DAS SCHREIBEN UND DAS SCHWEIGEN. DIE SCHRIFTSTELLERIN FRIEDERIKE MAYRÖCKER

"I do not like to speak!" exclaimed Friederike Mayröcker, "And this will be the basis for making our film." Thus for several years Carmen Tartarotti has quietly and unobtrusively recorded the now 84-year-old renowned Austrian writer and poet at home and in her studios filled with manuscripts, sketches and artefacts – living and writing, contemplating and reading. Entering into the rhythms of the author’s working life, capturing spontaneous moments, gently asking questions, the director is not held back by the conditions that are laid down for her, they have simply demanded another approach. We still learn that even literary prizewinners get annoyed by the weather and harbour doubts about their creative abilities. Tartarotti’s film is not a biography; it is rather an unsensational, intimate observation of the author as she retreats into her inner world of images. We are not provided with important dates and details of Mayröcker’s achievements. Instead we get a sigh, the turning of a page, a long pause and the sound of silence.