UNDER THE UNDERGROUND

by Angela Christlieb

SYNOPSIS

UNDER THE UNDERGROUND guides us through the improvised spaces of Janka Industries, an underground cellar vault and creative microcosm of Vienna’s subculture. Voodoo Jürgens and Bands such as Petra und der Wolf and Tankris practice and perform here in the midst of a bizarre hodge-podge of electronic scrap. A music film and an ultimate underground homage that cinematically captures the magic of the site.

“Anthology Film Archives has a longstanding tradition of presenting the work of filmmaker Angela Christlieb, whose quasi-documentary works are as confounding and disorienting as they are revealing. Her previous films – CINEMANIA (2002), URVILLE (2009), NAKED OPERA (2013), and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GELITIN (2016) – have explored strange, often hermetic, and always idiosyncratic communities, individuals, or cultural realms, all of which stand apart from or frankly refuse to conform to social and cultural conventions. Her latest film, UNDER THE UNDERGROUND, extends this fascination with unapologetically marginal groups, focusing on a (literally) underground living and performance space in Vienna – Janka Industries – which acts as a home, studio, and cultural nexus for an eclectic mix of musicians, artists, and renegades.“ Jed Rapfogel, Curator.

PRESS

„There is magic in the chaos, as a steady flow of artists and musicians come to this otherworldly haven to record, or simply bask in its collaborative atmosphere…Chris Janka`s tinkering with electronic junk to create random inventions is particularly fascinating to witness.“ – The Guardian

„Angela Christliebs Dokumentarfilm führt durch die improvisierten Räume von Janka Industries, einem Kellergewölbe und kreativen Mikrokosmos der Wiener Subkultur. Voodoo Jürgens und Bands wie Petra und der Wolf oder Tankris proben und performen hier inmitten eines skurrilen Elektroschrott-Sammelsuriums. Ein Musikfilm und eine ultimative Undergroundhommage, die die Magie des Ortes filmisch einfängt.“ Der Falter, 2021

AWARDS

  • UNERHÖRT! MUSIC FILM FESTIVAL

    „BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY“ HAMBURG 2019 

  • SOUNDWATCH MUSIC FILM FESTIVAL

    „AUDIENCE AWARD“

    BERLIN 2019

    Jury approach: Angela Christlieb’s film is a magical approach to a literal underground in the centre of Vienna. One quickly feels drawn into this cellar cave, which serves as a rehearsal room, studio, office and laboratory and allows a wide variety of uses, not to mention the fact that it does not impose itself as a profit imperative. This cellar is populated by sound researchers, musicians and hobbyists whose charm lies in their willingness to experiment and openness. A breeding ground on which different genres and acts like “Voodoo Jürgens”, “Petra und der Wolf” or “Tankris” can thrive. The film very clearly points out the possibilities of music-documentary filmmaking that lie beyond the formatted and formulaic television documentary and teach listening, watching, patience, devotion and accuracy. Talking heads or external experts beyond the underground are not required for this film. “Under The Underground” intervenes not only in debates on questions of form in music documentation, but also on questions of urban development and displacement processes, and is a plea for the preservation of such important free spaces.

FESTIVALS

2019
Graz – Diagonale, Festival des österreichischen Films
Graz – Cinema Talks Festival
Hof – Internationale Filmtage
Lausanne LUFF Underground Film Festival
Kassel – Dokumentarfilm- & Videofest
Victoria, Canada – Antimatter Underground Film Festival
Berlin – SoundWatch Musikfilmfestival (Publikumspreis)
Hamburg – Unerhört! MusikFilmfestival (Jury Hauptpreis)
Wien -Kaleidoskop Festival
2020
Zagreb – Vox Feminae
Innsbruck – Diametrale Filmfestival
Köln – Stranger Than Fiction Dokumentarfilmfestival
2021
Bordeaux – BordeauxRock

CREDITS

Director: Angela Christlieb
Cinematography: Philipp Bevanda, Chris Krikellis, Angela Christlieb
Music: La Coquette, Petra und der Wolf, Schapka, Tankris, Voodoo Jürgens, XTMLX, Blueblut, Chicken, First Fatal Kiss, Luise Pop, MusikarbeiterInnenkapelle, Noisy Town Groove
Editing: Angela Christlieb
Production: Angela Christlieb/ aaangelfilm
Participant: Chris Janka, Ali Janka

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION: sixpackfilm