Sisters (Schwestern) is a well-written short film about the interplay between two sisters when they meet in their hometown in rural Austria for their mother’s funeral. Combined with well-crafted shots and an excellent direction by Florian Moses Bayer, Sisters will exceed your expectations, especially if you enjoy dramatic narrative cinema drawn from life.
By Nefeli Soteriou for Winter Film Awards
See the NYC Premiere of “Sisters” on Friday Feb 21 @6:30pm at Cinema Village (22 East 12th Street) as part of New York City’s 9th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival.
Director Florian Moses Bayer grew up in the countryside and as he shared during our interview for Winter Film Awards, as a child, he and his brother weren’t allowed to watch television. He teamed up with his neighbour and they created their own movies. Florian also got into acting but always wanted to do more and direct his own films. So, he applied at the Film Academy in Vienna, Austria. The rest is history.
As the director explained, the story of Sisters was inspired by witnessing the funeral of his grandmother and the conflict that arose between his mother and his aunt. “I was with the two of them all the way to the funeral. In the meantime there was no concrete conflict initially. I accompanied them in the preparations for the funeral of my grandmother. I witnessed how a previously unspoken conflict developed between them. This situation surprised and overwhelmed me.”
Although he tried to develop the screenplay himself in a more lighthearted manner, Florian felt the comedy genre was not the right fit. It was then he decided to bring in Samuel Deisenberger as the screenwriter. Florian realized quickly that Sam was a wonderful match for what he wanted the film to convey. Samuel believed the story was very interesting and gave it all its charm by rewriting it. He positioned the characters at a younger age, then developed them further so they stood apart from each other as individuals. Their collaboration was so fruitful that a deep friendship developed between them.
In sharing about the creative process from budgeting to distribution regarding the film, Bayer mentioned the support he received by producer Clara König. “She put up with me throughout the whole project with all her heart and soul and was able to push the project through, from start to finish”.
One fun fact during the production days was that they were working right next to the local cemetery during the big fight scene. A funeral was in progress. In the director’s words, “It was a bizarre situation because everyone tried to be respectful of course but the filming had to continue and be done. There were several other big challenges during the shooting, but one of the bigger ones was shooting in the final scene. It was September and so the actress had to jump into icy cold water and swim for about five minutes. The scene, visually symbolic, denotes that the deceased mother is now in a better place and that the two sisters will improve their relationship. It was a very important scene and it was definitely worth it, to film it. Thanks to the grip Leopold Kaserer, or Poldi as known by the cast and crew, the scene was successfully completed!”
Florian Moses Bayer admires many great directors from around the world. “Of course I am very much influenced by Austrian and American cinema. Leni Gruber, Florian Pochlatko, Bernhard Wenger, Raphaela Schmid, Rupert Höller, Götz Raimund, Kathrin Resetarits, Sandra Bohle, Hubert Canaval, Marie Luise Lehner, Raoul Bruck, Tim Oppermann, Julia Philomena Baschiera, Alexander Horwath, Lisa Hasenhütl, Nicolas Pindeus, Matteo Sanders, Wolfgang Murnberger, Elizabeth T. Spira, Johanna Moder, Marie Kreutzer, Barbara Albert, and many more. Paul Thomas Anderson, Dennis Hopper, Martin Scorsese, Sophia Coppola, Lena Dunham, Jud Appatow, Seth Rogan, Kenneth Anger.”
Creatively active, the filmmaker’s next project is about a 16-year-old boy who is torn between his parents. The mother wants him to go abroad, the father wants him to play professional football. His girlfriend can’t really help him either. He struggles with growing up while not knowing what he really wants. We are truly looking forward to it.
Nefeli Soteriou
Nefeli Soteriou’s background is in Film and Media Arts, Creativity Coaching with Coaching Psychology, Behavioral Coaching for Mental Health, and Education. With significant, real-world experience as a Life Coach and Filmmaker, she specializes in helping filmmakers with every aspect of the filmmaking life, from completing unfinished films to handling the stresses and pressures that they face.
About Winter Film Awards
New York City’s 9th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival runs February 20-29 2020. Check out a jam-packed lineup of 79 fantastic films in all genres from 27 countries, including shorts, features, Animation, Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Horror, Documentary and Music Video. Hollywood might ignore women and people of color, but Winter Film Awards celebrates everyone!
Winter Film Awards is an all volunteer, minority- and women-owned registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2011 in New York City by a group of filmmakers and enthusiasts. The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the NY State Council on the Arts.
