Wiener Festwochen 2019: Béla Tarr - Missing People

Vienna is the city with the highest quality of living in the world – this was confirmed yet again in 2018. But the city’s immaculate façade made of Habsburg splendour, Sacher torte and snow-white Lipizzaner horses is only half the story. Many inhabitants do not fit into this picture and are hidden from sight owing to poverty and social hierarchies. Béla Tarr’s Missing People makes them visible again. Tarr’s magnum opus, Sátántangó, is widely regarded as one of the most important works in film history. And according to his director colleague Gus Van Sant, the Hungarian comes closer to the actual rhythm of life than virtually any other filmmaker. This is also true for his new project, which is his first time directing after a long creative break. Using just a few shots, Tarr shows these invisible people in the kind of place to which they would normally have no access. This work, created in the intersection of film, installation and performance, will be presented exclusively during the Wiener Festwochen – at the filming location itself. While the visitors remain amongst themselves, only traces of the protagonists are left behind. A powerful plea for humanity.