide sales. Contrary to the general fears that video games would lead to

brutalization and dullness, the film THE WITCHER tells a different story: Today Sven can control his aggressive-ness, even though, or explicitly because he is a very strong fighter in the virtual world. Video games can channel emotions that find no accep-tance in our society.

DIRECTOR‘S STATEMENT

«Imaginary friends and video games – two

controversial topics.»

M A J A T S CH U M I

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.

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PRODUCER‘S NOTE

«Maja Tschumi is a de-dicated filmmaker, who is very interested in her

counterpart.»

Maja told us about the potential of the story and the unique opportunity she was being given. We understood and supported Maja’s idea to plan the filming without a film crew. This was a wise decision because Sven would speak freely only to her. Thus Maja became his mouthpiece.

Several meetings between Maja and Sven followed. This approach was an

unknown manner for both of them, since Maja is an autodidact and this was her first job as a director. For Sven it was new to come out of his isolation and tell about his trauma in front of a camera. Maja’s stable relationship to Sven as well as her decision to tell his story through the character of The Witcher were funda-mental for his being able to talk openly.

N A D I N E L Ü CH I N G E R A N D F L AV I O G E R B E R

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.

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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 games. Furthermore, this film tells the story of brutal abuse within a family. 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 why people need stories and is an intimate portrait of the interesting inside of an outsider.

NADINE LÜCHINGER

Film ProducerFilmgerberei GmbH

FLAVIO GERBER

Producer and PartnerFilmgerberei GmbH

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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

2016 DER HEXER

22 Minutes, Documentary Writer, Director and Camera Filmgerberei 2014 SONNTAG

10 Minutes, Fantasy Fiction Co-Writer, Director: Silvio Gerber Filmgerberei 2014 LEICHTGEWICHT –18 70 Minutes, Documentary Writer and Director, In Development, Filmgerberei

THEATRE

2014 PAULUS. DAS EREIGNIS

Writer, Director: Simon Helbling2011 HUSH, NO MORE

Assistant of Dramaturgy, Stage Director: Corinna von Rad2011 ROBERTS ROTER FADEN

Writer, Director: Elisabeth Cäsar2009 APOKALYPSE – DAS THEATER Writer, Director: Simon Helbling2009 IT’S LIFE, STUPID

Writer, Director: Simon Helbling

FILMOGRAPHY

Maja Tschumi

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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.

2016

Doug & Walter

Short film, fictionWriter & Director: Samuel Morris 25 Min, Digital 2K, DCPOV 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

2016

The Witcher (Der Hexer)

Short fim, documentary Writer & Director: Maja Tschumi 22 Min, Digital 2K, DCPOV ch-de, ST de/eng/fr

OWN PRODUCTIONS (SELECTION)

FILMOGRAPHY

Filmgerberei GmbH

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2015

Frail (Puppenspiel)

Short film, fantasyWriter & Director: Ares Ceylan 18 Min, Digital 2K, DCP OV ch-de, ST de/eng/frIn co-production with SRF

AWARDS

Opening film at the Kurzfilmnacht Zürich 2016

2014

Sunnday (Sonntag)

Short film, fantasyWriters: Silvio Gerber & Maja TschumiDirector: Silvio Gerber10 Min, Digital 2K, DCPwithout dialog

AWARDS

Best Short Film at Mumbai Short Film Festival 2014

2013

Hold-Up!

Short film, comedy dramaWriter & Director: Fabio Friedli7 Min, Digital 2Kwithout dialog In co-production with SRF

AWARDS

Nominated for the Berner Film Award 2014

2015

The Cheated One (Der Gehörnte)

Short film, comedyWriter & Director: Tillo Spreng10 Min, Digital 2K, DCPOV ch-de, ST de/en/fr

AWARDS

Opening film at the Kurzfilmnacht Zürich 2015, Selection to Cinetour

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2016/17

Junge Talente.ch

3 short filmsWriter: Jann PreussDirectors: Katalin Gödrös, Cihan Inan, Jann Preuss4–5 Min, Digital 2K, OV ch-de, fr In co-production with Corinna Glaus Casting

Family Weekend

Feature film, thrillerWriter: Pilar Anguita-MacKayIdea & Director: Cihan Inan90 Min, Digital 2K OV fr/eng, ST de/eng/fr

Trieb

Feature film, dramaWriter & Director: Luca RiblerIn co-production with ZHDK90 Min, Digital 2KOV ch-de, ST de/eng/fr

Marinka

Feature film, dramaWriter & Director: Marina Klauser90 Min, Digital 2KOV ch-de, ST de/eng/fr

2013

Beware of Children!

Short film, horror comedy Writer & Director: Ares Ceylan 15 Min, Digital 2K, DCP OV ch-de, ST de/en/fr

AWARDS

— Basler Film Award ZOOM Best Short Film 2013

— Public Award & 2nd Jury Award Jugendfilmtage 2013

— 2nd Jury Award at Abertoir Wales Int. Horror Festival 2013

2013

Making of Jesus Christ

Feature film, documentaryWriter & Director: Luke Gasser92 Min, HDOV de/en, ST deIn co-production with Silvertrain, SRF

AWARDS

— Best Documentary at Nevada Film Festival

IN PRODUCTION

IN DEVELOPMENT

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C O N TA C T

Filmgerberei GmbHGasometerstr. 29a/b8005 ZürichSchweiz

Nadine Lüchingernl@filmgerberei.ch+41 44 542 21 03+41 76 379 70 74

www.filmgerberei.ch/film/der-hexer