Invitation to the film “Auf der Straße zur Kirche HJ” – Robert Polak
Robert Polak has made more than 200 films: feature, experimental and documentary films, commissioned works for ORF (Austrian broadcasting) or industry. He documented the construction of the Rheintal motorway just as he shot crime dramas, music videos, and art films with Tone Fink — as director, screenwriter, cinematographer or editor, often several roles at once. Born in Bregenz, he studied at the Film Academy in Vienna from 1965 to 1969, where he taught from 1986 and was an associate university professor for editing between 2002 and 2010. Productions by this independent filmmaker screened at film festivals and received awards. Polak has never made much fuss about himself or his work. We are delighted to invite you to the screening of his documentary film completed last year, "Auf der Straße zur Kirche HJ" — Herz Jesu in Bregenz — with a live introduction from Robert Polak himself.
The private and the public
In "Auf der Straße zur Kirche HJ," the filmmaker turns the view of the cinema screen into his own personal perspective: through the window of the former Gasthof Tötsch, where Polak grew up, he looks out onto Bergmannstraße, over which the Herz-Jesu church towers. The church is accordingly given plenty of space in the film, while the title also plays ironically with the abbreviation "HJ," which evokes quite different associations.
This abbreviation is, of course, no coincidence: the Nazi-era mayor Carl Solhardt also lived on this street, and almost directly opposite lived Paul Pirker, the man who prevented the bombing of the city in 1945 by leading the French troops to Bregenz via the Haggen. Polak repeatedly connects the grand sweep of history with private experiences. He traces the building history of Bergmannstraße, looks at the life of its namesake Johann Ritter von Bergmann as well as the construction history and renovation of the Herz-Jesu church, while also recalling childhood games in a neighbouring garden and scooter rides to the church.
A lovingly and carefully researched long-term project
Polak doesn't dig deep in a single direction; instead, he lets the film glide along in a beautiful rhythm of images and stories, supported by music from Benni Bilgeri. Private photographs, which also offer glimpses into Polak's own family history, alternate with historical footage, complemented by commentary from Karl Sillaber on the architecture of the buildings, historian Meinrad Pichler, former museum director Helmut Swozilek, as well as Wilhelm Meusburger and Hermann Präg, who created a light installation on the Herz-Jesu church.
This film has nothing to do with a quick production — it is a documentary lovingly and carefully developed over a period of 22 years. Old photographs and film footage from 1992 and later years flow seamlessly into one another, and even a clip from Polak's first short feature film, "Ikone," is included. With "Auf der Straße zur Kirche HJ" — which, through this mix of old and new footage, powerfully conveys the passage of time and ageing — the anniversary honoree has perhaps given himself the most beautiful gift for his 70th birthday.
We look forward to your company.
Date: 16 August 2015
Time: 8:00–10:30 pm
Location: to be announced
Standard price: free
Organiser:
Bregenzer Salon
No registration is required for this event.