The Kaiser of Atlantis

El káiser de la Atlántida

25th TiDF: Greek Premiere

This allegory of the prevailing madness and death during the Third Reich, tells the incredible story of composer Viktor Ullmann, who in 1943 wrote and rehearsed a chamber opera about a tyrant bent on waging endless war in the most unthinkable place: in the Nazi concentration camp of Theresienstadt. He never saw its premiere; he was assassinated in Auschwitz two weeks after the first dress rehearsal. Thanks to a miraculous chain of events, the original score was saved from destruction and premiered in Amsterdam in December 1975. On the stage of a large European colosseum, its message is heard louder than ever. Today, at yet another important point in human history and through an intricate structure that achieves an exceptional narrative fluidity (full of nooks and crannies that speak about the nature of the human being), the film articulates in a luminous, heart-wrecking complexity the power of artistic creation to question, transform or escape reality.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Available at the Agora Market TiDF25

Direction: Sebastián Alfie
Script: Sebastián Alfie
Cinematography: Pablo Hernández, Angel Amorós, Braňo Pažitka, Benito Strangio
Editing: Alejo Santos, Javier Laffaille, Ana Bustamante
Sound: Gustavo González Crespo, David Mantecón, Ismael Calvo Delgado, Kees de Groot, Zdeněk Šimek
Music: Alex Nante
Production: Sebastián Alfie, Sintonía Media, Rosinante, Czech TV, De Productie
Producers: Ángela Álvarez Rilla, Sebastián Alfie, Daniel Rosenfeld, Mariano Nante, Annemiek van Gorp, René Goosens
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Argentina, Spain
Production Year: 2022
Duration: 76'
Contact: Independent Film Agency - Agencia Freak
Awards/Distinctions: Best Documentary Award, Best Director Award – Saraqusta FF 2022. Festival de Cine y Series de Historia de Zaragoza 2022, Award of the Dagmar and Václav Havel Foundation Vize 97 & Special Mention for Extraordinary Artistic Achievement – Golden Prague International Television Festival 2022, Best Digital Media Feature Award, Best Cinematography Award, Best Sound Award, Best Music Award – FCM-PNR, Festival de Cine de Madrid 2022

Sebastián Alfie

Filmography

1996 Abrázame así (short)
2005 El amor a las cuatro de la tarde (short fiction)
2013 Gabor
2021 Diego: The Last Goodbye
2022 The Kaiser of Atlantis