Die Wilderin vom Montafon (The poacher of Montafon)
The eye tracks across a mountain panorama, from afar it fixes on the details of a cabin, bird song can be heard. The first scene in Eva Maria Schaller’s Die Wilderin vom Montafon (The poacher of Montafon) shows a picturesque idyll. Pictures of mountains, wild rivers and green forests run through the whole film.
Nature is the defining motif and in places the film is reminiscent of a 'Heimatfilm' (homeland film). These idylls are interrupted by surreal scenes in which a young woman binds herself to a tree using cling film, or runs through the wood wearing antlers, just like a hunted deer. The protagonist does not merely live in the middle of nature, she literally merges with it.
Documentary-like scenes, in which an older huntress appears, are edited into this surreal tale. The hunting scenes of the younger and the older woman are woven into a puzzling storyline whose incongruous visual language is reinforced by the use of various film formats. Close-ups of water, hide, meat and wood give the film a strong haptic effect.
The artist, who is also the actress, examines the historical figure of the Wilderin von Montafon, who was active in the Austrian mountains in the 1980s. Since it was not possible to depict the poacher herself, the artist interpreted the events after her own fashion. (Stefanie Maria Weisshorn)
About the video
About the artist
- 1980 in Graz, AUT.
Studied at the University of Applied Sciences Salzburg, AUT, and the Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln, GER