CREATIVE DOCUMENTARY. AT 2020. 72 min. HD/16mm/Super8mm. 5.1. Dolby Digital & Binaural Headphone Mix available.
The Last Image follows four blind people, that have lost their sight in the middle of their lives. With them we dive into a world of blurriness, fading memories and deep emotions. As they tell us about the pictures they remember, we sink into images, that have lost their intended meaning. What do we remember? How? And what are the images that last?
A film about memories, lost pictures and the process of letting go.
"For its poetic aesthetics, in search of a sensory representation of a daily and familiar environment, and for its visual creation of a memory that permanently disappeared by bringing glimpses of light in a world of darkness."
(Jury Statement Jihlava IDFF Best East European Documentary; Section "Between the Seas"- "Special Mention")
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
In times of crisis I have experienced the feeling of isolation. In difficult times the others can help, but with the the actual individual experience we are alone. Everybody can just see through his or her own eyes. My view can - no matter how big the empathy - never be the view of the one next to me. As a child this thought has often scared me. What if my perception is completely different to everybody elses? What if my red is their green? And actually seeing is a highly individual process. In my case floaters disturb my vision: blackish-transparent worms float through my sight. And without contacts I can just see a very blurry image of the world around me. But all this is irrelevant. My eyes and my contact lenses help me to see the world. I can communicate with the others through mimic and gestures, through eye contact and body language. I can be seen, I can be understood.
Blindness, in this context, is for me also a metaphor for a social (or individual) status : being next to one another without recognizing the other. The loss of sight - for me - is a symbol for an universal loss of being part of a world. It is an act of dying, a farwell. This process brings with it a longing to hold on to things: images, colors, faces: What will be saved while the visual perception slowly fades away? How is the world seen while the act of seeing does not deliver informations any more? What remains? What changes? And how can one go on living?
I found it very nice to hear the other protagonists of the film, they somehow completed it for me. I could fully understand what they said, you really combined our stories very well. I am sure all of us had many similar experiences. I can feel the process: past, present and future. The emotions got to me. Not just mine, but also the emotions of the others - insights, ups and downs, challenges, arriving in ourselves. The change of perception, the learning, the acceptance and - the enjoyment of life!
(Angela, protagonist of the film)
STAFF
A FILM BY JUDITH ZDESAR DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY KLEMENS KOSCHER SOUND/ SOUNDDESIGN/ MUSIC MICHAEL STROHMANN
WITH JÜRGEN SCHWINGSHANDEL, ANGELA DANGL, PETER WEISER, NINA KERRES
ADDITIONAL CAMERA MARTIN PUTZ ANALOG FILM SUPERVISOR STEFANIE WEBERHOFER SOUND MIXING ALEX KOLLER/ THE GRAND POST DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY EDITING JUDITH ZDESAR COLORS DANIEL HOLLERWEGER PRODUCER JUDITH ZDESAR SUPPORTED BY BKA INNOVATIVE FILM/ WIEN KULTUR/ LAND KÄRNTEN KULTUR/
judithzdesar.com
SCREENING LINK https://vimeo.com/382428132 PW: thelastimage
Judith Zdesar
is a filmmaker and script consultant based in Vienna. She has studied "Film Directing" at the University of Performing Arts in the class of Michael Haneke and has been making Creative Documentaries ever since. Her work focuses on the boundaries of perception and the possibility to translate non visual experiences into film. Her films have been screened at many international festivals. Besides her film work she is a lecturer at the University of Arts in Linz and script consultant for various production companies in Austria.
FILMS
DIARY OF SOMEONE WAITING. Short Documentary. AT 2007. 20 min. distributed by sixpackfilm.com
ALL THE SHADES OF ONE LONG NIGHT. Documentary Feature. AT 2011. 70 min. distributed by sixpackfilm.com
THE OTHER SIDE. Documentary Feature. AT 2018. 80 min. distributed by geyrhalterfilm.com
CONTACT judith.zdesar@gmx.at +43.650.4066804 judithzdesar.com