Austrian filmmaker Michael Glawogger is best known for his loose trilogy of documentary essays that examine working life in a global economy. Traversing the world, he documents the struggles of everyday people to survive, often in miserable conditions, yet is equally concerned with the condition of their spirit-a concern reflected also in his narrative films. To elucidate these issues, Glawogger moves between fiction and documentary; as he commented, “Every documentary is staged to some degree. It's all a matter of finding the right degree.” Glawogger, who studied filmmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute and at the Vienna Film Academy, brings curiosity, humanity, and a beautiful formal aesthetic to his unique, contemporary city symphonies.
We screen a selection of Glawogger's documentaries, narratives, and experimental films and welcome him in person each evening of the tribute for a series of conversations with acclaimed New York critic and programmer Dennis Lim. Lim contributes to the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Artforum, Cinema Scope, and other publications, and is editorial director at the Museum of the Moving Image, where he organizes film programs and edits the multimedia magazine Moving Image Source.
Read Nicolas Rapold's New York Times article, "A World of Troubled Beauty: A Look Inside the Films of Michael Glawogger."