Der Phototermin (Photo Session)
Friedl Vom Gröller - 2010, 3:00, 16mm, Austria
Phototermin is a film about a pair. A human pair: man and woman, no longer young but when they laugh together they are as exuberant as children. And an analogous pair: a reflex camera and a 16mm film camera recording one another. The title, in which the word “Photo” is spelled with a consciously antiquated “ph” (in modern German, the word is spelled with an “f”), thereby locates Gröller’s work in the analog era. But that precisely is what is so beautiful: filmed on grainy black-and-white material, the Phototermin’s austere outer form harbors a chuckle over itself, aging, living as an artist, and love. And even without a soundtrack, it is as though you almost heard it. (Excerpt from synopsis by Maya McKechneay. Translation by Lisa Rosenblatt)
Friedl vom Gröller born 1946 in London. She spent her childhood in Vienna and Berlin. From 1965-1969 she studied photography at the School of Graphic Arts. 1971 Masters certificate and commercial atlier for photography. 2005 National award for photography. 1990 Founder and director of School for Artistic Photography, Vienna. 2006 Founder and director of School for Independent Film, Vienna. First films in 1968. Screenings (Selection): Generali Foundation, Vienna, Anthology Filmarchives, N.Y., documenta 12, Austrian Filmmuseum.
