Film Archive

Kristall

Kristall creates a melodrama inside seemingly claustrophobic mirrored cabinets.

Like an anonymous viewer, the mirror observes scenes of intimacy. It creates an image within an image, providing a frame for the characters. At the same time it makes them appear disjointed and fragmented. This instrument for self-assurance and narcissistic presentation becomes a powerful opponent that increases the sense of fragility, doubt, and loss twofold.

Christoph Girardet was born in 1966 in Langenhagen and studied in Braunschweig. He has been working as a video, film and installation artist since 1987. A selection of his works includes: Schwertkampf (1991), Release (1997), Scratch (2001), Delay (2001), 7:48 (2001), Absence (2002), Fiction Artists (with Volker Schreiner, 2004), and, in collaboration with Matthias Mueller, Phoenix Tapes (1999), Manual (2002), Beacon (2002), Play (2003), Mirror (2003), Ray (2004), Catch (2005), Ground (2005), and Kristall (2006).
 
Matthias Mueller was born in 1961 in Bielefeld and studied in Bielefeld and Braunschweig. He has been working as a filmmaker, video artist, photographer and independent curator since 1981. He is currently teaching at the Academy of Media Arts, Cologne. A selection of his works includes: Aus der Ferne – The Memo Book (1989), Home Stories (1990), Sleepy Haven (1993), Alpsee (1994), Vacancy (1998), nebel (2000), Album (2004), and, in collaboration with Christoph Girardet, Phoenix Tapes (1999), Manual (2002), Beacon (2002), Play (2003), Mirror (2003), Ray (2004), Catch (2005), Ground (2005), and Kristall (2006).
 

Category Short
Year of Production 2006
Director Christoph Girardet, Matthias Mueller
Editors Christoph Girardet, Matthias Mueller
Music by Susanne Wuermell, Christoph Girardet, Matthias Mueller
Producers Christoph Girardet, Matthias Mueller
Production Company Christoph Girardet & Matthias Mueller/Bielefeld
Length 15 min
Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85
Original Version no dialogue
Sound Technology Dolby SR
Festival Screenings Oberhausen 2006 (In Competition), Cannes 2006 (Critics' Week), Toronto 2006, London 2006, Vienna 2006, Uppsala 2006, Cinéma Tout Ecran Geneva 2006, Montreal New Cinema 2006, Gijon 2006, Clermont-Ferrand 2007, Mar del Plata 2007
Awards Grand Prix Canal+: Best Short Cannes 2006
With backing from German Federal Film Board (FFA), Filmstiftung NRW, Nordmedia
German Distributor arsenal experimental/Berlin

World Sales
Christoph Girardet & Matthias Mueller
August-Bebel-Strasse 104
33602 Bielefeld/Germany
phone +49-5 21-17 83 67
fax +49-5 21-17 83 67
email: mueller.film@t-online.de; girardet@freenet.de
http://dv-art.com