Two short films Ulrich Seidl made as a student at the film academy. Einsvierzig (16’) is a portrait of Karl, a 50-year-old man who has dwarfism. Der Ball (1982) goes behind the scenes at a school ball. Both films caused controversy, and clearly display Seidl’s unique signature.
Between 1980 and 1982, Ulrich Seidl studied at the film academy in Vienna – much against the wishes of his strict Catholic parents, who would have preferred their son to train for the priesthood. Seidl however was determined to make films – and to escape the provincial, small-town world of Lower Austria.
Having made two short films, his adventure at the academy came to an end; film student Seidl already had his own ideas about what a documentary should be, and the way Seidl made Einsvierzig…
