Section: Homeland | Domownja | Domizna

Mansfeld

The Man's Field

Mario Schneider
Germany, 2012, 98 Min

Ancient traditions as an explosion of imagery and sound that takes us beyond folklore: for centuries inhabitants of Mansfeld, a former mining region, have driven away the winter with an archaic ritual. Mario Schneider combines this rite of passage with the coming-of-age of its protagonists, their surroundings and Stravinsky's “Rite of Spring”.

42film GmbH

The film accompanies youngsters Tom, Paul and Sebastian as they prepare for the big day. Repeatedly the boys practice the swinging of the whip, a technique passed on from father to son, though here we also see evidence of changing times, with one of them brought up by two mothers. These are times when everyone is engaged in a struggle for survival, be that at school or work, and the hope is for nothing more than that there might be “work for everyone”. First and foremost the protagonists need to stick together, even though the bonds around them are dissolving. The featured ritual, which unites the passing of both winter and childhood, creates a sense of community: the men roll around in the mud of the thawed out fields and cling to the earth whilst boys in traditional dress, whips in hand, drive them away. An impressive rite of passage portrayed in a rousing and vigorous manner rarely seen on cinema screens. GL

Filmformat
DCP | Doc. | Farbe / colour
Drehbuch
Mario Schneider
Kamera
Florian Kirchler, Mario Schneider
Ton
Henning Raatz
Schnitt
Gudrun Stenbrück-Plenert, Mario Schneider
Musik
Cornelius Renz, Mario Schneider
Produzent
Mario Schneider
Produktion
42film GmbH
Kontakt
42film GmbH
Sabina Urbanska
Geiststraße 49
06108 Halle
Germany
+49.34.54.78.18 48
www.42film.de
sabina@42film.de
Mario Schneider

Mario Schneider - born in 1970 in Neindorf, Germany. In 2000 he received his diploma as a Film Composer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. Since he has been working as director, author and film composer. In 2004 he founded the film production company 42film GmbH.

Movies
HELBRA (2005, doc)
HEINZ UND FRED (2007, doc)
DAS ZWEITE GESCHENK (2009, short)
AKT – 4 LEBEN EIN AKT (2016, doc)
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