Michael Pilz Filmproduktion

Karl Prantl, the main character in the film, is one of the leading figures of Austrian art. As a sculptor - as one who shapes stones - he has produced an oeuvre of rare consistency and coherence, created out of an awareness of the fundamental concerns and utterances of man.

In this evocative work, we hear and see the interactions of a man and a woman in a pristine forest. We gain a sense of intimacy with them and nature. Suddenly we leave the worries of our scattered lives and begin to remember the primal elements of existence: earth, wind, fire, water, people, and creation. This epiphanic process demands patience and an almost meditative state, but it is so worth the effort – just as a journey a mountain meadow requires some effort in order to find its treasures. We leave the traditions of narrative for a more open approach to cinema. There are suggestions and onsets of a storyline, but almost everything remains a mystery for our encountering. This is a film that will allow you to observe and exist, without anxiety, without demands, and it allows you a rare glimpse into the life of things.

A cinematographic attempt at a maximum of exertion and a maximum of relaxation based on the thoughts of John Cage, Chuang Tzu and others.

To this day, a work in progress called 'Curtains' can be found on the extensive website of Austrian maverick master Michael Pilz. The idea was to edit all the curtains shots he ever made in strictly chronological order – as a pars pro toto representation of his oeuvre and philosophy of cinema. With Love – Volume One 1987-1996 developed from this project. How close it is to the original intentions behind Curtains, only Pilz can say. But considering that Pilz's whole life and art is about self-development, discovery and realisation, every film he makes is in its own way another sum total. Each film is a debut as well as a cenotaph for what was so far; in loving memory, for a morrow of love. This development demands encounters with other people; that's the only way to grow. Come along and meet Pilz − and yourself.

For one night Michael Pilz rides through New York with a remarkable taxi driver, Jeff Perkins. Sitting by his side, looking and listening, sometimes intervening, he uses his handy high-8 camera like a writing instrument, a „camera-stylo“.

"A montage of years of personal videography. My way of seeing was, and remains, more important than the object itself." (Michael Pilz)

Originally intended as a four-room media installation, allowing the viewer to "live" the film, come and go, Michael Pilz's essay about South Styrian painter Gerald Brettschuh was adapted to one 751 minutes sequential documentary with three parts and an epilogue. Part 1: The Use of Bodies, Part 2: As-If-Not, Part 3: The Party, Epilogue: Coda