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| Austrian director Gregor Schmidinger |
The Film Development Council of the Philippines, together with the Embassies of Austria, Sweden, and the United States of America showed solidarity with LGBTQIA+ community with the International Pride Celebration, a series of film screenings held at the Cinematheque Centre, Manila.
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| Gregor Schmidinger, Austrian Ambassador Bita Rasoulian, US Embassy's Chargé d'affaires John Law, FDCP Chair Liza Diño, Swedish Ambassador Harald Fries, Susan Fries, and Carl Fries |
Films with LGBTQ characters and themes from the Philippines, Austria, Sweden, and the United States of America were screened for the duration of the series. Another highlight aside from the screenings was a talk on Philippine Queer Cinema presided by Nick de Ocampo.
Decked with rainbow colors of the LGBTQIA+ flag, the FDCP, led by Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño, hosted an opening reception night that welcomed honored guests namely the US Embassy's Chargé d’affaires John Law, Austrian Ambassador Bita Rasoulian, Swedish Ambassador Harald Fries, and the guest of honor, Austrian director Gregor Schmidinger whose film Nevrland had its Asian premier after the cocktails.
Nevrland
Nevrland, the feature film debut of Gregor Schmidinger is a stylish, visually striking but dark and disturbing movie that focuses more on the mental struggles of an individual rather than coming into terms with his sexual identity.
Nevrland
Nevrland, the feature film debut of Gregor Schmidinger is a stylish, visually striking but dark and disturbing movie that focuses more on the mental struggles of an individual rather than coming into terms with his sexual identity.
The film stars Simon Frühwirth as Jakob, an anxiety ridden 17 year old boy who dreams of studying cosmology but is stuck working at a pig slaughterhouse while taking care of his ailing grandfather at home. He escapes his mundane world by exploring gay sites online and that is where he meets Christian (Paul Forman), an attractive 26 year old who looks too good to be true.
An intimate encounter with Christian only showed the stark contrast of Jakob's reality and with his anxiety, things unravel fast. While the third act of the film with what felt like random images filled with symbolisms was unsettling, baffling, and seemed like a blur, it encapsulated the worsening anxiety of Jakob. The intrusiveness of it all through the strobe lights and thumping bass of the techno music made holding on to the film until the very end a challenge for me. There was a disclaimer at the start that some images may not be suited for those with anxiety disorders.
An intimate encounter with Christian only showed the stark contrast of Jakob's reality and with his anxiety, things unravel fast. While the third act of the film with what felt like random images filled with symbolisms was unsettling, baffling, and seemed like a blur, it encapsulated the worsening anxiety of Jakob. The intrusiveness of it all through the strobe lights and thumping bass of the techno music made holding on to the film until the very end a challenge for me. There was a disclaimer at the start that some images may not be suited for those with anxiety disorders.
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| Gregor Schimdinger |
The final act left a lot of questions as to what it all mean but a post screening Q&A with Schimdinger provided satisfactory answers that got me less anxious. The dark and psychological nature of the film makes Nevrland not your typical queer cinema. And it is a welcome addition especially now that mental health awareness is being pushed to the forefront.
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