The latest documentary from the German filmmaker, whose mission appears to shoot cinematic homages to all people cool, will be shown to FIFA audiences in Montreal on March 21st.

Le FIFA is the annual International Festival of Films on Art held in Montreal, Canada. This year’s 42nd edition of the festival highlights multiple artists from different disciplines, from French thespian Catherine Deneuve, to American artists Mark Rothko and Edward Hopper, to Russian feminist performance group Pussy Riot. All featured in films and documentaries about their art and lives.

Philippe U. del Drago, General and Artistic director of Le FIFA said: “Through perspectives marked by sensitivity, fragility and passion, this edition exalts human genius, magnifying the contribution of artists to answering all these questions. All in a paradigm infused with intimacy, vulnerability and raw vitality. Art, in its purest essence, that sublimates, overturns and upsets. For all these reasons, now more than ever, we want Art!”

At the center of the ten-days festival, which will also be streamed online for Canadian audiences unable to make it to the cinema, there is a stunning new documentary by Reiner Holzemer, the filmmaker responsible for the 2017 doc Dries, on the Belgian designer best known for remaining an independent influencer in the world of fashion conglomerates.

Holzemer, a Munich based director, has also made films about Martin Margiela, I wrote about it on Flaunt back in 2020, and photographer Jurgen Teller, among others.

He has now tackled the extraordinary Lars Eidinger, the German actor who has been called anything from “punk Muppet” to “tragic clown” in the media, which are always hungry for a label. I personally call Eidinger iconoclastic and found Holzemer’s documentary a great guide to follow when trying to discover the man behind the groundbreaking performer.

In the film, Holzemer follows Eidinger during the rehearsals of Jedermann. Das Spiel vom Sterben des reichen Mannes (‘Everyman. The play of the rich man's death’) by 20th century Austrian playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal. We see Eidinger go from costume and shoe fittings, which the actor admits help him get into character, to a stressful dress rehearsal where he finally explodes in a moment pivotal to understanding his inner power. But also the inner vulnerability that makes him so damn watchable on the big, as well as the small screen. Recently Eidinger has been part of several noteworthy projects including the Netflix series All the Light We Cannot See and the award-winning Berlinale title Dying (‘Sterben’ in German) by Matthias Glasner.

Jedermann is an Austrian tradition of sorts, and at the very start of Holzemer’s film, Eidinger questions being the first German actor allowed to play the lead role, of the rich bon viveur titular character, in a production put on in Salzburg, where legendary theater director Max Reinhardt staged his own version in 1920, kicking off a nearly annual tradition.

Holzemer then shows Eidinger performing in Shakespeare plays like Richard III and Hamlet, where he changes the old tropes of how the characters are interpreted in favor of new and imaginative ways. He makes the terrible King Richard almost monkey-like in appearance and movements, while in Eidinger’s hands, the Prince of Denmark is seen as the spoiled grown little child the Bard has always made him to be through his dialogue. My own personal connection with Shakespeare and his work, through the German translations of my late grandfather Hans, have made Lars Eidinger — To Be or Not To Be a must-watch, a beloved film which now occupies a special place in my heart. And a reminder that the German language, away from the mouths of those who made it infamous for all the wrong reasons, is a beautiful tongue, full of passion, culture and feelings.

About Eidinger, the man and the actor, Holzemer confessed to me, via email: “It was fascinating to watch Lars play during rehearsals. He allowed me to get as close as possible even during real performances in front of the audience. I still get goose bumps when I think of his performance of Everyman,  the moment where he realizes that he will die soon. I saw this scene many many times on stage and in my footage, but it is still very touching and real. Lars is a fascinating actor. You can’t take your eyes off him. You must see him on stage, which is very hard to achieve, because his performances are always sold out immediately.”

Several theater and film personalities are interviewed to talk about Eidinger in Holzemer’s insightful film. They include the actor’s About Joan co-star Isabelle Huppert and Juliette Binoche, with whom Eidinger acted in Olivier Assayas’s 2014 film Clouds of Sils Maria. While in Berlin, I had a chance to interview Eidinger for Flaunt, and he talked about the two French stars and their contribution to the documentary.

“There are some interviews with Isabelle Huppert and Juliette Binoche and they talk about me. It’s flattering, but on the other hand I thought, ah, interesting — they pretend to talk about me but they’re talking about themselves.” He continued putting it into context “that means, that even if I do a “laudatio” (a commendation) for Isabelle Huppert, to give her honor, I’m talking about myself.” For more of such insight, you’ll have to watch the film by Holzemer and soon, Dying, in cinemas in Ireland and the UK.

Images courtesy of Reiner Holzemer Film, used with permission.