Stefan Zweig, Farewell to Europe – Trailer from Films Distribution on Vimeo.
Dor Film is proud to present STEFAN ZWEIG: FAREWELL TO EUROPE, Austria’s Official Entry for the Best Foreign Language Film – 89th Academy Awards®, written and directed by Maria Schrader (one of Germany’s most acclaimed actresses, best known for her award-winning lead role in “Aimee & Jaguar” and for the internationally renowned TV series “Deutschland 83”). STEFAN ZWEIG: FAREWELL TO EUROPE screened at the 8,000-seat Piazza Grande at the 2016 Locarno Film Festival, and has had successful theatrical release in Germany, Austria and France, and was sold to over 15 other countries so far.
Dor Film is proud to present STEFAN ZWEIG: FAREWELL TO EUROPE, Austria’s Official Entry for the Best Foreign Language Film – 89th Academy Awards®
The film episodically tells the story of the Austrian Jewish writer Stefan Zweig and his life while in exile from 1936 to 1942. Best known in the US for his novellas “The Royal Game” and “Letter from an Unknown Woman”, the latter was adapted into a movie directed by Max Ophüls, starring Joan Fontaine.
Stefan Zweig (next to Thomas Mann) was the most-translated German-speaking writer of his time, but having been driven into emigration at the peak of his worldwide fame, Zweig falls into despair at the sight of Europe’s downfall, which he had anticipated early on. Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, New York, Petrópolis are four stations in Stefan Zweig’s exile, which despite offering him safe refuge and overwhelming tropical nature, won’t help him find peace and won’t be able to replace his home.
STEFAN ZWEIG: FAREWELL TO EUROPE is the story of a refugee, a tale of losing one’s home and of the search for a new one. It is a visually stunning historic picture about a great artist and, at the same time, a film about a time in which Europe was coming apart.
About the director/writer, Maria Schrader:
Two-time winner of the German Film award and two-time winner of the Bavarian Film award, Maria Schrader worked with directors such as Margarethe von Trotta, Doris Dörrie (“Nobody Loves Me”), Hans W. Geissendörfer, Peter Greenaway, Rajko Grilic and Agnieszka Holland (“In Darkness”). In 1999, at the Berlinale, she received the Silver Bear for Best Actress in “Aimée & Jaguar” directed by Max Färberböck. Recently, she thrilled television audiences in the award-winning and internationally renowned series “Deutschland 83” (2015).
Maria co-directed “The Giraffe” with Dani Levy (1998). Her directorial debut “Love Life” was shot in Israel in 2007 and was based on Zeruya Shalev’s novel by the same title. The film premiered at the Festa del Cinema in Rome in 2007. “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe” is her second feature as a director, she was nominated for Best Director at the German Film Awards this year. .