Regional Competition

Soldat Ahmet

Jannis Lenz
Screening time  
07.04. / Thursday, 21:00 - 23:00 Theatre 2 Ticket
09.04. / Saturday, 15:00 - 17:00 Theatre 5 Ticket

Ahmet is a champion boxer with Turkish roots and a professional soldier in the Austrian Army. But the more he strives to fulfil the expectations of each of those roles, the stronger his desire grows to break out of the stereotypes cast upon him. Driven by the need to feel himself again, he starts taking acting lessons, and on the stage he comes face to face with his own internal battles. In one scene, he had to show weakness and burst into tears. Easier said than done - Ahmet hasn't cried since he was a child. The film begins as a parable about a Turkish migrant living in Austria, and it develops as a complex portrait of a young man, his quest for belonging, and the power of his emotional world.

Jannislenz

Jannis Lenz

Jannis Lenz studied Directing in the Masters Programme of Jessica Hausner at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he also worked as an assistant for Michael Haneke. He is a Berlinale Talents Alumni, received the START Scholarship for Cinematic Art by the Austrian Ministry of Culture, the Distinction of the Society of Fine Artists Austria and is an official member of the European Film Academy. Since 2014, Lenz´ films are regularly shown at renowned film festivals like Rotterdam, Visions du Réel, Palm Springs, Sarajevo, Montreal or Edinburgh, winning numerous awards. His Bachelor-Degree film Wannabe won the Prix Clermont-Ferrand and got nominated for the European Film Awards. Soldat Ahmet, Lenz´ first feature documentary film, premiered in the Burning Lights Competition of Visions du Réel, won several awards and got nominated for the First Steps Award 2021. Currently, he is developing his first narrative feature film Freaks.

General sponsor

Soldat Ahmet

Austria
2021, 76'

Directed by:
Jannis Lenz

Screenplay by:
Jannis Lenz

Cinematography:
Jakob Fuhr

Edited by:
Jannis Lenz, Roland Stöttinger, Nooran Talebi

Music:
Benedikt Palier

Producers:
David Bohun, Lixi Frank

Produced by:
Panama Film

Festivals & Awards:

Visions du Réel (2021)
Diagonale: Best Sound Design (2021)
Biografilm Festival (2021)
Sarajevo FF (2021)
Filmfestival Kitzbühel: Best Director (2021)
This Human World: Best Austrian Film (2021)

Contact:

Refreshing Films
Marija Milovanović
info@refreshingfilms.com