Synopsis

As director, Michael Glawogger puts it: “This film is supposed to create an image of the world, that can only be created when no topic is addressed, no evaluation is intended and no goal is pursued. When there is no guiding force except for one’s own curiosity and intuition.” In 2014, Glawogger whose earlier films often dealt with global exploitation, died of malaria after a directionless journey of five months through the Balkans, Italy, North Western and Western Africa. Two years later, his long-time film editor and friend, Monika Willi, took over the finalisation of the film. Sometimes using sharp cuts, sometimes gentler and quieter ones, she built up a fascinating, visually stunning document, on the basis of the abundance of existent material, highlighted with an intensive, but unobtrusive mix of original and composed sounds. Untitled is a disquieting film about movement and being on the road, about the foreign and the strange. Most of all however – and that is what makes watching the magic of the images such a special experience – it is a film about the poetry of chance. A journey around the world with the intention of watching, listening and experiencing – bravely, purely and openly. The film won the Austrian Film Award for the Best Documentary in 2018.