19. UNDER|DOX 10-16 OKT

Sound supersedes sight in Stanley Schtinter’s austere anti-fairy tale Schneewittchen, an English-language remake of João César Monteiro’s ”Branca de Neve” (2000), made largely of an audio performance of Robert Walser’s titular play set to a black screen, occasionally relieved by shots of passing clouds. In Walser’s radical reworking of the Grimm fable, a resurrected Snow White reconciles with the Evil Queen, denying any foul play and even seeking forgiveness for provoking her jealousy.
A parable for our post-truth times, Schtinter’s film provokes reflection on the ontology of a tale as it travels across languages, mediums, geographies and eras. – Srikanth Srinivasan, IFF Rotterdam