THE SUPER

award winning short film - based on the graphic novel by WILL EISNER

 

Trailer for the short film THE SUPER (1985) directed by Tobias Meinecke The film is a German language adaptation of the graphic novel THE SUPER by legendary American comic book artist WILL EISNER. The story is the third in an anthology of four stories entitled A CONTRACT WITH GOD. The film was the last production at the famous BERLINER STRASSE lot in Bavaria Studios Munich, originally built for Ingmar Bergman's SERPENT EGG. The lot also served as backdrop for Rainer Maria Fassbinder's BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ. Academy Award winning Cinematographer Igor Luther (The Tin Drum) joined the project as part of his teaching a cinematography class at Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film in Munich. The film played theatrically in Munich and in New York City (Film Forum) and had successful participations at various international film festivals, most notably Rimini, Tel Aviv and Warsaw. For further information on the source material go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Contract_with_God A digital high def (2K) remaster of the full 12min film will be available on video-on-demand platforms in the Fall/Winter of 2016.

directed & produced by Tobias Meinecke

 

Scuggs, the utterly unpleasant super of a Bronx tenement is driven to desperate measures by an innocent-appearing, but manipulative 11 year-old girl.

Based on the graphic novel by American Master WILL EISNER, Meinecke combines larger-than-life characters, borrows from the traditions of melodrama and applies a visual language drived from German Expressionis to create a haunting tale, that won particular favor with New York critics.

The films enjoyed a two week theatrical run at THE FILM FORUM/NY, participated at numerous international festivals, won awards in Tel Aviv and Warsaw, aired on television in Australia and had a theatrical release in Germany and the United States.

 

digitally remixed and remastered in 2K for re-release

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DREAMS OF LOVE

short film - introducing Claire Danes (1992)

written & directed by Jeffrey Mueller / produced by Tobias Meinecke & Susannah Lee

 

An eleven year old girl (DANES) living in rural Pennsylvania turns to her older brother to escape the clutches of their abusive father.

This short film originated in a Masterclass in Directing at Columbia University and was produced by Tobias Meinecke and Susannah Lee as an anthology of shorts, accompanied by a substantial behind the scene documentary about the making of the films and the art of teaching.

It marks the screen debut of the actress Claire Danes, who has gone on to have a world class career in the Cinema and on Television.

 

After her best friend, Ariel Flavin, appeared in a film made by a graduate student at Columbia University, Danes (11), ”burning to have the experience,“ put herself forward for DREAMS LOVE, a film about child abuse. She auditioned for one of the movie’s Executive Producers, Milos Forman (and got the role).

Danes thought it ”interesting to think about” the rage, loss and bewilderment a girl would feel at being molested by her father. Onscreen, she found an outlet for her own forbidden feelings. ”I loved discovering the camera. It was like a confidant.” she said.

From THE NEW YORKER (VOL 89 Issue 27)

 

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