Time travel with a handicap

Weinviertel director tackles sensitive topic

Director Benjamin Baumgartner during filming, which recreates the hardships of people with disabilities in the 1860s.(Bild: zVg)

He has already made a name for himself with several short films: Benjamin Baumgartner from the Weinviertel region is now hitting the ground running with his latest production. The subject is challenging and the cast has spread from the Weinviertel region across Austria's borders: A successful "wheelchair inventor plays one of the main roles.

Viewers of Weinviertel director Benjamin Baumgartner's new film are catapulted back to the year 1860 - and their emotions are put to the test: What was it once like to suddenly be confined to a wheelchair? The director, who comes from Untermarkersdorf in the district of Hollabrunn, did extensive research in order to capture the sensitive topic as authentically as possible on celluloid. "There were many conversations in the 'Weißer Hof' with those affected, so some moments in the film are also based on true events."

Christian Czapek has made life easier for wheelchair users today with a special wheel - the inventor from Frankfurt plays a role in the film on this topic.(Bild: zVg)

Historical backdrop in Hadres elaborately "recreated"
The film was shot on a former brickworks site. Although there are typical houses from the past, the "visual" preparations took three weeks, reports Baumgartner. He is proud of another background to the film: the inventor Christian Czapek, who won international awards for his divisible wheelchair bike "Trivida", came from Frankfurt and played a leading role. The film "The Three Lives" will be presented in summer 2025 - the aim is to achieve success at film festivals.