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Angst

Béla Baptiste // Austria // 2021 // 10:00 min

Live Action

Synopsis:
In our world, we take drugs to find relief and peace beyond the hectic pace and chaos of modern life. In "Angst", it's exactly the opposite.

Three Questions for the Director

1. Short Film has a unique way of telling stories and exploring themes. What is it that fascinates you about the short format?

Béla Baptiste: I would transform Nietsches “Etwas Kurz-Gesagtes kann die Frucht und Ernte von vielem Lang-Gedachten sein.” to “Etwas Kurz-Gefilmtes kann Frucht und Ernte zu vielem Lang-Gedachten werden.”
And I have to borrow this great expression I read by Gerhard Schumm: “The short film is the espresso amongst movies. The same dose just with less water.” But I do think that the best features are in the end a giant pot of espresso.

2. The program your film is selected for is called “Die lange Nacht des abwegigen Films”: What connection do you see between your film and that title?

Béla Baptiste: If I dissect the word Ab-Wegig I understand we are talking about a different path, maybe even a hidden path—that means it stands in opposition to the obvious and nicely paved path. I’m very interested in oppositions in general and therefore I like to simply turn things upside down—in Angst the world has a desire to experience fear and everyone takes pills—in opposition to a world in which we take painkillers for a single scratch.

3. What film has inspired you most to make films yourself and what part of it do you see in your own work?

Béla Baptiste: I don’t have to think long. Clearly the short movie called Spider directed by Nash Edgerton—its dark humor and structure left a huge impression on me. It came out in 2007 and inspired me to want to be a creator as well. Honestly, I hope I can meet him some day and thank him personally.