27/09/2023 - In his latest film, the acclaimed Austrian director documents the COVID-19 crisis over a period of two years

The new documentary by acclaimed Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter, The Standstill [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], is set to have its world premiere in the international competition of DOK Leipzig (8-15 October). Cineuropa exclusively brings you the film's trailer.

The synopsis reads: “Empty spaces, rescue efforts, explanatory models, learning processes – and above all, people working tirelessly to ensure the provision of basic services for all. In the spring of 2020, a global pandemic hit humanity with unprecedented force, challenging all of its supposed securities and seemingly perfect routines. Set against the backdrop of the city of Vienna with its roughly two million inhabitants, The Standstill documents the COVID-19 crisis over a period of two years.”

In the film, airport staff unload box after box of personal protective equipment from former passenger planes, now lined up at Vienna Airport and waiting in vain for the return of their usual cargo; a priest holds his Easter Sunday service in front of an empty church, live-streaming his sermon to the congregation via a tablet; Viennese citizens pull up at a drive-through test centre and are swabbed for COVID-19 through their car windows; deserted shopping centres, large and small shops, stand like empty relics of an affluent society that has suddenly been erased.

“In many interviews, people spoke to us of their hopes for long-term, positive change to our society, of their desire for more closeness, cohesion and solidarity,” says Geyrhalter. “Certain aspects of the crisis were often seen in a very positive light. But what will remain of the plane-free blue skies and car-free streets, of the sudden lack of stress and the extra time spent with family? What do we want to go back to? And what do we wish to change going forward?”

Geyrhalter is one of Europe's most esteemed documentary filmmakers. His previous film, Matter Out of Place [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nikolaus Geyrhalter
film profile], was awarded at Locarno, ZagrebDox and Millennium Docs Against Gravity, among other festivals, while Earth [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nikolaus Geyrhalter
film profile] (2019) scooped prizes at the Berlinale, Sheffield and Dokufest Prizren, as well as being voted Best Documentary at the Austrian Film Awards.

The Standstill was produced by NGF Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion, and Autlook Filmsales has the international rights.

Check out our exclusive trailer below: