Philippe Schneider, Mann mat der Kamera

Through a large number of excerpts from Philippe Schneider's films, Tom Alesch tells the life and career of the Luxembourg filmmaker. After describing his beginnings in life, the film evokes his first great documentary (Pour la liberté, 1948), and how Schneider imposed himself in a country where there was no cinematographic production at the time. Thanks to his own studio in which his entire family worked by his side, he became the quasi-official filmmaker of the Grand Duchy, producing a large number of tourist films, industrial films and many commercials. An ambitious and ambivalent character, Schneider was able to attract the sympathies of the press and the politicians but tragically messed up his only fiction feature film, entitled 'L'amour, oui!' (1970). The production process is narrated in detail. At the end of his life, Schneider failed to stand up to the new competition of young film-makers who were more critical of Luxembourg society, as well the arrival of television. He died after many attempts to resurrect, one last time, the image of a fairytale Luxembourg that he had celebrated throughout his life.

Keywords

  • Escape to the 90's
  • In Luxembourgish language
  • Luxembourg Short Films

Director

  • Tom Alesch

Biography, Documentary

48min

tous publics

LB

Luxembourg
1999
Through a large number of excerpts from Philippe Schneider's films, Tom Alesch tells the life and career of the Luxembourg filmmaker. After describing his beginnings in life, the film evokes his first great documentary (Pour la liberté, 1948), and how Schneider imposed himself in a country where there was no cinematographic production at the time. Thanks to his own studio in which his entire family worked by his side, he became the quasi-official filmmaker of the Grand Duchy, producing a large number of tourist films, industrial films and many commercials. An ambitious and ambivalent character, Schneider was able to attract the sympathies of the press and the politicians but tragically messed up his only fiction feature film, entitled 'L'amour, oui!' (1970). The production process is narrated in detail. At the end of his life, Schneider failed to stand up to the new competition of young film-makers who were more critical of Luxembourg society, as well the arrival of television. He died after many attempts to resurrect, one last time, the image of a fairytale Luxembourg that he had celebrated throughout his life.

Through a large number of excerpts from Philippe Schneider's films, Tom Alesch tells the life and career of the Luxembourg filmmaker. After describing his beginnings in life, the film evokes his first great documentary (Pour la liberté, 1948), and how Schneider imposed himself in a country where there was no cinematographic production at the time. Thanks to his own studio in which his entire family worked by his side, he became the quasi-official filmmaker of the Grand Duchy, producing a large number of tourist films, industrial films and many commercials. An ambitious and ambivalent character, Schneider was able to attract the sympathies of the press and the politicians but tragically messed up his only fiction feature film, entitled 'L'amour, oui!' (1970). The production process is narrated in detail. At the end of his life, Schneider failed to stand up to the new competition of young film-makers who were more critical of Luxembourg society, as well the arrival of television. He died after many attempts to resurrect, one last time, the image of a fairytale Luxembourg that he had celebrated throughout his life.


Cast & Crew