The feature film debut of Hannes Starz, who was born in Carinthia, convincingly expresses the desperate will of a generation to be “alternative“, to live as an alternative, and follows them into exhaustion. Maybe as impressive as the the film is the story of how the film came about: after a promising start, the film failed further on all funding stages until Hannes Starz and the courageous film producer Gabriele Kranzelbinder from Klagenfurt, plucked up courage and realized the film very low budget. The production, like the story of the film, became an act of friendship. And yet with an exceptional cast.. Extremely worth seeing (also to experience the film crew in the Q&As).

Story:
Four friends in their late twenties are drifting through life in Vienna, from clubs to skateparks, from band practice to parties. A suicide attempt puts an abrupt end to this seemingly carefree existence. It might be a bit late in life to reorient themselves, but there’s still always time for a ride on the merry-go-round. The constant struggle with growing up is accompanied by a longing for something bigger, for a sense of arrival, for a showdown. In his bittersweet feature-film debut, director Hannes Starz gave the dedicated cast around Valerie Pachner (“A Hidden Life”, “Egon Schiele”) and Voodoo Jürgens much room for improvisation. The soundtrack features Alicia Edelweiss, Bulbul, Manfred Engelmayr and Thirsty Eyes – strong voices of Vienna’s music scene which the fictional band Black Candy dreams of conquering in the film.

„I burn a fire to stay cool. I burn myself, I am the fuel.“
(Fugazi)