Sonja Wyss - Winterstilte AKA Winter Silence (2008)

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A man lives in isolation with his wife and four daughters in the snow-covered Swiss mountains. Catholicism and the belief in old legends permeate everyday life in their lonely mountain cabin. When the man dies in an accident, the women fall into a kind of hibernation and fantastic mythical characters come to life. Winter Silence seems to be a film out of time. But the mother and her nearly grown daughters create their very own presence by means of a strictly ritualized daily routine. The camera captures them in stylised tableaux and choreographs harmonious gestures and movements: saying the rosary together, brushing each other’s long hair and pinning it up into severe braids, rhythmically stitching in front of the warm fire. The film also plays with symbols and signs pointing to the impending end of this community of women. A knowing owl appears in the bedroom window, masked men wearing antlers come to the cabin at night, and a colorfully dressed figure wanders through the snow. We sense that the young women will soon leave the farm and seek out the rhythm of a life of their owns.

WINTER SILENCE was shot in in February 2008. Director Sonja Wyss describes her experiences as follows:
"With the realisation of Winter Silence a whole new world opened for me. Until now I made my video's almost exclusively alone. Now I was being introduced to people who would work with me on my film. The tasks were divided. What a luxury it is to be able to work with so many professional and enthousiastic people!
It took some time getting used to after so many years spent brooding on the project. And now suddenly having to shoot every detail, which was given so much attention in conjuring up, placing, shuffling, and changing again, in such a high tempo. In situations which were not the way I thought they would be, locations of my fantasy which could not be found, etc. Or plainly: definitely realising the images that I had in my head. Fantasy was now reality. The shooting period was nonetheless a dream which was being realised. Some people claim that it is better for dreams to remain dreams than that they become reality. In this case I do not agree. It was and is still terrific to see my story becoming reality. Sometimes magical moments occured during shooting, where we, the crew, were spectators astonishedly looking at what was unfolding before the camera. I found working with actors fantastic. I would have wanted to work with them longer to discover how their film characters would develop further.
Also working with so many people was completely new to me. It has left me with a largely positive feeling. It is so inspiring and efficient to work and make things with others, which you just can not do by yourself, that I hope to be able to make another film project in the future."

Variety Review
By JAY WEISSBERG

With: Gerda Zangger, Sandra Utzinger, Brigitta Weber, Katalin Liptak, Sarah Buehlmann, Eleonore Jensch, Werner Imhoff, Tobias Perren, Claude Imahorn, Alwin Sarbach, Aurelia Truffer.

Striking images of a hard-edged brilliance are the reason to see "Winter Silence," video artist Sonja Wyss' feature debut, composed of often-dazzling tableaux in an isolated Swiss village suspended in time. Through largely wordless setpieces, Wyss tells the story of a widow and her four daughters locked in a hermetic web of intense Catholic faith and local superstition, all tied to the snow-bound landscape. While the photography is arresting, the airless quality mitigates against any real commercial prospects, leaving fest auds to appreciate the silence.

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Friday, May 7, 2010

Sonja Wyss - Winterstilte AKA Winter Silence (2008)

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