Film portrait of Rudolf Steiner as spiritual pioneer of the modern age
By Wolfgang G. Voegele
DORNACH (NNA) - A new film by the well-known Swiss film maker Christian Labhart sets out to give an insight into the life and work of Rudolf Steiner.
The 45-minute documentary, „Rudolf Steiner. Die Vielseitigkeit eines Außenseiters. Ein Porträt“ (Rudolf Steiner. The many-facetted outsider. A portrait), available on DVD, is a joint project between the Education Research Centre of the Association of Independent Waldorf Schools in Germany, the Rudolf Steiner Archive in Dornach, Switzerland, and the Rudolf Steiner Verlag publishing house.
The film was funded by the Humanus Foundation in Basle and the Iona Foundation, Amsterdam.
According to Hansjörg Hofrichter from the Association of Independent Waldorf Schools, the idea for the film first arose in 2004 as the result of questions about Steiner as a person raised by teachers at state schools, trainee teachers and at public events organised by Waldorf schools.
It is a response to the fact that initial information about people and events today is primarily transmitted through the visual media and only afterwards through written works.
The documentary aims not only to present a historical person, but also to show the relevance today of the issues raised and suggestions proposed by Steiner. As a consequence, the views of people who are professionally involved with Steiner's life and work are given prominence.
Director and screenwriter Christian Labhart said he had been given full artistic freedom to use the information as he wished. However, the wealth of material meant that not all areas of Steiner's life could be dealt with and choices had to be made.
The calm camera work of Otmar Schmid takes the viewer through the archive, and individual documents, sculptures, posters, letters or photos are used to make a seamless transition to historical background information and Steiner in his own words.
In a relaxed interview style, section leaders at the Goetheanum and staff at the Archive talk, sometimes in a humorous way, about their personal experience in working with Steiner as a person and his works. Excerpts from existing film material about eurythmy, Waldorf education, anthroposophical medicine and biodynamic agriculture were carefully integrated into the documentary.
The music, composed by the Swiss composer Urs Peter Schneider, expresses both the modern and avant-garde aspects of Steiner as well as those aspects of his life which still remain a mystery, raising further questions.
The quotes from Steiner are read by Urs Bihler, the commentary is narrated by Dorothea Deimann.
This is a largely successful attempt to show Steiner as a true representative of the modern age and a spiritual pioneer whose ideas have retained their relevance in the twenty-first century.
According to Hofmeister, a second film is planned dealing with the many different ways in which anthroposophy is currently implemented in the world and answering many of the accusations against Steiner and Waldorf education which repeatedly surface in other TV documentaries.
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DVD available from: http://waldorfbuch.de/shop/product_info.php?products_id=317, http://www.rsarchiv.com/service/aktionen/shop/
Item: 070720-01EN Date: 20 July 2007
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